Harry Potter and other fantasy books

[Elmawa]

Hello, I’ve recently been made aware of the church’s (or some of its members) dislike for the Harry Potter series. I’ve read that series and own all the books and movies and have always found them to be both entertaining and to have a lot of positive qualities in the characters and story lines. However apparently because of some study(ies) this series has been getting some bad press within the church saying that something like 1 in 12 children or teens who read them will then go out and investigate or try witchcraft. I’m not arguing the validity of this study, I’m just curious…

My question is this, what makes Harry Potter so bad, or so much more likely to cause interest in the occult as opposed to other stories in the fantasy genre such as The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia?

I’m aware that both LOTR and Narnia have Catholic or Christian themes in them, but they also have good and bad characters who use magic, potions, and mystical objects. But LOTR and Narnia are held up as great examples of Christian literature.

So, I guess I’m also asking, where is the line drawn in regards to what is considered okay and not okay when it comes to the presentation of magic in movies and literature? Now, obviously if something includes obvious occult references, demons, rituals, and sacrifices etc… then it’s safe to say the church would rather us not expose ourselves to it, but Harry Potter, LOTR, and Narnia all include characters who use magic because it’s an inborn talent of sorts, or something that is described as a natural part of the character. edit as opposed to magic gained by occult practices and the sort.

Anyhow,
I’ll be grateful for any thoughts on the matter.

 

[jediliz]

LOTR and Chronicles of Narnia both contain Christian symbolism - Its obvious that the white witch is either the devil or a representative of the Devil. LOTR is written by a Catholic and there is obvious more Catholicism Christianity in there - the Elven bread for instance could stand for the Eucharist.

As for Harry Potter — I admit I read most of these - I own all 7 books. However, after Rowling kept putting in deaths of characters I grew to like, I could not bring myself to finish the last 3. The magical words in the books are obvious nonsense words and a little bit of latin mixed in I believe?) The problem lies where people got a little TOO interested in what Harry and his friends were doing and started trying to copy it…that’s where the danger of the occult lies.

 

[josh987654321]

.

I haven’t read any of the books, I have only watched the LOTR trilogy and Hobbit ones afterwards, and have watched bits of Narnia (didn’t like that movie much) and have only watched bits of Harry Potter (didn’t like it much either).

The problem I believe, is not in ‘magical’ themes etc in these stories, but rather, LOTR and Narnia have ‘Christian’ themes about them, whereas it’s been said that J.K. Rowling was involved in the Occult/Wiccan, which could be said inspired some of the Harry Potter series as Christianity inspired the LOTR series or Narnia. And this is the keynote difference between them that I believe some people are referring to.

And just as people who watch Narnia and LOTR are exposed to subtle Christian themes and morality whether they are Christian or not, the same could be argued of Harry Potter.

Personally I have not done enough research into the Harry Potter Books and J.K. Rowling’s inspirations for the series to say either way, but considering I am not a big fan of Harry Potter in the first place, I just stay away from it as a better safe than sorry approach.

Unfortunately I can’t be any more helpful, this is just what I have heard/read.

I hope this has helped

God Bless You

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[LiamQ]

My question is this, what makes Harry Potter so bad, or so much more likely to cause interest in the occult as opposed to other stories in the fantasy genre such as The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia?

Steven Greydanus has done a great job answering this question in a ~11,000 word essay: decentfilms.com/articles/magic.

His conclusions:

What I do object to is the claim that it is inconsistent or hypocritical to allow Tolkien and Lewis, but to object to Rowling. The Rowling books are significantly different from the Tolkien and Lewis books, and there is good reason to make a distinction between them, perhaps even to draw a line between them separating the allowed from the disallowed.

I also object to the portrait of Harry Potter as a poster child for the occult, and the claim that parents who permit reading Harry Potter are necessarily exposing their children to harmful influences. The absence in Rowling of the hedges I’ve been discussing doesn’t make her books automatically harmful or even dangerous for all children, though it may make them harmful for some.

While I respect his conclusions, I do have to say I’m less neutral than he is. My own observations:

(1) I’ve seen both exorcists and former practitioners of the occult warn individuals about Harry Potter and, indeed, both of those types of individuals seem to be very vocal against it. Exorcists remark that, when they are called upon to minister to children, there is a statistically significant number of them that own and have read the Potter series. Deacon Greydanus’ analysis is very intellectual, but there is an experiential element here that shouldn’t be ignored.

(2) While I agree that Harry Potter does not necessarily lead to occult practice, it is indeed a first step in that direction. Yes, for everyone. It baffles me that Catholics can evangelize by “planting seeds” but yet they should not concede that the enemy “plants seeds” of his own. You have to understand that many, many people will ask the question, “hey, what would happen if spells like these could work in real life?”

(3) I have serious questions about the research into the occult that went into writing Potter, and whether or not that in and of itself didn’t open certain doors.

(4) When I was involved in the occult, to a small degree, I read many of the Potter books, and the obvious dark and occult spirit of that series was a major, major turn on for me. I was in my early 20’s and I absolutely found inspiration in those books. You’ll notice many in the occult subculture enjoy certain forms of entertainment, and the Potter books would definitely be the sort of thing occult-influenced parents would just love their children to read.

Anyway, this is kind of off-topic, but I wanted the article to answer your question, and I wanted to offer some of my personal opinions since I think Deacon Greydanus is a bit too liberal on this question.

I am one of those who, as a kid, was influenced by certain artists to become a satanist, and I’m incredibly sensitive to those who downplay the value of art in spiritually influencing others. IMO, Potter has a very strong occult spirit that absolutely can strongly influence those who sense it.

 

[Lea101]

My mother and I loved Harry Potter, and c’mon, she was honestly an amazing Catholic.

It really depends on the individual. We were able to understand that this is fiction.

There’s a lot of strange things in fiction-fairies, witches, superheroes etc.

There’s also immoral stuff in tv shows-murder, sex, drugs etc and those are glorified by the media.

But I’m able to watch The Office without being influenced badly and I liked it for the comedy. Same thing with Harry Potter, we liked it for the storytelling, characters, etc.

Basically it depends on the person who is exposed to all of this stuff. As a parent, you would be crazy not to explain that trying to do magic is wrong/or that magic does not exist.

 

[josh987654321]

My mother and I loved Harry Potter, and c’mon, she was honestly an amazing Catholic.

It really depends on the individual. We were able to understand that this is fiction.

There’s a lot of strange things in fiction-fairies, witches, superheroes etc.

There’s also immoral stuff in tv shows-murder, sex, drugs etc and those are glorified by the media.

But I’m able to watch The Office without being influenced badly and I liked it for the comedy. Same thing with Harry Potter, we liked it for the storytelling, characters, etc.

Basically it depends on the person who is exposed to all of this stuff. As a parent, you would be crazy not to explain that trying to do magic is wrong/or that magic does not exist.

However, as I said in my previous post, the objections I have heard, have not been about ‘magical’ themes etc, but more the fact that in the same way LOTR and Narnia have subtle Christian themes/morality imbedded in the story telling, It’s been said that Harry Potter may also have subtle Occultist/Wiccan themes/morality imbedded in the story telling.

I hope this has helped

God Bless You

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[catholicmamajoy]

There is no official Church teaching about the Harry Potter series and really no reason why there should be. There are only personal opinions of Catholics that go from one end of the spectrum to the other on the fantasy fiction series. I am going to post the same thoughts that I’ve posted in the ten other Harry Potter comment threads that I’ve participated in here on this Catholic Answers site for you to look over and come to your own conclusion regarding JK Rowling’s novels:

Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) publishes a terrific book about Harry Potter that’s specifically for Catholic parents and includes an interview with Catholic novelist and homeschooling mom Regina Doman in the last section of the book. It also covers the concern over then Cardinal Ratzinger’s reply to a women who wrote him about the book (that note has been discussed ad nauseum here on many closed threads) and Michael O’Brien’s take on HP is included, too.

It’s called "The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide " and is authored by Nancy Carpentier Brown, a Catholic homeschooling mom who also wrote the Father Brown Readers from Catholic Heritage Curricula (homeschool curriculum provider).

For any Catholic that has concerns about HP, the book gives a balanced and hysteria-free look at HP and how to discern if it’s a good choice for your family and your children. I’m sure there are people out there who have read it and still think HP’s not a good choice for their family, but it gives a Catholic view of the series ( and the movies that were out when it was published) so that parents can make an educated choice for their own families, instead of getting caught up in the anti-Harry frenzy that seems to dominate the fundamentalist mindset.

amazon.com/Mystery-Harry-Potter-Catholic-Family/dp/1592763987?ie=UTF8&Version=1&entries=0

Fr Luke Bell, OSB has also written a book about the series, sharing his thoughts and wisdom regarding HP and Catholicism:amazon.com/Baptizing-Harry-Potter-Christian-Reading/dp/1587680580/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465595341&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=harry+potter+br+luke+bell

If you are truly interested in a Catholic viewpoint on Harry Potter, I recommend you read the two books I have listed above, as the authors have went to great lengths in their research on the series from a Catholic perspective.

 

[josh987654321]

.

Do you know where I could get a free transcript of those two resources? or perhaps a summary or something similar without buying something?

Thank you

God Bless

Josh

 

[LiamQ]

This is a very good point and, of course, you are right regarding causation, as any Statistics 101 class can demonstrate.

Nevertheless, the testimony of exorcists, along with their examination of children and the influence of Harry Potter in their lives, should by no means be understated.

The answer to that question is they don’t work and you will be most disappointed if you try to make them.

Maybe they do and maybe they don’t.

But there are those spells that do work, provided one has the intent, and provided one has attracted a demon. The point is that answering the question of “what if this stuff worked in real life” can turn into researching the occult.

Also there is nothing particularly obscure in the Potter books, anyone with a passing knowledge of myth or legend would get most of the allusions in the books.

This simply asserts that the fundamental “myth or legend” understanding of someone like Rowling was sufficient to make all the references to occult things in her books. I find that assertion unfounded.

This speaks to your own personal experience only and the books are not particularly dark as fantasy literature goes.

I’m curious: do you have experience of becoming involved in the occult, or have you had close friends or family members who have? If no, then have you analyzed what sort of influences are most common in that sort of path?

Furthermore, you seem to have read a lot of fantasy literature, if I am to take your comment literally. Perhaps doing so makes it more difficult for you to perceive the inherent darkness of works like Potter. If you haven’t read a lot of this genre, then maybe this assertion is likewise unfounded.
[/quote]

 

[twf]

I haven’t read any of the books, I have only watched the LOTR trilogy and Hobbit ones afterwards, and have watched bits of Narnia (didn’t like that movie much) and have only watched bits of Harry Potter (didn’t like it much either).

The problem I believe, is not in ‘magical’ themes etc in these stories, but rather, LOTR and Narnia have ‘Christian’ themes about them, whereas it’s been said that J.K. Rowling was involved in the Occult/Wiccan, which could be said inspired some of the Harry Potter series as Christianity inspired the LOTR series or Narnia. And this is the keynote difference between them that I believe some people are referring to.

And just as people who watch Narnia and LOTR are exposed to subtle Christian themes and morality whether they are Christian or not, the same could be argued of Harry Potter.

Personally I have not done enough research into the Harry Potter Books and J.K. Rowling’s inspirations for the series to say either way, but considering I am not a big fan of Harry Potter in the first place, I just stay away from it as a better safe than sorry approach.

Unfortunately I can’t be any more helpful, this is just what I have heard/read.

I hope this has helped

God Bless You

Thank you for reading
Josh

The occult bit is absolute hogwash. We just had a massive thread on Potter a month ago or so- I invite readers to do a search as there is literally nothing new that can be said on the matter. I went into more depth on previous threads but for now I will say:

1. Rowling is Presbyterian and has EXPLICITLY stated that Christianity inspired many of the key Potter themes. Anyone who has read through all 7 books cannot fail to miss this. The Christian allegory in the 7th book is nearly as obvious as Narnia! (I’ve read through them multiple times). We have a hero, pure of heart who’s greatest weapon is love (as Dumbledore tells Harry) who lays down his life as a supreme act of self-sacririce, rises, and thereafter the power of the Dark Lord cannot touch his friends.
2. I have yet to see any proof of Occult influence, but as someone who has read through them multiple times I can assure you that Scripture is quoted more than once.
3. The biggest accusation seems to be that it encourages normal children to get into the occult. This makes no sense. Harry and his friends are NOT normal children. This is key to the plot. They are from a race of wizards. They are born wizards. Harry’s aunt is so cruel to him throughout his childhood because she CAN’T do Magic no matter how hard she tries…she was rejected by Hogwarts as a child because she’s ordinary with no magical ability.
4. There is no invocation of spirits or rituals resembling the real occult. The Wizards wave wands made from unicorn or Phoenix body parts and say made up Latin-ish words.

Regarding the exorcists… I imagine certain kids did get into the occult who were also fans of Potter, but I see no reason to believe that it’s because of Potter itself. Potter just happens to be very popular. These same children may have been tempted by the occult after reading Tolkien, Lewis or any fantasy… They just wanted magical powers for their own disordered reasons.

 

[catholicmamajoy]

Do you know where I could get a free transcript of those two resources? or perhaps a summary or something similar without buying something?

Thank you

God Bless

Josh

Hi Josh,

You can find the first few chapters of The Mystery of Harry Potter on google books: books.google.com/books?id=0KwSXnPbX_wC&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=our+sunday+visitor+harry+potter&source=bl&ots=By1HAsweZ5&sig=MSKwDgFI9pJbkkdasGzqXlmUZMk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI9KCQzNfNAhWJTSYKHYCtCGIQ6AEIMTAE#v=onepage&q=our%20sunday%20visitor%20harry%20potter&f=false

Amazon has a preview on the link from my other post, but not as much as the google site.

For Baptizing Harry Potter, amazon again has a small preview and google books has the first few chapters: books.google.com/books?id=szF_pLGmJTQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=baptizing+harry+potter&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjeofXgzdfNAhWE2SYKHYNJBvwQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=baptizing%20harry%20potter&f=false

Hope that helps!

 

[Lou2U]

The occult bit is absolute hogwash. We just had a massive thread on Potter a month ago or so- I invite readers to do a search as there is literally nothing new that can be said on the matter. I went into more depth on previous threads but for now I will say:

1. Rowling is Presbyterian and has EXPLICITLY stated that Christianity inspired many of the key Potter themes. Anyone who has read through all 7 books cannot fail to miss this. The Christian allegory in the 7th book is nearly as obvious as Narnia! (I’ve read through them multiple times). We have a hero, pure of heart who’s greatest weapon is love (as Dumbledore tells Harry) who lays down his life as a supreme act of self-sacririce, rises, and thereafter the power of the Dark Lord cannot touch his friends.
2. I have yet to see any proof of Occult influence, but as someone who has read through them multiple times I can assure you that Scripture is quoted more than once.
3. The biggest accusation seems to be that it encourages normal children to get into the occult. This makes no sense. Harry and his friends are NOT normal children. This is key to the plot. They are from a race of wizards. They are born wizards. Harry’s aunt is so cruel to him throughout his childhood because she CAN’T do Magic no matter how hard she tries…she was rejected by Hogwarts as a child because she’s ordinary with no magical ability.
4. There is no invocation of spirits or rituals resembling the real occult. The Wizards wave wands made from unicorn or Phoenix body parts and say made up Latin-ish words.

Regarding the exorcists… I imagine certain kids did get into the occult who were also fans of Potter, but I see no reason to believe that it’s because of Potter itself. Potter just happens to be very popular. These same children may have been tempted by the occult after reading Tolkien, Lewis or any fantasy… They just wanted magical powers for their own disordered reasons.

Lou

 

[Gertabelle]

(4) When I was involved in the occult, to a small degree, I read many of the Potter books, and the obvious dark and occult spirit of that series was a major, major turn on for me. I was in my early 20’s and I absolutely found inspiration in those books. You’ll notice many in the occult subculture enjoy certain forms of entertainment, and the Potter books would definitely be the sort of thing occult-influenced parents would just love their children to read.

Seriously?

My son and I attended Denver Comic Con a couple weeks ago. If you’re looking for people practicing the occult and drawn to certain stories, look no further than Lord of the Rings! I can’t tell you how many people involved in Wicca or new age spirituality love dressing up as characters from those books, and buying swords and daggers and chalices and crystals and headdresses and etc., etc., etc…

 

[RPRPsych]

I’d approach this from a purely literary standpoint.

Tolkien created a very original fantasy world and wrote with great literary power.

C.S. Lewis was creating an explicitly Christian allegory, and wrote with verve and emotion, even if I’m not a particularly big fan. (Tastes vary.)

Harry Potter, on the other hand:

• is a copy / paste from Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton’s school stories, and a few fantasy elements
• features corny names which even a fan-fiction writer would be ashamed of (“Diagon Alley”? “The Mirror of Erised”?)
• includes juvenile toilet humour, especially in the tail end of the series (“U-No-Poo”, “Eat dung, Malfoy”, etc…)
• has references to Christianity that seem tacked on in the last book, as if to appease the “moral guardians”
• suffers from an inability to be concise; it’s as if books 5-7 had no editor at all
• relies on “cinematic” devices that sometimes reach the levels of a Road Runner cartoon (a “Snape-shaped” hole in the window? Really?)
• tries to pack an entire universe of plot devices into one final book, after meandering along for 6 previous volumes
• has an author who can’t seem to leave her world alone (“Dumbledore was gay!”, “Ron ending up with Hermione was a mistake!”)

So even if we leave the whole tired “occult” bit out, HP suffers from unoriginality, pandering to segments of the audience, and just plain bad writing. When my children are old enough to read such stuff, I’d rather they read Lewis or Tolkien (or even Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl) simply because all those folks are better writers.

 

[Sarcelle]

I’d approach this from a purely literary standpoint.

Tolkien created a very original fantasy world and wrote with great literary power.

C.S. Lewis was creating an explicitly Christian allegory, and wrote with verve and emotion, even if I’m not a particularly big fan. (Tastes vary.)

Harry Potter, on the other hand:

• is a copy / paste from Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton’s school stories, and a few fantasy elements
• features corny names which even a fan-fiction writer would be ashamed of (“Diagon Alley”? “The Mirror of Erised”?)
• includes juvenile toilet humour, especially in the tail end of the series (“U-No-Poo”, “Eat dung, Malfoy”, etc…)
• has references to Christianity that seem tacked on in the last book, as if to appease the “moral guardians”
• suffers from an inability to be concise; it’s as if books 5-7 had no editor at all
• relies on “cinematic” devices that sometimes reach the levels of a Road Runner cartoon (a “Snape-shaped” hole in the window? Really?)
• tries to pack an entire universe of plot devices into one final book, after meandering along for 6 previous volumes
• has an author who can’t seem to leave her world alone (“Dumbledore was gay!”, “Ron ending up with Hermione was a mistake!”)

So even if we leave the whole tired “occult” bit out, HP suffers from unoriginality, pandering to segments of the audience, and just plain bad writing. When my children are old enough to read such stuff, I’d rather they read Lewis or Tolkien (or even Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl) simply because all those folks are better writers.

Harry Potter has its own charm.

I vastly prefer Tolkien to Rowling, but I enjoyed the Harry Potter books.

 

[RPRPsych]

Harry Potter has its own charm.

I vastly prefer Tolkien to Rowling, but I enjoyed the Harry Potter books.

I can respect that; my own father’s a big fan. Like I said, “tastes vary”. I’m not going to go calling for an exorcist if RPR Junior wants to read the books, and if he likes them, more power to him.

 

[twf]

I’d approach this from a purely literary standpoint.

Tolkien created a very original fantasy world and wrote with great literary power.

C.S. Lewis was creating an explicitly Christian allegory, and wrote with verve and emotion, even if I’m not a particularly big fan. (Tastes vary.)

Harry Potter, on the other hand:

• is a copy / paste from Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton’s school stories, and a few fantasy elements
• features corny names which even a fan-fiction writer would be ashamed of (“Diagon Alley”? “The Mirror of Erised”?)
• includes juvenile toilet humour, especially in the tail end of the series (“U-No-Poo”, “Eat dung, Malfoy”, etc…)
• has references to Christianity that seem tacked on in the last book, as if to appease the “moral guardians”
• suffers from an inability to be concise; it’s as if books 5-7 had no editor at all
• relies on “cinematic” devices that sometimes reach the levels of a Road Runner cartoon (a “Snape-shaped” hole in the window? Really?)
• tries to pack an entire universe of plot devices into one final book, after meandering along for 6 previous volumes
• has an author who can’t seem to leave her world alone (“Dumbledore was gay!”, “Ron ending up with Hermione was a mistake!”)

So even if we leave the whole tired “occult” bit out, HP suffers from unoriginality, pandering to segments of the audience, and just plain bad writing. When my children are old enough to read such stuff, I’d rather they read Lewis or Tolkien (or even Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl) simply because all those folks are better writers.

There is a charm to them. I’m sure childhood wonder is what keeps many of us adult fans engaged during re-reads…but I also enjoy the “metastory” as much as I enjoy the story itself. The last time I went through them, I was puzzling out what Dumbledore was doing behind the scenes. In the fourth book for example, there is a momentary, brief reference that, properly analyzed in light of the seventh book, illustrates Dumbledore’s plan for defeating Voldermort was already matured and in place…she leaves little hints that most children readers won’t catch.
I would argue with you over the literary value. As you say, tastes vary. I will, however, disagree that the Christian elements were “tacked on” at the end. Yes, the Christian symbolism becomes much more explicit and “in your face” in the seventh book, but it was there from day one. I think it was in the fifth book when Dumbledore finally explains everything (or nearly everything) to Harry. He explains why Harry had to live with his terrible aunt and uncle. He explains how the power of Harry’s mother’s sacrifice was continued and extended via her connection to his aunt…his exact words always struck me as very Christian “I took refuge in her blood”. There are plenty of other examples.

 

[RPRPsych]

There is a charm to them. I’m sure childhood wonder is what keeps many of us adult fans engaged during re-reads…but I also enjoy the “metastory” as much as I enjoy the story itself. The last time I went through them, I was puzzling out what Dumbledore was doing behind the scenes. In the fourth book for example, there is a momentary, brief reference that, properly analyzed in light of the seventh book, illustrates Dumbledore’s plan for defeating Voldermort was already matured and in place…she leaves little hints that most children readers won’t catch.

Not denying it. I’m simply saying that it’s easier to construct a cogent literary critique of the novels than to convincingly show that they are a gateway to the occult / evil.

 

[Sarcelle]

Not denying it. I’m simply saying that it’s easier to construct a cogent literary critique of the novels than to convincingly show that they are a gateway to the occult / evil.

Yes you do have a point.

Is that your son in your avatar picture? Cute child.

 

[edwest2]

Steven Greydanus has done a great job answering this question in a ~11,000 word essay: decentfilms.com/articles/magic.

His conclusions:

While I respect his conclusions, I do have to say I’m less neutral than he is. My own observations:

(1) I’ve seen both exorcists and former practitioners of the occult warn individuals about Harry Potter and, indeed, both of those types of individuals seem to be very vocal against it. Exorcists remark that, when they are called upon to minister to children, there is a statistically significant number of them that own and have read the Potter series. Deacon Greydanus’ analysis is very intellectual, but there is an experiential element here that shouldn’t be ignored.

(2) While I agree that Harry Potter does not necessarily lead to occult practice, it is indeed a first step in that direction. Yes, for everyone. It baffles me that Catholics can evangelize by “planting seeds” but yet they should not concede that the enemy “plants seeds” of his own. You have to understand that many, many people will ask the question, “hey, what would happen if spells like these could work in real life?”

(3) I have serious questions about the research into the occult that went into writing Potter, and whether or not that in and of itself didn’t open certain doors.

(4) When I was involved in the occult, to a small degree, I read many of the Potter books, and the obvious dark and occult spirit of that series was a major, major turn on for me. I was in my early 20’s and I absolutely found inspiration in those books. You’ll notice many in the occult subculture enjoy certain forms of entertainment, and the Potter books would definitely be the sort of thing occult-influenced parents would just love their children to read.

Anyway, this is kind of off-topic, but I wanted the article to answer your question, and I wanted to offer some of my personal opinions since I think Deacon Greydanus is a bit too liberal on this question.

I am one of those who, as a kid, was influenced by certain artists to become a satanist, and I’m incredibly sensitive to those who downplay the value of art in spiritually influencing others. IMO, Potter has a very strong occult spirit that absolutely can strongly influence those who sense it.

As someone who has studied the occult, the supernatural and now, the same thing relabeled and repackaged as New Age, I can say that without a doubt, the devil plants weeds.

"The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,

“and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.” Matthew 13:38 and 39 NIV

But, back to the topic:

ncregister.com/site/article/3663/

Ed