'Harry Potter and yoga are evil', says Catholic Church exorcist

[Portrait]

Well then, I think this gets to the heart of the problem. If you don’t find any objections with listening to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin or the Stones, then you certainly won’t have any issues with H.P. …You object to Marilyn Manson music merely because you don’t like what it sounds like? How about because it is blatantly Satanic? Do you not realize the toll that type of music has had on the youth of the world? If you were wise you would throw that stuff out…
http://www.allisnow.com/images/themes/music/black-sabbath/born-again-s/image_rotator.php

Dear Gabriel Serafin,

Cordial greetings and a very good day.

It is not fashionable in trendy Catholic circles to speak disparragingly of that debased sensory material kown as rock music. To do so is to be branded a joyous prigg and be accused of being overly prissy and wishing to take the Church in a Puritan direction. It is, I am sorry to say, a very sad reflection of the times in which our lot is cast and the failure of many contemporary Catholics to pursue holiness.

Some of us on these boards, including myself, have endeavoured to show our brethren here that Satan and his forces have deeply invaded man’s social and cultural structures and that music has not been left out. We have shown that there is no disputing the satanic and occultic connections which occur in rock music, but, alas, our efforts thus far have been unavailing. Yes, I heartily concur, this stuff ought to be thrown out by all who desire to be pure and holy. However, as the old adage goes, there are none so blind as those that will not see.

Rock music has always been jolly revolutionary stuff, going right back to the 1960’s, and by its beat and sound it has always implicitly rejected restraints and celebrated a godless freedom and sexuality. However, this is not the topic under review at the present time and I have no wish to derail the current thread. Suffice to say that the wide-spread acceptance by many modern Catholics of rock music and unwholesome fantasy literature is really wrapped up with the much broader issue of sanctity and separation from the godless world. So many today have adopted a hand in hand with the world type of religious practice, a sort of ‘Catholicism Lite’ which makes little or no demand upon them in terms of holiness and otherworldliness - methinks that the Protestant Puritan saints could teach us a thing or two respecting pious living.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax

 

[LemonAndLime]

Well then, I think this gets to the heart of the problem. If you don’t find any objections with listening to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin or the Stones, then you certainly won’t have any issues with H.P. …You object to Marilyn Manson music merely because you don’t like what it sounds like? How about because it is blatantly Satanic? Do you not realize the toll that type of music has had on the youth of the world? If you were wise you would throw that stuff out…

I listed to some Marilyn Manson music.

I’m not a devil worshiper.

So what’s your point again?

 

[LemonAndLime]

The most evil person I ever knew was the suit-and-tie type.

The Goths I have known have been, without exception, intelligent, law-abiding, kind individuals. And, by the way, much more tolerant of those who don’t share their opinions than many of the posters we see here.
Oh, and another thing-- not a single Satan-worshipper in the bunch.

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

Many people wear crosses these days but these are ornaments. If they don’t wear them with some pro-Christian meaning, they are not worshiping God in any way.

What does the word yoga mean? It means to “yoke oneself with the gods”.

Why do you have to do yoga? Why can’t you do something else? There are plenty of other means of stretching and exercising that are unrelated to Hindu/vedic religious rites.

Try telling me that saying “F U” to a cop and not meaning it carries the same weight. What about playing with a Ouija board and “not meaning it in a bad way”. Maybe looking at a horoscope and “not meaning anything by it”. I wonder if you’d just open the necronomicon and do a little reading and still feel the same.

 

[Lisa44]

Yes, I said I don’t know what Harry Potter books are in content so I can’t comment. I restrict my comments to E. Spiritual practices like yoga and meditation.

 

[UnityofTrinity]

There are tons of youth I know are loving Christians and love reading Harry Potter. So far they still able to preserve their faith, love God as well. I don’t really see the problem to the book except it’s way too long

 

[jilly4ski]

There are tons of youth I know are loving Christians and love reading Harry Potter. So far they still able to preserve their faith, love God as well. I don’t really see the problem to the book except it’s way too long

lol, not long pre se, but repetitive, in both sentence structure and in plot progression.

 

[Luna_Lovecraft]

Ooooohhhhhh, I’d love to get my hands on one, though!

 

[DihydrogenOxide]

Sounds like you’re caught up in yoga. You know about the little girl, don’t you?

 

[Gabriel_Serafin]

I listed to some Marilyn Manson music.

I’m not a devil worshiper.

So what’s your point again?

The point is that if you can’t see what is wrong with listening to Marylin Manson, you will never understand many have concerns with children consuming the H.P. Series and why Fr. Amorth, other exorcists and Catholic apologists like Patric Madrid find many pagan and dark ideas weaved into the goodness presented in the H.P. series. As for Marylin Manson, again, avoid that stuff, it will blind your intellect and cloud your mind and rob you of the gift of discernment, which is the ability to recognize what is genuine from what is pretence----and what is of God from what is not of God. Ultimately we have to choose between God and ourselves; and the choice for God must be complete. We are not merely to give God just so much of our time, just so much of our money, just so much of our self—it must be everything. But does not happen overnight, thus every day we wage war against our evil inclinations and our attachments to the things of the world. Thus we are given a lifetime to strive for perfection by growing in virtue and diminishing in vice. Marylin Manson is not helping you on your journey to God. He pulls in an opposite direction, and his music will slowly rot your mind…
img683.imageshack.us/img683/355/37427234.jpg

Originaly posted by Portrait
the wide-spread acceptance by many modern Catholics of rock music and unwholesome fantasy literature is really wrapped up with the much broader issue of sanctity and separation from the godless world.

Very true. The simple purpose of each human being is to become a saint, and it is quite impossible to make any progress while there are attachments to the things of the world, especially to things that are from the master of lies and half truths. Only perfect saints can enter heaven, and we can be purified on earth or we will suffer the purifying fires of purgatory after we die. One thing is for sure; we cannot choose both God and the world, as it will lead to a lukewarm service of God. And it doesn’t help to fill our minds with things that are not from God, no matter how entertaining and enticing they may be…

 

[Portrait]

Very true. The simple purpose of each human being is to become a saint, and it is quite impossible to make any progress while there are attachments to the things of the world, especially to things that are from the master of lies and half truths. Only perfect saints can enter heaven, and we can be purified on earth or we will suffer the purifying fires of purgatory after we die. One thing is for sure; we cannot choose both God and the world, as it will lead to a lukewarm service of God. And it doesn’t help to fill our minds with things that are not from God, no matter how entertaining and enticing they may be…

Dear Gabriel Serafin,

Cordial greetings.

My sentiments entirely. “Strive…for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12: 14), is the text which immediately sprang to mind as I read your post, dear friend.

There must be total devotedness to God if there is to be purity of heart and life and this can hardly be achieved if we pollute our souls with debased sensory material or culturally unhealthy literature, such as the Potter series of books.

Thankyou again for your excellent (name removed by moderator)ut on this thread.

Warmest good wishes,

Portrait

Pax

 

[Fone_Bone_2001]

Now, I want to read O’Bien’s book to see if what has been criticized about him is accurate.

Wait, wait. Are you merely critiquing the examples cited against O’Brien to emphasize the need for honesty and precision, or are you actually defending the bizarre notion that dragons must represent only one thing (evil) in every culture, and that any portrayal of a good dragon somehow promotes relativism?

I really hope it’s the former. I will assume it is unless you correct me.

I wonder if you’d just open the necronomicon and do a little reading and still feel the same.

LOL, the necronomicon doesn’t exist.

 

[jilly4ski]

Wait, wait. Are you merely critiquing the examples cited against O’Brien to emphasize the need for honesty and precision, or are you actually defending the bizarre notion that dragons must represent only one thing (evil) in every culture, and that any portrayal of a good dragon somehow promotes relativism?

I really hope it’s the former. I will assume it is unless you correct me.

LOL, the necronomicon doesn’t exist.

I just finished reading the first HP book this morning (not the first time I read it). I guess all the people talking about it complaining about it, made me want to read it again. It clearly states that dragons cannot be tamed. Hagrid tries to raise a dragon from the egg. But the experiment fails horribly, and it is illegal. So I guess HP doesn’t fall to that criticism. (The very fact that the evil character’s familiar is a snake, and the “bad” house at Hogwarts has a symbol of a snake as well, means that J.K.Rowling is using what O’Brien calls traditional Christian symbolism). Oh no, what was that, HP uses traditional Christian symbolism to represent good and evil. Gasp.

 

[Sonic]

Wait, wait. Are you merely critiquing the examples cited against O’Brien to emphasize the need for honesty and precision?

Yes… I believe sources should be honest and accurate.

News Forum rules:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=516655

It seems my library has a copy of O’Brien’s book. I will see if I can check it out and read it. I want to know if what has been said or analyzed about O’Brien’s work is true.

 

[Irish_Eyes_826]

What is it about these books that actually make them bad? There is a concrete sense of good and evil. The “good guys” accept mortality and their limited abilities. And, most relevant of all, there is no real magic. None. It is all made up.
Harry and his friends have not made a deal with the Devil to receive magic, just clearing that up. There is no mention of Satanism or the occult. Anything that resembles it is automatically considered evil in HP. Necromancy, seeking immortality, splitting your soul, it’s all evil in the books.
I may be missing something, but it seems like nobody can actually produce concrete evidence that HP leads one away from God.

 

[severus68]

Because you’re not an expert in literary studies.DGDDavidson on the other hand deconstructed O’Brien’s entire thesis and showed he had an inherent bias that basically discredits anything he says. Here’s the post.

Which part of our logic do you have a problem with? Or do you just have an issue with people using logic?



Oh sorry, were you being serious there?

Great post. I am impressed with how much you have read on this. I am just to busy and maybe lay to read on this you but thank you and Davidson for doing so. I do know I am an adult with the brains to think for myself and not see evil when it is not there. I enjoy the HP books and would recommend it reading for older kids. Those who find evil and Satan in such books may avoid them but have no right to impose their views on us. There is enough darkness in this world without adding to it.

 

[severus68]

 

[curlycool89]

For Portrait, that’s pretty par for the course actually.

That’s not just me talking. You can go and look at any of the other threads and he makes the same remarks. It’s not my interpretation, it’s a pattern.

What is it about these books that actually make them bad? There is a concrete sense of good and evil. The “good guys” accept mortality and their limited abilities. And, most relevant of all, there is no real magic. None. It is all made up.

Well, why would people ever let facts get in the way of their witch-hunt? It’s much easier to ignore them (and the fact that their arguments would definitely condemn both LOTR and Narnia. But of course they always get a pass because of -]good reasons/-] personal bias).

It’s not like they did when there were actually witch-hunts either, so the situation is actually perfectly analogous.

 

[Big_Pat]

Regards Harry Potter. I guess some believe we should boycott Grimm’s Fairy tales. I think we all need to take a step back and take a deep breath.

 

[LiveCatholic]

Regards Harry Potter. I guess some believe we should boycott Grimm’s Fairy tales. I think we all need to take a step back and take a deep breath.

Pat, I don’t think this is comparable, and the reason is the mode of expression.

Fairy tales, fables, myths, and legends all have at least one thing in common: a remove of the reader from the events of the story. ‘A Galaxy Far, Far, Away’ sort of feel.

The appeal of Harry Potter novels is the ‘Bildungsroman,’ where the reader sympathizes with and identifies with the character. You feel Potter’s achievements as your own, feel his specialness as your own, &c. This is a very compelling genre, and the fact that it deals with the occult and a weirdly twisted Christ figure narrative doesn’t help its case.