Harry Potter - Good or evil?

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I noticed that there haven’t been any posts from a kid’s perspective, so here I am. I started reading HP when I was ten, and continued being a huge fan up until recently. I began to question whether I should be reading these books, because yes, they are fiction, but they still influence you whether you admit it or not. Kids don’t know that real magic isn’t like it’s portrayed in the books. They think that magic can be used for good as the HP books imply. So when they try to do this “HP magic”, they knock on Satan’s door. Please, read the following article about HP, it’s very informative:
http://envoymagazine.com/backissues/5.3/harrypotter.htm
To quote Ms Collins, the author of the article, “Not everyone who reads Harry Potter will be harmed spiritually. While I do see danger in the books stimulating an interest in the occult, I’m the least worried about children who are protected by the sacraments and well grounded in their faith.”
God bless you all!
Angela
 
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cool2bCatholic:
I noticed that there haven’t been any posts from a kid’s perspective, so here I am. I started reading HP when I was ten, and continued being a huge fan up until recently. I began to question whether I should be reading these books, because yes, they are fiction, but they still influence you whether you admit it or not. Kids don’t know that real magic isn’t like it’s portrayed in the books. They think that magic can be used for good as the HP books imply. So when they try to do this “HP magic”, they knock on Satan’s door. Please, read the following article about HP, it’s very informative:
http://envoymagazine.com/backissues/5.3/harrypotter.htm
To quote Ms Collins, the author of the article, “Not everyone who reads Harry Potter will be harmed spiritually. While I do see danger in the books stimulating an interest in the occult, I’m the least worried about children who are protected by the sacraments and well grounded in their faith.”
God bless you all!
Angela
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Well done! I congratulate on your maturity. God Bless you!
 
=) Thank you. I owe it all to the Lord, though.
God bless you,
Angela
 
Before anyone goes off on a tangent or gets all huffy or hot and bothered about Harry Potter and the like, keep in mind what C.S. Lewis said about judging morals in literature, that in a particular literary work you are in that work’s universe and should only judge it by its own moral and ethical and religious standards and not apply our own to it. Bt that measure, harry Potter is just fine. Good wins out over evil, etc. It is not supposed to be a theological work, just enjoy, whatever happened to Grimms’ fairy tales and such that we were brought up on. My parents never sat me down and discussed them or the other children’s literature we read, and we turned out OK. Were we wunderkind or something that we didn’t have such problems in those days? Enough for blowing things all out of proportion. And I’m the first person to say that our kids are subjected to terrible influences in the media. Look to the TV shows and the commercials and such. Harry Potter and his friends are far better role models than most of what many parents let their kids view. And that goes for their music and their video games as well.
 
I love the movies, have never read any of the books. You have to take the magic with a grain of salt. I find it no more harmful than Superman or Spiderman.

IF the magic had Satanic undertones I would say it could be hamful. But the writer and movie folks have managed to keep the magic to more entertaining and whimsical perspectives.

It makes no comment on religion of any kind, which by it’s very omission may be considered a negative. IF they were to mock or ridicule religion then it would be a diferent story but as far as I could tell it does not. For now it is pure entertainment, and so far fairly well done.
wc
 
Harry Potter does not promote any occult at all…if it does you’ll know right…as for me, i just enjoy reading and rereading it…actually i am looking forward to the upcoming book…just read and don’t let anything break your belief in God!
 
I voted that it promotes the Occult, though i feel the title for the multiple choice should have been, “Do you feel that it promotes PURE EVIL!”

My answer would have been yes; it 100% with out a doubt promotes pure unadulterated EVIL. If you are still questioning go to saint joseph communications (saintjoe.com) and look up Matthew Arnolds cd set about it. He was a fomer occultist and does a great job explaing why it is PURE EVIL! Not tampers with occult but PURE EVIL! Satan worship, occult, black magic, demonology; pure evil!

Saintjoe.com also has another one called “There’s something about harry.” Check them out.
 
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ByzCath:
You can believe all you wish but in this case you are wrong.

Explore all the other threads at this forum on this topic.

Nothing in the Harry Potter books resembles any occult practice today.

Practitioners of Wicca do not run around in robes waving “magic wands” and reciting latin.

If you think these books are evil then you must think that the Lord of the Rings is evil also as it has “occult” practices and magic in it too.
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If i may ask ByzCath, have you ever seen the Harry Potter movies or read the books? If i also may suggest, being a former Occultist as you said above, please to check out Matthew Arnolds tape set on this very topic at Saintjoe.com. I’m telling you he puts it bluntly that this is pure satanism.

Having said that, it is true that the Harry potter books don’t come right out and portray the satanic message they do it deceptively. Ohhh ya what was that Our Lord called the evil one in the Gospel…OOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ya the prince of lies! Yes, the women who writes the books is an occultist and yes she uses satanic symbolism to get her pagan, non-Christian, anti-Christian point across.
 
For those who think Harry Potter will lead people to the Occult, then you must make that same leap:

Reading True Crime books, such as Helter Skelter, etc, leads people to murder

Reading Harliquin Romance novels leads people to sexual affairs

Reading Dracula will open the door to vampirism

Of course there is always a slight possibility for anything to happen to anyone. There are overly curious people in the world, there are insane people in the world.

There are more people thru-out history that have killed in the name of the Bible than any other book because they are crazy. So should we now tell people not to read the bible?
 
Harry Potter - Good or evil? None of the above-its fiction-and pretty good fiction at that. If ones faith is so weak they would be influenced by these books I think Harry Potter is the least of their problems.
 
I LOVE HARRY POTTER!!! they’re probably the coolest books I’ve ever read:) and strangely enough, I’m not being converted to evil or anything…because it’s FICTION!!! maybe really young kids shouldn’t read it, but as long as your kid knows that it’s not REAL, it’s innocent fiction that absolutely kicks butt-e:)

In Him,
Britty
 
So I suppose we should forbid children from reading Cinderella because it implies that magic can turn a pumpkin into a carriage? Get serious. Harry Potter is no more harmful than any of the other stories children read. Any of Grimm’s fairy tales comes to mind. They are STORIES. Nothing more. I hardly see how HP leads to the occult. While we’re at it, let’s keep kids out of the Magic Kingdom. It is, afterall, the MAGIC Kingdom. And we wouldn’t want them influenced by such evil.
 
I’ve read most of the books and saw two of the 3 movies. I thought they were wonderful…

Here is Abp Chaput’s take on Harry Potter…
**So then, what’s the
verdict on Harry Potter?
**
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   *By Archbishop          Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.*
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   A friend, his wife and youngest child recently saw "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Both adults are well-informed and serious about their faith, so I was interested in their reactions. I've already received dozens of letters and e-mails from parents wondering if this movie is suitable for their children.
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    The friend and his wife — who have not read the Potter books — came back baffled at criticism the film has received from some Christian quarters. They found it to be a terrific fantasy yarn that kept them thoroughly entertained for two hours. They then went home, had dinner and got back to the routine concerns of their lives. None of them, including their child, began tinkering with magic. None of them, including their child, developed an unhealthy attachment to Ouija boards. (How do the parents know that about their child? They do what parents are supposed to do: They keep watch.)
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                                                                                                                         My initial reaction to the first Harry Potter book was much the same. I read it on a plane after another couple of friends had complained about it. I enjoyed it. It struck me as a better than average children's fantasy — but of course, I don't have children. If I did have children in today's culture, I might very well have found it more troubling.
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I think people’s uneasiness about Harry Potter comes from the same roots as our uneasiness about Halloween. When the spirit of American culture was overwhelmingly Christian, Halloween played its role in the drama of salvation — a night of tricks, treats and symbolic confusion overcome by the dawn of All Saints Day. Forty years ago, Halloween could be enjoyed as harmless fun. Many good parents still see it that way with no ill effects.

Human culture is never value-neutral. Our music, art, books, politics, economy, architecture and films all express who we are. They’re a window on our soul. If demons and monsters populate our video games, they didn’t get there by accident. We let them in, and we let them stay. Therefore, it’s more important than ever for parents to scrutinize what their children read, watch, listen to and play. The trick as a parent, I suspect, is to find the right recipe of vigilance mixed with humor and common sense.
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So what’s the verdict on Harry Potter? That’s a matter for parents, not bishops, to decide. I think Harry Potter can be happily enjoyed as a children’s fantasy movie. Nothing in the film attacks the Christian faith, and good does win out over evil. At the same time, unfortunately, characters in the Potter books do sometimes accomplish good things by doing bad things, like lying.
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In other words, J.K. Rowling is a very different author from C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. If you’re looking for Christian allegory, Harry Potter isn’t it. Magic and sorcery can be harmless if we understand them simply as story-telling superstition. If we start believing in them, if we develop an abnormal interest in them, we quickly get into trouble. The Church rejects witchcraft for a very good reason. The devil is not a myth.
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** Parents who foster an active Christian home for their children probably have little to worry about from a film like Harry Potter. Parents who don’t have a lot more to worry about than just this film. The Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children for a good reason. They know — or should know — their children better than anyone else. With Harry Potter, as with so much else, parents are the first and best judge.**
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Didn’t you read any fairy tales when you were growing up? This isn’t any different.
 
I have read Harry Potter with my children and I love it! It is my guilty pleasure-not because I think it is evil but because it is a children’s novel. :o I couldn’t check any of the polls because none of the choices reflected my views. The Potter Novels are not educational but are what I would call light, escapist reading. I certainly don’t think that they are evil. There is nothing remotely occultic about them. Certainly, CS Lewis and Tolkien are on higher literary planes but that doesn’t mean that children can’t enjoy all three authors.

If you don’t want your children to read these books that is all right. I don’t like the implications, though, that the novels are evil or occultic.

I am curious as to how the Harry Potter books introduce sexuality to young children THere is nothing, remotely sexual in the books.:confused:

I thought that I would add, that one of my favorite characters in Harry Potter is MRS. Weasly. Here is a plump, dowdy, stay at home mother of seven who is considered one of the good guys in the books.😃
 
nothing is wrong about harry potter. it is just a story…

by the way my name here is a character from harry potter…:tiphat: :tiphat: :tiphat:
 
I thouroughly enjoy the books! im quite the fan actually, cant wait for the release of the new one. its well written FICTIONAL literature. a fun read!👍
 
It is not too terrible, however C.S. Lewis is so much better! Just be careful to know the differnence between reality and fiction.
 
Harry Potter is just like any other book. Reading is a great thing and if this book series makes children (and adults) read, it should be embraced. Just like any other book, however, parents should discuss this series with children who are reading it.

Banning books is not the key, discussing them is.

P.S. I tought 5th grade CCD and a majority of my class had read them, so I decided to read them so I could tell the kids why it is evil - only then did I find out that it is not evil. So, basically, if your kids want to read it, read it with them and then discuss it.
 
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