Harry Potter - Good or evil?

[system]

sanpablo:

The entire theme in the book is that love is the most powerful force in the world. Seems very Christ-like to me.

But, then they are involved in occult-like activities which is specifically spoken out against by Jesus. The king of lies will always twist in truth. I will not allow my children to read the books. They have seen the movies. That was before I did some more research on what people have had concerns about it. I have now decided that they should be much older before I let them watch any of them again. I do not judge anyone who has read them or seen the movies and choose to let their children view or read them. But the series is not Christian.

 

[Christus_Rex]

I Harry Potter - they are brilliant books, and certainly didn’t make me want to ride on a broomstick wearing a cape turning my teachers into frogs

Michael

 

[Colin]

Im a 16 yr. old christian (not catholic) and what irks me the most is how you overthink and analyze a book. a book meant to encourage a childs imagination, allow them to be entertained. Ive read them all and i have never felt Christianity being “threatend” or talked down upon or even promotion of the occult (there is nothing of the nature in the book!) So please, enjoy a good book and not take it as “instructions sent by the devil to corrupt us all!” attitude becuase is ridiculous.

O and parents, lighten up on the R rated movies and GTA’s out there, all the media hype about the bad corrupting messages they potray are bull. I watch and play them and as of yet i dont kill people and maintane my christianity. And remember Passion was rated R

 

[Desert_Father]

Harry Potter is nothing but a jumble of characters and plots strip mined from the classics and assembled in a helter-skelter manor. It would be far better to encourage the reading of the classics themselves, which if aproached after reading the cheep stuff resemble a good deal of Appalachian geography which has suffered the same fait: utterly ruined for the observer. As to the R raiting of the Passion, had those who applied the raiting had their way, it would have been replaced in release with “Debby Does Dalas.” :tsktsk:

 

[misterX]

I’ve never read one harry potter book, not because i think it’s cultish or anything it’s just not my sort of book. but what i hear they’re not bad. no sex or overt violence in it, i"ll let my kid read it. anything to get his head into a book and away from x-box.

 

[Forest-Pine]

I’m one of the two who said I don’t like the sexuality. This last book, #6 was absolutely full of it. You can see my reasons for thinking the series is only going down hill (which has nothing to do with the magic involved) on another thread about it. Here’s my post: #46 and 47. An excerpt:

Forest-Pine:

Then, to top it off, Rowling doesn’t want to give away anything until the very end as she wants to keep you guessing right up to the last minute. What that makes for is a very long, monotonous, boring book until you get to the end and are smacked with everything right at once. So how does she keep the average 15-year-old entertained through the first 500 pages? She fills them with curse words, petty bickering, “obscene gestures,” and constant, CONSTANT “snogging.” (Which, in case you didn’t know, is the British word for making out.) Rowling describes the snogging in details that are really quite disgusting. It is the equivalent of adult fiction writers, such as Phillipa Gregory the historical fiction author, including sex scenes in their pages to keep the readership interested. It is a literary trick that I have absolutely no respect for–you have nothing better to keep me interested than a couple of 17-year-olds all over each other like eels around every corner? On top of the constant cursing, kissing, bickering, and flicking each other off, there is plenty of underage drinking (which at several points in time is expounded upon to make it sound even more attractive). Keeping in mind that it was clearly written with the goal of being turned into a movie, it disturbs me even more the visual pictures she created.

 

[jzepi]

Christus Rex:

I Harry Potter - they are brilliant books, and certainly didn’t make me want to ride on a broomstick wearing a cape turning my teachers into frogs

Michael

Perhaps most people and kids, like you, will not feel drawn to practice witchcraft after reading an endearing novel which has witchcraft as a central theme …

… but even if a small minority of children ARE suggestible enough to fall into this very serious danger, it is cause for caution.

Children are not all the same. For that matter, I know some adults who also should not read these books. We have to be discerning and not dismiss caution about these books.

Some have implied that the church (U.S. Bishops, etc) approves of the HP books/movies. Pope Benedict (as Cardinal Ratzinger) did not approve.
lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html
Regarding Harry Potter, then-Cardinal Ratzinger spoke of “subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly”

Hopefully only a small minority of kids and adults are suggestible enough to get interested in magic from these books.

But I think too many people do not realize how serious the danger is if indeed they do fall into it ! We are basically talking about the first commandment here.

Why are we so thirsty for entertainment? Too many people are worried about missing out on some delicious pleasure of entertainment, something that is such a runaway “hit”. But we need to be discerning, and not forget to put God first.

We all need to form our minds around the central truth of our faith - that God is the center and the source of all life, of absolutely everything we have - it all comes from Him ! Every one of us needs to be vigilant in this. Jesus summed up the law into two commandments. The FIRST one is “Love God with all your heart mind soul and strength”. This helps us understand how to do the other commandment, to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Little children who are still forming the ways in which they think may very possibly be harmed by reading books, however entertaining, that depict other children being delivered by their own magic powers which they have developed, rather than by God.

Are stories about fairies and magic common to all times and cultures. Probably. Does that mean it’s a good idea for anybody who wants to follow Jesus? Not necessarily!

Not every human mind looks at things the same way. Some people, both kids and adults, are more vulnerable emotionally and/or psychologically. What seems so obviously a fantasy to most may at times not seem so to them. These are the ones who are in danger from books like this. And it can indeed be a serious danger. Anything that leads one to believe that they can conjure magic by their own power is a grave danger.

Look at this short catechism paragraph …
scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2138.htm
**2138 **Superstition is a departure from the worship that we give to the true God. It is manifested in idolatry, as well as in various forms of divination and magic.

… and keep in mind that the HP movies/books are marketed largely to children, who may not have yet been formed in saving Christian spirituality. Relying on Divine Providence is not a trivial part of our faith. This has to be taught and practiced - it does not come naturally to most of us. The Harry Potter movies and books may seem most appealing to the ones who are most at risk, the lonely people thirsty for “deliverance” who are not knowledgable in spiritual matters.

With all the dreamcatchers dangling from rearview mirrors and all the new age spiritism books selling briskly it’s obvious there is a great hunger among adults for the supernatural life that we sense is out there. Harry Potter is in that same vein, directed toward children, some of whom are among the most vulnerable souls out there.

Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!

 

[Peace-bwu]

If any of you have ever read my Harry Potter posts, I just wanted to go on the record as saying this:

After I read the last two books, I put a stop to my eight yr. old daughter reading the last three books.

My daughter was becomming pre-occupied with them so my husband and I have decided to put the movies and books in a box to store them for the time being. This could possibly be a forever moratorium.

I have had a Harry Potter approval reversal. I think the last few books were just too much for my kids. I read them before she did, we have always been careful to have a balance that weighs heavier on Catholic books, including her homeschool curriculum.

I always enjoyed Harry Potter, I really did, but I have had an unexpected change of heart, when I noticed how preoccupied my daughter was becomming with reading the books and watching the movies. since we have quietly removed them, not making a big deal out of it, she has resumed her fascination with the lives of the Saints.

Originally Posted by Forest-Pine
Then, to top it off, Rowling doesn’t want to give away anything until the very end as she wants to keep you guessing right up to the last minute. What that makes for is a very long, monotonous, boring book until you get to the end and are smacked with everything right at once. So how does she keep the average 15-year-old entertained through the first 500 pages? She fills them with curse words, petty bickering, “obscene gestures,” and constant, CONSTANT “snogging.” (Which, in case you didn’t know, is the British word for making out.) Rowling describes the snogging in details that are really quite disgusting. It is the equivalent of adult fiction writers, such as Phillipa Gregory the historical fiction author, including sex scenes in their pages to keep the readership interested. It is a literary trick that I have absolutely no respect for–you have nothing better to keep me interested than a couple of 17-year-olds all over each other like eels around every corner? On top of the constant cursing, kissing, bickering, and flicking each other off, there is plenty of underage drinking (which at several points in time is expounded upon to make it sound even more attractive). Keeping in mind that it was clearly written with the goal of being turned into a movie, it disturbs me even more the visual pictures she created.

This sums up my opinion on the last book as well!

 

[system]

jzepi:

Perhaps most people and kids, like you, will not feel drawn to practice witchcraft after reading an endearing novel which has witchcraft as a central theme …

… but even if a small minority of children ARE suggestible enough to fall into this very serious danger, it is cause for caution.

Children are not all the same. For that matter, I know some adults who also should not read these books. We have to be discerning and not dismiss caution about these books.

I have to agree with you here. This is really what it comes down to, the occasion for sin. We have to be vigilant, even if we do not feel that it has affected us. This is the Christian way. Thank you for your post. I needed it.

 

[Peace-bwu]

Originally Posted by jzepi
Perhaps most people and kids, like you, will not feel drawn to practice witchcraft after reading an endearing novel which has witchcraft as a central theme …

… but even if a small minority of children ARE suggestible enough to fall into this very serious danger, it is cause for caution.

Children are not all the same. For that matter, I know some adults who also should not read these books. We have to be discerning and not dismiss caution about these books.

As a former “fan” of the Harry Potter Series, I came to this same conclusion after reading the last few books and saw how obsessed my daughter was becomming with re-reading the first three books. It sent up read flags and I immediately took them down. The books are becomming darker and more immersed in the occult, moral relativism, and careless sexuality. Each book goes 10 steps further away from “fun” imaginative “magic” that was present in the first few books.

 

[InSearchOfGod]

I would agree that Rowling may throw in some unnecessary things, as is done with almost every movie these days too. Even the kid shows on the Disney Channel!

Over all, however, the themes in Harry Potter, the moral themes, are terrific. If you’ve missed them, then you weren’t paying much attention.

As for practicing witch craft and such, I don’t know any children that would ever become more interested in practicing witch craft just because of the books. After all, children read books to take them to other worlds. If a child is encouraged by the book to look into witch craft, then the child is really in need of good parents with a good lecture, not the banning of a good book.

 

[Milliardo]

Funny stuff that I read each day–that Harry Potter encourages occult practice. Pretty much nothing but nonsense. Those who have not even understood or know how witchcraft is practiced should not even waste their time repeating this nonsense–you know it would never wash over those who know better. I’ve read and researched about witchcraft (particularly Wicca), and what’s done in Harry Potter is a far cry from how magic is really practiced. It’s pure fiction. It’s not The Da Vinci Code where we can get all riled up because it puts in lies concealed as truth; Harry Potter is nothing like that. Time and again I ask people who object to Harry Potter–have you read children’s tales when you were kids? Did you ever hear your parents say, “Oh, don’t read them; they’ll encourage you to the occult”? I have yet to be convinced that Harry Potter will actually lead you to the occult. Yes, there might be some who might get curious, dig in deeper, and study about the occult. Then again, it happens in just about anything you read or learn about.

 

[Fortiterinre]

I agree with David the ByzCath that it is hard to see a true occult connection to HP, they are fantasy like the Dune series by Frank Herbert. I have not read the books but have seen each film once. Like many teenage films, the biggest issue I see is that the teens are portrayed as unrealistically independent from adult authority. Pointing out these examples to your kids is certainly important, but no other issues with the films come to mind.

 

[John_of_Woking]

Lissla Lissar:

I’ve read the first four books, and I didn’t like them. I don’t really object to the magic, but I do object to Harry’s general behaviour. As I recall (it’s been a few years) he was consistently rewarded for not doing very much. When he misbehaved, there didn’t seem to be any negative consequence to his actions. He struck me as cowardly and vapid. Not a role model I’d want for my children, when I have them.

Now I’m going to have to reread the books to back up my assertions. Bleh.

I’m sure this has been done to death, but in LOTR there’s a pointed correlation between choice and character. Salvation comes through moral choices- all of Middle Earth is saved from Sauron because of Frodo’s mercy and courage- through the strength of the humble. Smeagol becomes Gollum through murderous greed, but is almost saved through kindness. Denethor’s jealousy leads to madness and death.The list goes on and on. For a book to be good (to me) it has to acknowledge that it is our choices which shape who we are and what the world will become. Harry Potter lacks that underlying substance. Enough pontificating.

I’m not familiar with the Michael O’Brien quote regarding Harry Potter; could someone point me in the right direction?

St Austin Review Magazine some issue last year. Go to The St.Austin Review homepage. I think O’Brien is on the board

 

[tee_eff_em]

John of Woking:

Lissla Lissar:

I’m not familiar with the Michael O’Brien quote regarding Harry Potter; could someone point me in the right direction?

St Austin Review Magazine some issue last year. Go to The St.Austin Review homepage. I think O’Brien is on the board

For that matter, you can find many of his articles at his own website, studiobrien.com/site/index.php .
(I respectfully disagree with his views, but there they are)

tee

 

[John_of_Woking]

sanpablo:

Hmmm…So what’s the response of those who think Harry Potter is evil to the Archbishop’s article?

My response is that the Archbishop is plainly misguided.