J.K. Rowling Outs Dumbledore

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coffeelover said:
I’m worried that it’ll lead young children to think that Witchcraft is harmless, because of how it’s presented in the books as being harmless.

I was a Witch for several years. It was a miracle I ever opened up my heart to Christ at all. And I’m so sorry for my actions in the past. I don’t want other young people swept away with magick like I was.

Witchcraft in real life is not like what’s presented in the books, but it still presents the concept as all right. I don’t want youngsters desensitized to anything that has a real-life immoral counterpart, you know? That is a line that we should stay far away from. Especially children, who often have a harder time understanding moral issues and therefore need extra guidance.
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Can I ask how you were a witch for so many years, and even after turning away from it you still seem to be under the impression that sorcery or magic exists?
 
Liberanosamalo said:
Was that really necessary for her to do that? Couldn’t she leave bad enough alone?

I have a running issue with my girls over my disagreement that someone should make more money than the queen by glorifying magic and ritual and witchcraft type stories. Isn’t there a better way that she could have made a fortune? Now she’s dragging homosexuality into the picture?
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No, but the Harry Potter books have a message of tolerance, seeing past social and societal sterotypes and into the heart of that person. She’s always envisioned Dumbledore as gay, I applaud her.
 
“Tolerance” is a word that sounds good at first, until you consider what you’re tolerating, it’s effect on society in general, and that person’s soul in particular.

“Tolerance” is not interchangeable with “love” or “compassion.” Jesus was definitely full of love and compassion, but He was not tolerant. He gently, lovingly and compassionately showed the sinners what they were doing, and led them to change.
 
Honestly, why should it matter? There’s nothing in the books that suggest Dumbledore has done wrong and the magic in the books has nothing to do with what witchcraft really is. Besides, Harry Potter has a lot of Christian messages in it if you look.

I think we have more things to worry about than fictional characters and their supposed sexual orientation.
 
Why am not surprised with JK Rowling??

This just proves that many real Christians/Catholics have known all along.

Jk Rowling and her Harry Potter series is evil, immoral and totally anti-family and anti-Christian.

And now we know JK Rowling is also anti-marraige and pro-homophilia.

I wonder what the pro-Rowling and Pro-potter Christians/Catholics would say now.

People who support Rowling and her evil books should be ashamed of themselves.

Rowling is just another anti-Christian homophile coddling liberal fanatic.
 
Sigh. It seems as though every book/movie/TV show/etc has to have a character who is gay. I enjoy reading romance novels, and for a while it seemed that every female character had a best friend who was a gay man.

Anyway, I still enjoy the books, I never saw any hint that Dumbledore was gay and my cynical self says that Rowling just said this because gay characters are chic right now.
 
Aside from the good point that it’s a fictional character…👍

Per Catholic teaching, does it matter if he has same sex attraction as long as he’s not actively sinning? Apparently, SSA is just another cross Dumbledore must bear, and if he does so with heroic virtue–Good for him and good lesson for kids!
 
sanctamaria17 said:
Honestly, why should it matter?

I think we have more things to worry about than fictional characters and their supposed sexual orientation.
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This is one of the rare times I completely disagree with you. Have you not noticed the Harry Potter madness that accompanies a book launch or movie launch? Like it or not, Rowling has a great influence on millions of children. It’s completley undeserved IMHO but there it is.

JK Rowling purposely “outing” a character in books aimed at elementary and junior high kids as gay should be very troubling to you.

These are not adult books. It is very clear JK is trying very hard to influence children regarding acceptance of “gay” lifestyles.

Yes, you should be concerned.
 
Tonks40 said:
Citation, please?
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From the article (copied and pasted)…Rowling, finishing a brief “Open Book Tour” of the United States, her first tour here since 2000, also said that she regarded her Potter books as a “prolonged argument for tolerance” and urged her fans to “question authority.”

Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.
 
I thought that homosexuality itself was not a sin, just the act of homosexual sex, which there is none in the book. In fact Dumbledore is apparently celibate throughout the stories. I think they are great stories, full of tolerence and love as the ultimate power. None of my children had any problem with the announcement, my son pointed out that this must be why we never hear about any loves in the headmasters life.
 
1ke said:
This is one of the rare times I completely disagree with you. Have you not noticed the Harry Potter madness that accompanies a book launch or movie launch? Like it or not, Rowling has a great influence on millions of children. It’s completley undeserved IMHO but there it is.

JK Rowling purposely “outing” a character in books aimed at elementary and junior high kids as gay should be very troubling to you.

These are not adult books. It is very clear JK is trying very hard to influence children regarding acceptance of “gay” lifestyles.

Yes, you should be concerned.
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And I disagree with YOU. I have actually READ all seven books. Have you? Just wondering, as I do know what I am about to refer to. I know the story line of the character, and it never occured to me that he was gay.

While it may have been silly for her to come out and say that he was “gay,” it made sense in a way because the main character of his past was a male – not a female. She just didn’t have a female in line for the story (nor would of it have fit.). So since it’s a male, then, well there we go: HE steered the character’s whole life. Which was a life of good deeds, helping children and fighting evil.

Yet the character lived a life exactly as YOU tell homosexuals to do that visit this site. One of chastity. This character’s behavior is exactly what YOU preach, only he happens to be a powerful wizard in a children’s book. If he were a real man he would be simply a man of a different religion, living chastely, and his PREVIOUS sexuality would have no bearing on his current life.

BUT, despite my admonations – we are talking about a character with absolutely no homosexual – or ANY sexual reference made to him throughout the book series. Who cares what he might have been prior to showing up in the book, it’s not IN the books! It’s just fiction. Geesh.

This is just a news blip, it will fade, and my kids aren’t going to know anything about it…but they do know Harry Potter and enjoy the books as much as I do. It really means nothing. To not allow kids to read it because the author suggested a character was something that’s not even written about IN THE BOOKS is a moot point…
 
Urf said:
Can I ask how you were a witch for so many years, and even after turning away from it you still seem to be under the impression that sorcery or magic exists?
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Of course it’s nothing like what you see in movies and books. That kind of magic does not exist. But I do believe that supernatural forces (and even supernatural entities such as demons) exist. And I believe that sometimes humans tap into those powers, even though they’re not supposed to. Aren’t there references to sorcery in the Bible?

I used to use spells to get my way all the time. Now I look to God for help instead.
 
I enjoyed the books in the series very much, though I can’t say that my life is over now that the books is over, and I’m on to the next reading adventure.

I never held the books up as a standard of morality, but then again I read them as an adolescent and young adult, not as a little kid.
 
st_felicity said:
Aside from the good point that it’s a fictional character…👍

Per Catholic teaching, does it matter if he has same sex attraction as long as he’s not actively sinning? Apparently, SSA is just another cross Dumbledore must bear, and if he does so with heroic virtue–Good for him and good lesson for kids!
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Very true. Christian children need to be taught that just because one has SSA, doesn’t mean they have to act upon it. And it’s a hard cross to bear, we can all learn some lessons from the ones who resist their urges, such as the virtue of putting God above ourselves, etc.

The thing that bothers me, though, are Rowling’s intentions. She has stated before that she wants her books to teach her readers to question authority and promote (false) “tolerance”, etc. So did she really intend for Dumbledore to be a celibate homosexual, or not? I don’t know for sure of course so I can’t speak with 100% certainty, but I don’t think she believes that it’s immoral for homosexuals to act upon their urges…and therefore I don’t think she intended Dumbledore to be celibate at all. It seems like the only reason the character didn’t actively engage in such acts is because of unrequited love, not because of commitment to God’s laws.

When my daughter is finally able to read, and I feel that she’s mature enough to begin to grasp the concept, I wouldn’t necessarily keep her away from a book, just because it has a homosexual character. But it’s very important for parents to figure out the author’s worldview and message, because those can be passed along to the young, impressionable reader. If the author of said book presented a homosexual character resisting his urges in order to live a life pleasing to God, then that’s acceptable material. But “Heather Has Two Mommies” is not. If any character were actively practicing a homosexual lifestyle and didn’t at least stop in the end, then that’s also not acceptable material.

In the Dumbledore case, at least nothing was mentioned in the books, at least that I saw…although apparently some fans questioned his sexuality, and I wonder how that could have popped up out of nowhere? So were there actually clues that some people didn’t pick up on? Or did Rowling really make this up after the fact for extra publicity? I don’t know. This issue (Dumbledore being gay without any obvious references) is obviously not the biggest issue that parents have to look out for. But what if she does decide to do a sequel or prequel, and includes homosexual references now that Dumbledore is “out”? I just feel that parents can never be TOO vigilant nowadays.
 
You know what? I think it’s just hype and blarney.
We can say anything, but the reality is there is absolutely NOTHING homosexual in the books about ANY of the characters.
One can make up anything they like, but that’s not what is actually written in the books.
Commend her? Commend her for what? If she wants to write another book about albus’ sex life, well we can argue that then. In the mean time, there’s nothing to this except yapping from a writer who either (a) didn’t have the moxie to write the character true to the form she envisioned him as or (b) is on a lark for pr credits via controversy. Neither of those option speak very commendably of her.
 
This revelation about Dumbledore was never specific in the books.

What was specific about him, on the other hand, is in Deathly Hallows when it was revealed that Dumbledore once held similar beliefs regarding Muggles that characters like Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort held. The difference is that his views changed. It also shows that every character has a flaw, even someone that the main character, Harry, looked up to.
 
coffeelover said:
The thing that bothers me, though, are Rowling’s intentions. She has stated before that she wants her books to teach her readers to question authority and promote (false) “tolerance”, etc. So did she really intend for Dumbledore to be a celibate homosexual, or not? I don’t know for sure of course so I can’t speak with 100% certainty, but I don’t think she believes that it’s immoral for homosexuals to act upon their urges…and therefore I don’t think she intended Dumbledore to be celibate at all. It seems like the only reason the character didn’t actively engage in such acts is because of unrequited love, not because of commitment to God’s laws.
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It doesn’t matter Rowling’s intention. God has a way of bringing good even from evil if we use right reason and trust. Remember: “Behold, I make all things new.”
 
coffeelover said:
From the article (copied and pasted)…Rowling, finishing a brief “Open Book Tour” of the United States, her first tour here since 2000, also said that she regarded her Potter books as a “prolonged argument for tolerance” and urged her fans to “question authority.”

Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.
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I’m not getting the problem with questioning authority. I try hard to be a faithful Catholic and I question authority all the time! Just because someone has authority doesn’t mean they never make mistakes…they’re not the Pope speaking ex cathedra…there’s a difference. It’s a cornerstone of democracy that we DO question authority in our country.

Think of city governments, school districts, and police departments who make mistakes…where would our country be if someone didn’t question them???

Kids are not reading these stories in a vacuum. They, hopefully, have families who are teaching them upright morals and to think for themselves. I do feel for kids who don’t have that kind of family support, but is THAT Rowling’s fault?
 
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