Should I read Harry Potter books?

[Melissa]

Not only is it untrue, but it is contrary to Catholic virtues to repeat things that one doesn’t know whether or not it is true.

The fact is that there are NO “real life spells” in the Harry Potter novels. There is NO “taming of occult powers” found within those pages. People who say otherwise have, at best, not actually read the novels but are simply knee-jerk reacting to the words “witchcraft” “wizardry”, “spells”, etc. in a fundamentalist manner. At worst, they are telling lies worthy of a Jack Chick comic.

The fact is that the “spells” are simply faux-Latin or other nonsense, and the magic is a MacGuffin rather than the point of the story. The actual point of the story is that love and sacrifice have greater power than evil.

 

[mVitus]

I’ve still been reading this thread, for some reason, and I just have to say a few things.

JK Rowling claims that her heroes are witches of “white magic” who fight the evil forces of “black magic.” This is ludicrous. Anyone who practices witchcraft, which involves manipulating and controlling others through the use of incantations and spells,magic etc is evil and is against faith and morals.

In a FANTASY book you can have white and black magic quite easily. Fantasy worlds are not our own. They’re different. (Example: Aslan’s magic is white, The White Witch’s magic is black. [Narnia])

The spells used by protagonists aren’t about controlling people.
On that matter, is Star Wars evil because good guys, the Jedi, use mind tricks?

As for the incantatioms, again it’s fantasy. They’re drawing upon their own power, not a fallen angel’s. For the characters it’s more akin to grunting when lifting a heavy weight than actual occult.
And on that note, it’s also made clear in the books that a muggle (us real people) has bad consequences when trying magic. So even if a child, and again 99.99% of children reading HP know it’s fantasy, thought HP was real, they’d have that warning.

And have you read Lord of the Rings? Was Tolk ein evil for making magic-using Gandalf a protagonist?

 

[Lou2U]

There is simply no point responding to the majority of your thread. You’ve not read the books, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You have also provided no sources for your claims.

However:

Rowling majored in mythology in Exeter University in England.

This is wrong. She studied French and Classics. Please stop spreading falsehoods.

 

[Francis]

Your don’t know what your talking,a simple google search will tell you everything,french are optional.
please re-read my post and see what the Catholic Church teaching ,the Popes, the Doctor of the Church and the Bible say about the such books.don’t try to deny your faith and compromise and lead other astray.

J. K. Rowling - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Born Joanne Rowling
31 July 1965 (age 52)
Yate, Gloucestershire, England
Pen name
J. K. Rowling
Robert Galbraith
Occupation Novelist, film producer, television producer, screenwriter
Nationality British
Education University of Exeter (1986, BA)
Period 1997–present
Genre Fantasy, drama, young adult fiction, tragicomedy, crime fiction
Notable works Harry Potter series
Spouse
Jorge Arantes
(m. 1992; divorce 1995)
Neil Murray
(m. 2001)

 

[Lou2U]

And a simple read of that wikipedia post you linked to will tell you she studied French and Classics. You are spreading falsehoods and you’re fear-mongering. I’m agnostic. That doesn’t change the fact that there’s nothing wrong with reading Harry Potter, as many, many have said.

 

[Lou2U]

Bingo! That’s it ,i have nothing more to say ,this is a Catholic CAF site ,to build our Faith.am wasting my time answering you.

Interesting.

You believe that you are qualified to discuss Harry Potter never having read it but that I am not qualified to discuss with you because I am not Catholic, and never have been? Seems a somewhat hypocritical position to take.

And I will say for the record: you are spreading falsehoods. JK Rowling did not “major in mythology” as you claim. Stop spreading this lie.

 

[Francis]

i do understand what your saying,but here satan uses these means as a tool to spread his venom.secretly we have to be careful reading so called friction.as he deceived eve.

Isaiah 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness(secret teaching of satan)
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Acts 13:10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?

 

[Francis]

Please my above post what the Catholic Church teachings ,the Popes and the Church Fathers and the Bible have to say .God Bless.

Though i have seen most of them,liked a few they are mild still but evil,But here hp deals directly withe the subject of occult,wizards,magic,hence reading, listening,keeping them promoting,so called hp friction we know who is behind them 1peter 5:8 that he blinds their minds and they think its its ok its a pity These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible.
Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.

Quite clear all that, isnt it ???

 

[Francis]

Yes what your dad said it true,millions of children who are led astray by such books, children are innocent, perverting their tender minds,who do not yet know what is make believe and what real. the spells where so powerful, that the books where sold in millions through out the whole world,the tragic part is that the released date and time, where at the same time everywhere so the effect of the magical spells will be powerful and effective this is definitely compromises the Christian values to the core.
such hp stuff should be avoided at any cost it’s satanic ,few children where even possessed, after reading HP books,other where getting angry,they misbehave violently ,disobedient,rude ,they can’t pray,nor complete their studies, the list is endless,they are not even aware of what’s wrong with themselves and parents take them to psychologist instead,what a pity,they should have taken them to an exorcist Catholic Priest instead, and some who are broad-mind,Christians who are not aware of the deceptions of satan, think it’s only fun and friction but are not aware of the consequence of such satanic books .advice others to burnt them is the best you can do.

Here am quoting from above post,the influence and thousands of examples because of the Hp Books
In December of 2007, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI began organizing exorcist squads to tackle the rise of Satanism and demonic possession. Even as the Catholic Church currently takes measures to equip itself with a larger number of trained exorcists, people all over the world who feel they are under the oppression of the demonic go without help. Pope Benedict XVI hopes to combat this problem with his exorcist squads. When the training has reached completion, each Bishop will have a number of priests who are properly trained to deal with demonic possession. According to Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s chief exorcist, “You have to hunt high and low for a proper trained exorcist. Thanks be to God that we have a Pope who has decided to fight the Devil head on.”

 

[Francis]

I give all the source and you reject it,no am not attacking any one personally.am going to stop here.there is no point in arguing.God Bless

Matthew 11:16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates,17 ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

The Catholic Church term it as new age

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/p...s/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html 3

Again, this is evidence of a deep desire for a fulfilling and healthy existence for the human race and for the planet. Some of the traditions which flow into New Age are: ancient Egyptian occult practices, Cabbalism, early Christian gnosticism, Sufism, the lore of the Druids, Celtic Christianity, mediaeval alchemy, Renaissance hermeticism, Zen Buddhism, Yoga and so on.(15)

In early December, the Diocese of Rome’s official exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, warned parents against the Harry Potter book series. The priest, who is also the president of the International Association of Exorcists, said Satan is behind the works. In an interview with the Italian ANSA news agency, Father Amorth said, “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil.”

The exorcist, with his decades of experience in directly combating evil, explained that J.K. Rowling’s books contain innumerable positive references to magic, “the satanic art.” He noted that the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction “does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil.”

“The ends justify the means because the knowledgeable, the chosen ones, the intellectuals know how to control the dark powers and turn them into good.

“This a grave and deep lie, because it is the old Gnostic temptation of confusing salvation and truth with a secret knowledge.”

 

[Francis]

@(name removed by moderator)

am sorry i read this late,i was just defending the Catholic Faith,i have nothing personal against,him, he is my brother in Christ.forgive me if it hurt you personally @Lou2U .God Bless, your always welcome

 

[Lou2U]

forgive me if it hurt you personally @Lou2U .

I’m not hurt, don’t worry, although I do appreciate it. (Also, I’m female ).

 

[Francis]

@Lou2U

my apologies once again,i was really pumped up defending my faith,i can’t explain to you ,am very sensitive towards not hurting people but always end asking pardon. some post i don’t answer because i don’t like to hurt anyone God Bless

 

[Lou2U]

Hey, don’t worry about it. I don’t understand your view of Harry Potter, but I know how it is to get so passionate about something you care deeply about. Have a good day .

 

[mVitus]

Those passages don’t really have relevance to Harry Potter. Much in the same way that passages against magic apply to its practice, not use as a literary device.

 

[Sarcelle]

Unfortunately this distinction is lost on the HP critics who have never read the books yet expect us to swallow their ill informed views hook, line, and sinker.

 

[BoomBoomMancini]

To the people who are really freaked out about Harry Potter, would you let your kids read classic fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk, or are you genuinely worried that magic beans are some kind of Satanic plot to poison your kids?

 

[Allegra]

Why has this been in my head all day?

At least the professor was selling something. I think most of these folks are just stroking their own ego.
You let your kids read Harry Potter and the next thing you know, the minute they leave the house, they’ll be rebuckling their quidditch robes below the knee!

 

[BlueMaxx]

Harry Potter: A History of Magic is on TV now…

Should be interesting

 

[twf]

I have to say, it is extremely frustrating that one batch of HP critics posted irrational arguments, with no knowledge of the actual texts, which were soundly refuted in the first half of this thread, only to be replaced by a second batch of critics repeating the same shallow arguments, also with no knowledge of the actual texts, in the second half of the thread.

My biggest complaint about CAF and forums in general? People can’t be bothered to read through a thread before posting.