P
Portrait
Guest
Dearly beloved brethren,
Cordial greetings to all posters on the current thread.
Invariably in discussions on contentious issues like Harry Potter or rock music there does come a point when continued debate becomes rather futile and fruitless. Inevitably the discussions follow a specific pattern: A states that the Potter tales are culturally unhealthy reading material for various reasons; B vehemently disagrees for various reasons; and A then responds by replying to the latest batch of responses to his responses, and so it continues. We know that both parties to the debate are fully persuaded as to the correctness and cogency of their own arguments and are therefore highly unlikely to revise or abandon their position, though it is, of course, just possible that they might, which is why I periodically engage in such debates. Given the choice, I would much prefer to be in debate with some Protestant chap on the Apologetics forum, endeavouring to convince him of the truth and reasonableness of Catholicsim and disabuse him of his inherited prejudices against the Church and its teachings.
Since it is my custom to take a breather from the boards at weekends anyway, I think this would be a convenient time for me to wind up and gracefully bow out of the current debate and bid you farewell, thanking you all for a very stimulating debate. We have, I think, found it possible to debate this thorny issue and at the same time avoid rancour and any breech of Christian charity, and given our topic that surely is nothing short of a miracle! (a round of applause is in order). All of us need to be on our guard in debates of this kind that we do not fall into being eristic, or adopting a disputatious mentality that descends into winning a clever argument and overwhelming one’s opponent, thus violating Christian character and often leading to bitterness of spirit or expression. Moreover, we should all avoid the temptation to fratricidal fights, remembering that we are brethren; whatever points or arguments we have to make let us make them but always speak the truth in love and pray for our opponents in the controversy.
In closing may I just say that I have been immensely assisted, as has been observed, in this debate by the excellent and learned articles on the Harry Potter series by Catholic author and artist, Michael O Brien, to whom I am greatly indebted. By way of research for this and other debates, I have read and re-read his cogent appraisals of Rowling’s works and they are by far the best in anti-Potter polemics. His argument when taken in its entirety is, in my opinion, both unanswerable and ananswered.
To dismiss Mr. O’ Brien, and other respectable commentators such as Matthew Arnold, Steven Wood, John Henry Weston, Vivian Dudro and Johnette Bencovic, who have all provided well-grounded appraisals of the Potter books and films, as “paranoid Potter- phobes” is derogatory and discourteous. Of course a man is free to strongly disagree with them, but to use that sort of phraseology is unbefitting of any Catholic.
Although I am painfully aware that in speaking out against the Potter tales I am voicing a minority position, I believe that one day the tables will turn as men again revisit the books and think about just what exactly is being communicated through these “subtle seductions” (Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict).
Finally, thankyou for your time ladies and gentlemen and God bless you and your families.
Warmest good wishes,
Portrait:tiphat:
Pax
PS I recommend the new book by Michael O’ Brien, *Harry Potter and the Paganization of *Culture, go to his website for details.
Cordial greetings to all posters on the current thread.
Invariably in discussions on contentious issues like Harry Potter or rock music there does come a point when continued debate becomes rather futile and fruitless. Inevitably the discussions follow a specific pattern: A states that the Potter tales are culturally unhealthy reading material for various reasons; B vehemently disagrees for various reasons; and A then responds by replying to the latest batch of responses to his responses, and so it continues. We know that both parties to the debate are fully persuaded as to the correctness and cogency of their own arguments and are therefore highly unlikely to revise or abandon their position, though it is, of course, just possible that they might, which is why I periodically engage in such debates. Given the choice, I would much prefer to be in debate with some Protestant chap on the Apologetics forum, endeavouring to convince him of the truth and reasonableness of Catholicsim and disabuse him of his inherited prejudices against the Church and its teachings.
Since it is my custom to take a breather from the boards at weekends anyway, I think this would be a convenient time for me to wind up and gracefully bow out of the current debate and bid you farewell, thanking you all for a very stimulating debate. We have, I think, found it possible to debate this thorny issue and at the same time avoid rancour and any breech of Christian charity, and given our topic that surely is nothing short of a miracle! (a round of applause is in order). All of us need to be on our guard in debates of this kind that we do not fall into being eristic, or adopting a disputatious mentality that descends into winning a clever argument and overwhelming one’s opponent, thus violating Christian character and often leading to bitterness of spirit or expression. Moreover, we should all avoid the temptation to fratricidal fights, remembering that we are brethren; whatever points or arguments we have to make let us make them but always speak the truth in love and pray for our opponents in the controversy.
In closing may I just say that I have been immensely assisted, as has been observed, in this debate by the excellent and learned articles on the Harry Potter series by Catholic author and artist, Michael O Brien, to whom I am greatly indebted. By way of research for this and other debates, I have read and re-read his cogent appraisals of Rowling’s works and they are by far the best in anti-Potter polemics. His argument when taken in its entirety is, in my opinion, both unanswerable and ananswered.
To dismiss Mr. O’ Brien, and other respectable commentators such as Matthew Arnold, Steven Wood, John Henry Weston, Vivian Dudro and Johnette Bencovic, who have all provided well-grounded appraisals of the Potter books and films, as “paranoid Potter- phobes” is derogatory and discourteous. Of course a man is free to strongly disagree with them, but to use that sort of phraseology is unbefitting of any Catholic.
Although I am painfully aware that in speaking out against the Potter tales I am voicing a minority position, I believe that one day the tables will turn as men again revisit the books and think about just what exactly is being communicated through these “subtle seductions” (Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict).
Finally, thankyou for your time ladies and gentlemen and God bless you and your families.
Warmest good wishes,
Portrait:tiphat:
Pax
PS I recommend the new book by Michael O’ Brien, *Harry Potter and the Paganization of *Culture, go to his website for details.
