What do you think about Harry Potter?

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pauljmaxmi

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With the announcement that the 6th book is going to be released on July 16th, I would like to know what the general opinion on the book series is. Is it evil? Is not good, but not something you would not classify as evil? Or is it good entertainment?
 
Ohmy has Harry Potter been talked about to death.

I am looking forward to the release. My wonderful husband will stand in line for me, along with all the little Harry Potter look-a-likes, on the night of the 15th so he can pick the book up for me at midnight.
 
Emily Watson:
Ohmy has Harry Potter been talked about to death.
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LOL :amen:

I read it.

My eight year old reads it.

I read it to my eight year old.

If you seriously want to know what people on this message board think of HP, search the term Harry Potter. There must be half a dozen to a dozen threads on it- all with great dialogue, and hundreds of posts.

People are as divided on Harry Potter here as they are anywhere else. People who are ex-occultists say it has no resemblence to occult practices. People who are against it say it is the work of the Evil One. Other people say there’s better stuff to have kids read and/or are indifferent.

People throw around articles, novels, and such in defense of their opinion. (Including myself! :))

The arguments can be heated because this deals with parenting styles- and to reprimand someones toleration of HP or not is often taken as a direct hit on the level of someone’s parenting skill.

You read HP → your kids will love witchy stuff → You’re a neglectful parent.

or

You don’t allow HP anywhere near your kids → You are being overprotective, your kids will really get out of hand someday. → Your an overprotective parent.

::sigh::

I have to say though- the majority of the posts here are very charitable- and though they carry hints of the above in some of the posts, the advice and comments are opinions not condemnations.
Blessings
 
The paper thin plotlines and spotty special effects bug me more about Harry Potter than any “witchcraft message”

I HATED the first

Semi hated the second

This third one looks to be better than the first two…I’ll rent on dvd.

As for letting my kids read the books or watch the movies…ONLY if my kids have been grounded in TRUE stories of the Supernatural…ie…Saints Lives, etc… and have a grasp of their Faith…then I dont care if they read the books or watch the movies…I just dont believe in putting the cart before the horse with fantasy…especially when people in real life DO practice the Occult.
 
Faithful 2 Rome:
The paper thin plotlines and spotty special effects bug me more about Harry Potter than any “witchcraft message”

I HATED the first

Semi hated the second

This third one looks to be better than the first two…I’ll rent on dvd.

As for letting my kids read the books or watch the movies…ONLY if my kids have been grounded in TRUE stories of the Supernatural…ie…Saints Lives, etc… and have a grasp of their Faith…then I dont care if they read the books or watch the movies…I just dont believe in putting the cart before the horse with fantasy…especially when people in real life DO practice the Occult.
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I agreed with you 100% until the last sentence.

While it is true that people do practice the occult in real life, nothing in the Harry Potter stories even resembles those real life occult practices.
 
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ByzCath:
I agreed with you 100% until the last sentence.

While it is true that people do practice the occult in real life, nothing in the Harry Potter stories even resembles those real life occult practices.
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I agree with you completely on this here. Which is why I see nothing wrong with Harry Potter because it is fantasy.

Or else I would have been using my magic wand to make things fly around a looong time ago. 😛
 
It just surprises me that people do not think it is okay, however, magic is used in fantasy all of the time. Are so many Disney movies bad because they utilize magic? There is also something positive about Harry Potter in that the story is about good vs. evil. I certainly hope that good will prevail in the end! Harry is not the most virtuous protagonist that I have encountered in literature, however, he is working for the greater good of the world. I really fail to see how people find fault with that. 🙂
 
Harry Potter’s cool. Plus, the U.S.C.C.B. has said it’s ok. I’m looking forward to the the release of the 6th book. I’m buying it when it comes out. 👍
 
“I began to notice a pattern. Of the commentators I read who loved the Harry Potter books, virtually none of them had ever experienced the occult. To them this was a delightful fantasy in the same genre as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. In contrast, almost every commentator I read who had experience with the occult found the books disturbing, almost as if they were primers on witchcraft.” …

“Rituals and spells and brews are used by witches in the real world, and they work because of the power of evil spirits. As such they can never lead to good. Portraying these innately evil practices as if they can be harnessed for good is a dangerous lie.” …

“[A]t the end of the first book, Harry saves the world from the evil Lord Voldemort by screwing up his courage and telling a lie.” …

(“Harry Potter: Agent of Conversion,” Toni Collins, www.catholicexchange.com/vm/index.asp?vm_id=2&art_id=15838)

When my mother was a child she once played with a Ouija board. It spelled out, “You are damned.”

More links to articles about Harry Potter:

harry potter and the paganization of children’s culture, michael o’brien, www.catholiceducation.org/articles/arts/al0088.html

just wild about harry,

www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33032

See also list on Steve Woods website: www.dads.org/search.asp?mode=allwords&search=harry+potter
 
marthax2 said:
“I began to notice a pattern. Of the commentators I read who loved the Harry Potter books, virtually none of them had ever experienced the occult. To them this was a delightful fantasy in the same genre as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. In contrast, almost every commentator I read who had experience with the occult found the books disturbing, almost as if they were primers on witchcraft.” …

“Rituals and spells and brews are used by witches in the real world, and they work because of the power of evil spirits. As such they can never lead to good. Portraying these innately evil practices as if they can be harnessed for good is a dangerous lie.” …

“[A]t the end of the first book, Harry saves the world from the evil Lord Voldemort by screwing up his courage and telling a lie.” …

(“Harry Potter: Agent of Conversion,” Toni Collins, www.catholicexchange.com/vm/index.asp?vm_id=2&art_id=15838)
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All I can assume is that the quotes above all come from Toni Collins, who ever that is.

What I joke. I was a practicing wicca and into the occult and magic and a neo-pagan as well.

Nothing in the Harry Potter stories resembles “witchcraft” or the occult or magic at all.

For this person to say that the Harry Potter stories are “primers” on “witchcraft” is so funny I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read that…
 
Well, speaking artistically, the books are pretty silly and, I would say, poorly written. The first book reads like some welfare mother wrote it on a napkin in a restaurant while waiting for her case worker to show up and give her some more money…oh wait…that’s exactly what it is.

It’s one thing for children aged 7–10 to read Harry Potter. I roll over laughing when adults read it. Instead of Tolstoy, Melville, Joyce, Proust, Nabokov, Shakespeare, etc, etc, etc… they read a children’s novel and think it’s literature…

:rotfl:

I was reading Kafka’s Transformation the other day at the park, and some woman came up to me and said, “oh you’re a reader. I read too. I am reading th 5th Harry Potter book now. Hee hee.” I just smiled at her and nodded.

Looking at how poorly written it is, I’d have to guess that it’s the work of the devil.
 
When adults read Harry Potter…it’s similar to a 15 year old saying that he enjoys reading Dick and Jane. That whole “see Spot run” line gets 'em every time.

:rotfl:

Do adults who read Harry Potter play with toys too?
 
De gustibus non est disputandum.

I don’t think it is particularly useful (and actually, it’s extremely rude) to ridicule those who like to read a particular book (or series) as an adult even if the book is categorized as a juvenile fiction. (Yes, I’m 38 and have read and enjoyed all five of the Harry Potter novels and am anxiously awaiting book 6, and I also enjoy reading Dostoevsky [my favorite author]).

As far as those who have former occult involvement who claim that the HP novels are disturbing “primers” on the occult, I have to say that while I won’t dispute their expertise on matters of the occult, I do dispute their knowledge of the contents of the HP novels. Their criticisms of HP have all the depth of analysis of those who want to have To Kill a Mockingbird banned for promoting/teaching racism (and yes, that has actually happened).

That’s not to say that I’d give a green light to any child reading HP. Those who have difficulty discerning the difference between fantasy and reality should not read HP, regardless of age. Parents should make the judgment based on their knowledge of their own children and be aware of what their children are reading (whether HP, or anything else found on the shelves of the local bookstore).
 
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ByzCath:
All I can assume is that the quotes above all come from Toni Collins, who ever that is.

What I joke. I was a practicing wicca and into the occult and magic and a neo-pagan as well.

Nothing in the Harry Potter stories resembles “witchcraft” or the occult or magic at all.

For this person to say that the Harry Potter stories are “primers” on “witchcraft” is so funny I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read that…
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I see that you feel very strongly about this issue. I hope I did not express my opinion in an offensive manner. I am glad that your experience in the occult was not traumatic for you. On EWTN and at authentic Catholic websites I have heard several people give personal witness very different from yours. I am not disputing what you said about your experience.

The information I am posting here is part of what confirmed me in my opinion about Harry Potter.

Former new-age healer Clare McGrath Merkle, who was on EWTN’s Abundant Life program telling her story of life deep in the occult and the years-long agonizing battle of trying to escape it, says, “**One character is named Vablatsky (a play on the name of Madame Blavatsky, a theosophist of the 19th century).” (www.crossveil.org/potter.html) Blavatsky was a founder of The Theosophical Society’s magazine Lucifer. Clare Merkle’s personal testimony about her journey into and out of the new age is at www.crossveil.org/page6.html. **

Rome**’s chief excorcist, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, president of the International Association of Exorcists, warned parents against Harry Potter. “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil.” **… He 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.’” (www.familylifecenter.net/html/harrypotter-exorcist.html)

(Sorry, I couldn’t make the bold print meek.)
 
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ByzCath:
All I can assume is that the quotes above all come from Toni Collins, who ever that is.

What I joke. I was a practicing wicca and into the occult and magic and a neo-pagan as well.

Nothing in the Harry Potter stories resembles “witchcraft” or the occult or magic at all.

For this person to say that the Harry Potter stories are “primers” on “witchcraft” is so funny I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read that…
Click to expand...
I see that you feel strongly about this. I hope I did not express my opinion in an offensive manner.

I’m glad that your experience with new age was not a traumatic experience for you. For some people it has been. For example, on Johnette Benkovik’s EWTN series Living His Life Abundantly, former new age healer Clare McGrath Merkle told about her agonizing years-long struggle to escape new age. (A fascinating story; see it at www.crossveil.org/page6.html.)

Merkle says, “The fallacy that magic is good is the chief temptation for entry into the occult.” Giving an example of the occult in Harry Potter she says, (of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), “**One character is named Vablatsky (a play on the name of Madame Blavatsky, a theosophist of the 19th century)” (www.crossveil.org/potter.html). Blavatsky was a co-founder of **The Theosophical Society’s periodical, Lucifer. ****

Rome**'s Chief Exorcist Warns Parents Against Harry Potter **

Rome’s official exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, warned parents against the Harry Potter book series saying, “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil. … He 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.’ … Father Amorth also criticized the disordered morality presented in Rowling’s works, noting that they suggest that rules can be contravened and lying is justified when they work to one’s benefit.” ()

(Sorry, I couldn’t get rid of the bold print.)
.
 
All I can assume is that the quotes above all come from Toni Collins, who ever that is.
Click to expand...
What I joke. I was a practicing wicca and into the occult and magic and a neo-pagan as well.
Click to expand...
Nothing in the Harry Potter stories resembles “witchcraft” or the occult or magic at all.
Click to expand...
For this person to say that the Harry Potter stories are “primers” on “witchcraft” is so funny I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read that…
Click to expand...
I see that you feel strongly about this. I hope I did not express my opinion in an offensive manner.

I’m glad that your experience with new age was not a traumatic experience for you. For some people it has been. For example, on Johnette Benkovik’s EWTN series Living His Life Abundantly, former new age healer Clare McGrath Merkle told about her agonizing years-long struggle to escape new age. (A fascinating story; see it at www.crossveil.org/page6.html.)

Merkle says, “The fallacy that magic is good is the chief temptation for entry into the occult.” Giving an example of the occult in Harry Potter she says, (of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*),* “**One character is named Vablatsky (a play on the name of Madame Blavatsky, a theosophist of the 19th century)” (www.crossveil.org/potter.html). Blavatsky was a co-founder of The Theosophical Society’s periodical, Lucifer.

Rome**'s Chief Exorcist Warns Parents Against Harry Potter **

Rome’s official exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, warned parents against the Harry Potter book series saying, “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil. … He 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.’ … Father Amorth also criticized the disordered morality presented in Rowling’s works, noting that they suggest that rules can be contravened and lying is justified when they work to one’s benefit.” ()

(Sorry, I couldn’t make the bold print meek.)
.
 
The Nimbus 2000 I got for Christmas won’t get off the ground. 😃
 
Harry Potter was my favorite book for a long time…mostly because I was treated like the durslys treated harry…
It actually helped me find my faith…in many ways…and I hate how people say its all wiccan…they have Christmas and Easter…holidays that are lacking in many fantacy books…it actually drew my attention to those great holidays…
 
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