Why is Harry Potter hated by some Catholics for magic when lord of the rings has Gandalf who was a wizard?

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kainosktisis said:
I’ve read all of the books in the series, & they’re all very well written, but admittedly the storylines do grow darker as they progress.
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I’ve never been sure why a “dark” storyline gets equated with an occult storyline. I mean, the story of our faith has some pretty dark moments.
 
Jesus and Harry Potter differences:

Jesus didn’t take classes in Astrology, or Divination, (which are condemned by the Bible)

Harry Potter had a part if an evil person’s soul in him (horcrux) and could see what that evil person could see at times, (demonic oppression),

But it is a fact that actual occult history and terminology is used in the Harry Potter series. (If you read JK Rowling’s latest book ‘A History of Magic,’ )
 
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twf said:
Except they’re NOT ordinary boys and girls. That’s where the polemic always breaks down. Harry is special. It’s a major plot point that normal boys and girls CAN’T do magic. That’s why Harry grew up abused. She despuses Harry for his natural gifts because when she was a little girl it was explained to her that she could never do magic.
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I am very much familiar with the Harry Potter series. I have read it multiple times, after all. Yes, not every child is born a witch or wizard. Most are born muggles. Not even every child born from wizarding families is born a witch or wizard. There are plenty of squibs.

But you missed my point. Harry Potter is otherwise just a human being. He and his friends are otherwise just normal children. Ones born with certain gifts that others lack, but what pre-teen child (or older) even can’t secretly hope that they’ll get their Hogwarts letter (or Ilvermorny, or Beauxbatons, or Durmstrang)? It takes place in the real world and proposes that ordinary boys and girls can be born with these talents.

I have absolutely no issues with Harry Potter. I think it’s a charming series of books that captures the imagination. But the distinction I made between LotR, in which Gandalf is no human being at all, and HP is valid.
 
Jesus also didn’t have a wand, play Quidditch, or fly a Hippogriff. And Harry Potter didn’t walk on water or heal people.

Harry Potter is not Aslan. He is not Christ. He is meant to symbolize the role Christ plays in the salvation story. He chooses to die to save humanity.

BTW, astrology and divination are no more real than flying broomsticks and dragons.
 
casslean said:
BTW, astrology and divination are no more real than flying broomsticks and dragons.
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I have my differences with YoungCatholicGuy regarding the occult and demonology, but his post isn’t unfounded. Astrology, numerology, and divination are really practiced occult things (albeit if sometimes twisted by pop culture) which can be investigated and looked into, and the Catholic Church explicitly forbids divination (and by its like, astrology and certain fields of numerology), and it’s not the position of the Church that these things are “no more real than flying broomsticks and dragons.”
 
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Wesrock said:
I have my differences with YoungCatholicGuy regarding the occult and demonology, but his post isn’t unfounded. Astrology, numerology, and divination are really practiced occult things (albeit if sometimes twisted by pop culture) which can be investigated and looked into, and the Catholic Church explicitly forbids divination (and by its like, astrology and certain fields of numerology), and it’s not the position of the Church that these things are “no more real than flying broomsticks and dragons.”
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I don’t think the church teaches that divination is possible, real, or fruitful. I believe the foundation of the prohibition is because, like all superstitions, it violates the first commandment. To BELIEVE that divination is real and possible and to try to see the “future” through it is to turn one’s back on God, in whom we are to trust with our lives and care.
 
To me they are all the same.
Can’t understand why people like LOTR. It was so boring that I couldn’t finish the book.
 
Current catholic Exorcists state the occult is real; astology and divination are real, and can result in demonic oppression/ possession. Because it is demonic spirits that provide ‘information’ to souls who use such occult methods.

Wands are used by satanists, to curse people/ for ‘spells.’ Harry Potter series makes use of curses also. Catholic Exorcists have stated the most common occult reason someone needs exorcism is if someone placed a satanic curse on an individual.
 
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Fr. Lopez noted, the devil enters into persons because they allow him to do so.

“He can’t enter us if we do not open doors,” the priest said. “Because of this, God prohibits the practice of magic, superstition, witchcraft, sorcery, divination, consulting the dead and spirits and astrology. These are the seven lands of lies and deceit.”

“That the stars influence our life is the biggest lie. They are millions of kilometers away! They are bodies formed by metals and gasses – how can they influence us? It’s the same with magic, which attributes to objects a power that they don’t have. ‘’

Astrology and Divination and Cursing/ Hexing others are learnt by people in harry Potter. Both are condemned by the Catechism and by Scripture. Catholic Exorcists state all are real and used by the occult, and can result in demonic oppression/ possession:

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...ms-this-priest-says-the-devil-fears-him-13101
 
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1h
  • Survives an attack by a powerful ruler as an infant due to the sacrifice of his parents
  • Displays an uncanny knowledge and awareness beyond his years at the age of eleven
  • Defends people believed by society to be evil because he understands they are not
  • Faces persecution by those who fear his message and believe it will undermine their power
  • Chooses to sacrifice himself to save the world from evil
  • Returns from the dead to defeat that evil
Honestly, the only way to make it more obvious would be to add a footnote saying “PS - Harry is supposed to represent Jesus”
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Done so obviously because it is an attempt to make it acceptable to Christians. However, we also know that demonic manifestations are often packaged in such a way. Those analogies are not proof that it is a Christian series.
 
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Jerusha said:
Done so obviously in an attempt to make it acceptable to Christians. However, we also know that demonic manifestations are often packaged in such a way. Those analogies are not proof that it is a Christian series.
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And wands and magic classes are not proof it is demonic.

If you don’t like the series, just don’t like it. But trying to make it out to be evil is as foolish as me holding it up and proclaiming it to be a new Gospel.
 
casslean said:
If you don’t like the series, just don’t like it. But trying to make it out to be evil is as foolish as me holding it up and proclaiming it to be a new Gospel.
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I like it. But I am a mature adult, not a kid. I can read it analytically.
 
Jerusha said:
I like it. But I am a mature adult, not a kid. I can read it analytically.
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Give kids credit. They are far more analytical than you think. Some of the best insights I’ve ever heard on Harry Potter came from children who read it.

BTW, the messages they received from the books?
  • Good will always defeat evil, even if it might be hard
  • Sometimes you have to be prepared to give up what you want to help others
  • Stick to what you know is right, even if others tell you it’s wrong
How are these messages contrary to the Gospel message?
 
YoungCatholicGuy said:
Jeremiah Films, a Christian video company largely known for its Clinton Chronicles release, also released a DVD entitled Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged which stated that "Harry’s world says that (Spirit possession - Wikipedia) that contacting the dead, and conversing with ghosts, others in the spirit world, and more, is normal and acceptable.
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It’s FICTION! If you can’t bring up your children to know the difference between fiction and reality, they shouldn’t read any fiction. And neither should you.

Frankly, if any Satanist did make that claim, I’m inclined to think they were making fun of grown adults who are afraid of children’s stories.
 
Jerusha said:
Done so obviously because it is an attempt to make it acceptable to Christians. However, we also know that demonic manifestations are often packaged in such a way. Those analogies are not proof that it is a Christian series.
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And nothing you’ve said is proof it’s “demonic.” :roll_eyes:
 
angel12 said:
And nothing you’ve said is proof it’s “demonic.” :roll_eyes:
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I never said it is demonic. However, many kids, particularly those raised in the Church, can see it as an allegory of good vs. evil, and their power as kids to participate in this fight. Others, without such guidance, can get caught up in the magic aspect. It is the meaning the reader gives it in the context of his or her past experiences. It is therefore demonic to those who have experienced something of the demonic in their lives. Again, I am very analytical, and take a nuanced approach to nearly everything.
 
I said it includes actual occult terminology and occult history references, which with any use of google/ library books, a teenager could easily get information on and dabble in. Which is the concern of certain christians, and catholics, and which satanists have stated the HP series has resulted in an increased interest into actual ‘white magic’/ ‘black magic.’
 
YoungCatholicGuy said:
I said it includes actual occult terminology and occult history references, which with any use of google/ library books, a teenager could easily get information on and dabble in. Which is the concern of certain christians, and catholics, and which satanists have stated the HP series has resulted in an increased interest into actual ‘white magic’/ ‘black magic.’
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Satanists are hardly reliable resources. Snopes has thoroughly debunked the claim that HP has prompted a rising interest in Satanism:


Also, several books of religious history include occult terms and occult history references. It does not make them dangerous or demonic.
 
Nevertheless:

Read ‘A History of Magic’ Anniversary edition, by JK Rowling about these references in the HP series, JK Rowling admits to using occult historical references and occult terminology as a literary use.

Because the series includes actual occult terminology and occult history references, any use of google/ library books, a teenager could easily get information on these techniques and dabble in the occult.
 
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YoungCatholicGuy said:
Nevertheless:
it includes actual occult terminology and occult history references, which with any use of google/ library books, a teenager could easily get information on and dabble in.
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So do history books.

And encyclopedias.

And dictionaries.
 
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