Harry Potter vs Religion

summalovaable

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/harrypotter.html

A friend posted this link on facebook today, to which someone commented :

" I knew Harry Potter was wicked when they interviewed the author on tv before the first book released. She is a professing practicing witch and she admitted that the purpose of her books was to indocrinate children toward the occult. That is what she wanted."

I'm not really sure which was more ridiculous, the article or the comment. I didn't really think Harry Potter was still being disputed by the religious community, thoughts?

BrettPGH

Here's what I know. I've never once mentioned being an atheist to my daughter. I figure she can make up her own mind.

But when she found Youtube videos of religious folk condemning Harry Potter she spent an afternoon watching videos mocking religion like her old man on his worst day. She belittled believers and their beliefs with wild abandon. I (imagine bolding because I don't know how) had to tell her to tone it down and not all believers are like that.

Many religious believers are stymied by the growing atheist movement going on. Many have only themselves to blame.

adrian_indy

In my life, most of the time I here a religious person warn against the "evil" of a particular book or film, I would say 9 times out of 10 they hadn't read or viewed it. I seem to remember protests about the Kevin Smith movie Dogma, which I loved. A bunch of people are out in the streets trashing it.....on opening night before they even saw it. A case can me made for almost any movie to be "anti-god" if it talks about magic, myth monsters and heros.

Elizabeth_C34

My grandparents think Harry Potter is evil. I never understood how people get their panties in such a giant wad over fiction. Makes no sense.

jenbit

OMG It's fiction people F-I-C-T-I-O-N which means what ? Thats right it's not real. Churches have been attacking books since time out of mind that they didn't agree with. Lord of the rings was considored taboo by the church and so was the wizard of OZ for a long time. I know several people who refused to let their children read the books or watch the movies because it dealt with witchcraft yet amazingly these same people never seem to have a problem with Twilight (dont get me started) ........:grumble:

FearAnLoathing

Dont forgett the tele tubbies,apparently they were trying to teach children its ok to be gay.

Azdak

I don't think this is a view shared by "the religious community" in general, so I will be the first to stand up for them.

You are always going to have literalists and extremists who feel the need to control everything and everyone in their lives and who have so little internal moral structure that they must cling to the external structure of a religion or ideology like the last life vest on a sinking Carnival cruise ship.

I put this in the column of "nuisance makers", just like I do those liberals who want to ban or edit the language in Huckleberry Finn.

If it wasn't for people like this, there would be no one to guest on the 700 Club, and Pat would get so lonely.

adrian_indy

I don't think this is a view shared by "the religious community" in general, so I will be the first to stand up for them.

You are always going to have literalists and extremists who feel the need to control everything and everyone in their lives and who have so little internal moral structure that they must cling to the external structure of a religion or ideology like the last life vest on a sinking Carnival cruise ship.

I put this in the column of "nuisance makers", just like I do those liberals who want to ban or edit the language in Huckleberry Finn.

If it wasn't for people like this, there would be no one to guest on the 700 Club, and Pat would get so lonely.

Yup. It's no doubt that I side on social issues most of the time with liberals nowadays, they at the moment seem to want to leave me alone. But I never forget that was Al and the a-hole Tipper Gore who tried to censor good heavy metal music before Dee Snider handed them their *kitten* in a congressional hearing. And that idiot woman also took porn mags away from the PXs and our soliders. When it comes to power, there is no faster way to get a vote than scare someone, and the scariest thing people can imagine is the corruption of their children.

macpatti

She is a professing practicing witch and she admitted that the purpose of her books was to indocrinate children toward the occult. That is what she wanted."

Did she, in fact, say this? Anyone know?

I enjoyed the books and movies!

Elizabeth_C34

She is a professing practicing witch and she admitted that the purpose of her books was to indocrinate children toward the occult. That is what she wanted."

Did she, in fact, say this? Anyone know?

I enjoyed the books and movies!

I seriously doubt that she did. J.K. Rowling has said many times that these are fantasy novels about the quality of good over evil and finding one's inner strength.

BrettPGH

She is a professing practicing witch and she admitted that the purpose of her books was to indocrinate children toward the occult. That is what she wanted."

Did she, in fact, say this? Anyone know?

I enjoyed the books and movies!

This will make me a very bad skeptic but I think I can very safely say without even checking that no, J.K. Rowling never said that. IF she did she was joking and someone is taking it out of context.

Bahet

She is a professing practicing witch and she admitted that the purpose of her books was to indocrinate children toward the occult. That is what she wanted."

Did she, in fact, say this? Anyone know?

I enjoyed the books and movies!

I seriously doubt that she did. J.K. Rowling has said many times that these are fantasy novels about the quality of good over evil and finding one's inner strength.

She did say it. She also has photos of Obama being born in a Mosque in Kenya. IOW, no, it's made up stupid stuff passed along by stupid people who believe everything they read in mass email forwards. :laugh:

MikeSEA

While I tend to doubt she said those things, let's say she did.

I guess I don't see the problem if it's true. If she were a practicing witch intending to spread her view of the occult, isn't that kind of what people do when they tell kids stories during Sunday School just on a general level?

Without pointing to anything specifics within the book, if we accept one mode of indoctrination as valid, we should probably accept the other considering the similarities.

adrian_indy

I'll pretend that Rowling did say she was a witch........so what. Doesn't make me want to watcher her movies any less than I want to watch every Jewish or Christian novelist/directors movies, it just means I move her to my bat crap crazy category. Plus, I don't understand the logic of who gets banned or protested and why. If a person is not christian, does not believe, then what's the difference to a fanatical christian between a jew and a wiccan? I never hear anyone protesting Star Wars and I'm pretty sure Lucas was a jew, and his story smacks heavily of christian blasphemy when you find out Anakin was born of an immaculate conception. How about Clash of the Titans or 300? They worshipped foreign gods proclaimed to be real. How about Thor movies? Beowulf? Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, his dad was Poseidon? Pretty blashpemous to christian principle.

mikajoanow

Here's what I know. I've never once mentioned being an atheist to my daughter. I figure she can make up her own mind.

But when she found Youtube videos of religious folk condemning Harry Potter she spent an afternoon watching videos mocking religion like her old man on his worst day. She belittled believers and their beliefs with wild abandon. I (imagine bolding because I don't know how) had to tell her to tone it down and not all believers are like that.

Many religious believers are stymied by the growing atheist movement going on. Many have only themselves to blame.

That is funny, I have had to tell a kid or two to tone it down too.

futiledevices

Dont forgett the tele tubbies,apparently they were trying to teach children its ok to be gay.

Which it is!

I think this entire thing is beyond ridiculous. Some people have nothing better to do.

leanmachinedream

My S/O is against Harry Potter and thinks they're spiritually charged books.

atomiclauren

In other news, slightly OT:

Radcliffe said that he wished more educational establishments, especially in the US, were not in thrall to religion, stating: "I'm not religious, I'm an atheist, and a militant atheist when religion starts impacting on legislation. We need sex education in schools.

He went on to say that he has been "disgusted, amazed, stunned" by candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination, such as Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann, who have been openly hostile to gay rights.

"But they disgusted me less than candidates like Rick Perry, who made that ridiculous advert wearing 'the Brokeback jacket', and I think pretend to be homophobic just to win votes." .

Asked if he wished that Barack Obama would publicly back gay marriage, he replied: "Yes, I do, but can he really? Of course he's in favour of it, but he has to be careful about saying so. I'd rather have someone like him in the White House than the alternative."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/feb/06/daniel-radcliffe-ends-lib-dem-support?CMP=twt_gu

BondBomb

I had an ultra religious co-worker that wouldn't let his daughter read Harry Potter. When I asked him why he said because there are 'Incantations' in the book. Hmm. Ok but you know they are just made up right?
He said he knew they were made up. Ok...then what happens when she is doing Shakespear in high school and they read Macbeth. "double double toil and trouble" and what not. He said he would have to pull her out of school.
I am NOT making this crazy up.
I will say I know plenty of religious people that have read and enjoyed HP.

Azdak

The best subliminal and seditious gay show of all time was "Pee Wee's Playhouse".

adrian_indy

Yeah, if these Holy Rollers are offended by Harry Potter, then why the hell are they carrying american money, you know, the green bill with the pyramid and the hindu all seeing eye on the back of it. Or celebrating Halloween?

adrian_indy

The best subliminal and seditious gay show of all time was "Pee Wee's Playhouse".

I agree.

BrettPGH

I had an ultra religious co-worker that wouldn't let his daughter read Harry Potter. When I asked him why he said because there are 'Incantations' in the book. Hmm. Ok but you know they are just made up right?
He said he knew they were made up. Ok...then what happens when she is doing Shakespear in high school and they read Macbeth. "double double toil and trouble" and what not. He said he would have to pull her out of school.
I am NOT making this crazy up.
I will say I know plenty of religious people that have read and enjoyed HP.

Mmmm that's some tasty crazy!

kapeluza

My crazy sister doesn't let me nephews watch Harry Potter or play games with zombies. I am Catholic, she is some sort of Jewish convert loon. (Note, I am calling my sister a loon, not the Jewish religion) It drives me insane when she goes on these rants about how they are evil. It's fiction you dumb broad, ****ing fiction for f$cks sake!!!!
Ugh I hate religion.

Azdak

Yeah, if these Holy Rollers are offended by Harry Potter, then why the hell are they carrying american money, you know, the green bill with the pyramid and the hindu all seeing eye on the back of it. Or celebrating Halloween?

They don't celebrate Halloween. There have been plenty of protests by the same type of people over Halloween celebrations in schools, etc.

KimmyEB

Yeah, if these Holy Rollers are offended by Harry Potter, then why the hell are they carrying american money, you know, the green bill with the pyramid and the hindu all seeing eye on the back of it. Or celebrating Halloween?

They don't celebrate Halloween. There have been plenty of protests by the same type of people over Halloween celebrations in schools, etc.

Yep, that's very big, here. I remember on Halloween, kids could dress up at school and they even had a little parade during recess that their parents could attend to take photos, make treats/decorations...it was the last hour of their school day anyway, so they tried to make it fun for the kids' on Halloween. They got rid of that a few years ago, though. And now as of last year or the year before, can't remember, they got rid of recess altogether. In my town, a lot of people actually go door-to-door and instead of asking for candy, they preach to you, or they send their kids to the door to preach.

Elizabeth_C34

They are going to be so unprepared for the imminent zombie invasion.

Just sayin'

Regmama

They are going to be so unprepared for the imminent zombie invasion.

Just sayin'

Speaking of zombie invasions (OT here) my family and I were extras in a short titled Jesus vs. Zombies at our church (it's a Catholic short that will be coming out in 2013 in a series about the Eucharist).

Back to your regularly scheduled Potter program.

KimmyEB

They are going to be so unprepared for the imminent zombie invasion.

Just sayin'

Speaking of zombie invasions (OT here) my family and I were extras in a short titled Jesus vs. Zombies at our church (it's a Catholic short that will be coming out in 2013 in a series about the Eucharist).

Back to your regularly scheduled Potter program.

I wish I had a regularly scheduled Potter program. I could seriously watch those movies every single day of my life.