Harry Potter, The Fantsay genre and some sort of evil they are meant to entail…
Well back when the seventh Harry Potter book came out there was the usual big furor about it. For at least two days it was the most popular topic at school. No doubt it would also be a talking point for churches on that Sunday.
In religious education, one student asked the teacher about Harry Potter. She ended up saying that JK Rowling was “anti-Christian” and saying that it is dangerous to believe in Harry Potter and magic.
I have heard and seen this many a time, the advocation by fundamentalists that Harry Potter is evil. Why? Because although Harry himself is good, his acts including use of dark magic to defend himself are not proper justifications of evil. The Harry Potter series does not define good, therefore saying that evil can be a means to achieve good. It somehow ’subconsciously’ tells the young naive reader that such acts are ‘good’ and along with that things like ‘reincarnation’ and communication with the dead’ are also taught, somehow.
I’m clueless to see how such things work. Under that logic we subconsciously take in everything we read about. Don’t let your kids read “Little Red Riding Hood’. They’ll never treat Grandma the same again.
Another problem is ‘reincarnation’. There’s no reincarnation in Harry Potter. Unless you wish to count the ghosts of Hogwarts which in itself is a tiny factor in the series, then someone is just making shit up.
Communication to the dead was cited as being that mirror featured in the first book. The problem there is Potter never talked to his parents in the mirror. He merely saw them. Nothing else. It’s like looking at photograph of your deceased uncle… he’s neither talking nor alive. He’s just standing there preserved in time.
Rowling anti-Christian? Sounds like some made up crack to me.
The thing overall with what these fundies are saying is that Harry Potter is evil because it contains magic and witchcraft. It glamorizes wizardry. First things first. Magic is not real. Any child I ask will say it isn’ real. Compare this with an adult evangelical and we see a startling comparison between a child and an adults mind. Hmm… yes startling indeed.
Magic is used in lots of different series and is a hallmark of Fantasy. Lord of the Rings, meant to be a Christian reflection between good and evil uses magic… yet it seems to receive plenty of praise. Frodo uses ‘The Ring’ to escape certain situations. But he knows that ‘The Ring’ is evil and draws Sauron’s attention. Isn’t that just like Harry and his dark magic? Looks like it’s Gandalf’s fault for damning the Fellowship to hell…
Magic being a major part of Fantasy also says that all Fantasy is Satanic. That may seem a big thing to say, but it’s quite true from a fundies point of view. Witchcraft=magic=satanic. Magic is found in many Fantasy books and films. Frequently utilized by both good and bad.
It cannot be said that Fantasy is Satanic. It is a merely a writing. An illustrious adventure in another world. You can’t say every single Fantasy author purposely had a Satanic intention in mind when they wrote their books. Neither did many authors think that magic actually exists and saw it as a means of power, defying God or any other such thing.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but have Fantasy based novels and books done any harm? Have they ever caused as many deaths as the Bible? Have they created wars? Was Harry Potter ever intended as a tool of evil by Rowling? Is it not the fact Harry Potter is so popular that churches just feel jealous and wish to make a big deal out of it? I think so.
The fundy churches ever deceive themselves and their members without proper information. They are against just about anything kids or teenagers enjoy. They want themselves to be regarded as the center of any person’s life. Any child’s life. Any teenagers life.
Rock music, Dungeons and Dragons, TV dramas, Fantasy, Star wars, other religions, yoga, meditation, evolution.
The list will continue to expand. I will not accept any of the churches allegations on these things. Half the time, the church doesn’t even know what it’s talking about. How many pastors have even heard a decent measure of rock music? How many have even read Harry Potter? How much ignorance do they wish to spread?
Seeing is believing but I don’t want to know
Walk on through the wasteland I just can’t let go
Face down I just break down when I see you cry
All the time
-Anathema, Release.
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