Harry Potter and Satanism. LOL, tell me it isn't true!!!

As I sit here at the Heritage Perk, trying to finish research into feminist standpoint theory, I am shocked by the conversation going on near me.  The gentleman is a regular at the Perk and I know him to be a conservative Christian - he thinks the Da Vinci Code is a horrible travesty and heresy.   I am not surprised by that because I have heard the man declare that before.  I've even gotten into a conversation about the book (I find it to be a bit of fun fiction founded in some controversial theories).   The shocker is his declaration that Harry Potter is satanic and that any person that reads it is a SATANIST!!!

Well golly gee, I guess that this Sunday School Teacher is a satanist!  I never realized I was before this nice man pointed it out.   Here I was going about business thinking I believed that Jesus Christ was my Savior and that he died for my sins, all the while really being a Satanist.

Please explain to me how a piece of FICTION that is meant for entertainment makes me a Satanist?  Just because I read something, does not mean that I believe that it holds a factual pull over my life.  I've read X-Men Comic and I am pretty sure I don't believe that a hot mutant with an adamantium skeleton is battling a mutant that control metal. 

Harry Potter is fiction folks.  Everybody knows that - except a couple of extremist Christians.   Most of us know that screaming "Alohamora!" at a lock won't make it magically open.  Most of us know that we can't fly broomsticks around and play Quidditch (except for the same silly people who think they can fly like Superman).

I am also confused by the claims of Satanism when the kids in Harry Potter celebrate distinctly CHRISTIAN holidays include Easter and Christmas!!!

---OK...I am done ranting and begining to laugh at the absolute lunacy of some people....

 

Harry Potter is nothing more than a piece of literature that has managed to get kids reading (ok, some of us adults like the books too!)

So, I will go back to teaching Sunday School AND reading Harry Potter.  I will continue to let my second grader read them whenever he wants to read them.  If anybody has a problem with that  - SHUT UP because I don't care!

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Scio, Scio
The cautious approach to Harry Potter is rooted in its somewhat positive treatment of occult subject matter and the obvious segregation of wizards (even good ones) from normal Muggle-folk.
I enjoy the books, but contrast Rowling's depiction of magic with that of Tolkien. Whereas Tolkien's world fits neatly into a Christian framework (purposefully or not), Rowling's is not so nuanced. Wizards are born wizards, muggles are hopeless cases who need to be sheltered from the reality of the existence of magic. Rather patronizing. In Tolkien's world all magical gifts are understood to flow from the gifts of the One Creator whose name I shall not reveal for fear of nerding you out.
Additionally, children are not readily able to differentiate between what is a good depiction of magic and what is not. Any depiction which glorifies the occult (and except in those Christian sects which deny the existence of Satan, the occult is still a bad bad thing) can be seen as damaging to the idiot younglings.
So, you can see how a biblical literalist would get all up in arms about these things. You can also understand how aforesaid literalist would not be equipped to properly express his dissatisfaction with the treatment of magic in Harry Potter. Instead, he would attach a Satanist label to the works and call it a day.
Soupy Twist
I had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine, who is a strict conservative Christian. She thinks that the spells are real "black magic." When I told her that I liked the books and the movies, she said that it would be wise if I pray afterwards so that I'm good with God. She things that the Satan was in Rowling when she wrote them.
Aput
Actually Islam also views this as black magic. Not that I care, because we are taught to reason and find rationale within substances of literature and music.

In the case of Harry Potter, we view it as pure fantasy, thus there are no objections from the liberals and moderates.

In the case of radicals and conservatives, however.....
:;:$%^&*#@dm%
[this is good]

This is most interesting and I have points to make but am on the fly and going to the gym. I would like to join this group but am still uncertain how vox works (I'm in UK). I think 'thinking women' are a blessing as my (now ex-) wife made no effort to better her education, despite my cajoling and every encouragement. I have vowed to myself that if I shall be in a relationship, my partner must be a thinking woman. So, how do I join ... may I join? Would you be so kind as to add me to the group?

Regards

Janusz (Dr.)

Yahya'Bene'Dicere
I can't see how any reading about the occult, whether fantasy or not, can be positive for a young person. Christmas, and Eastre (though celebrated by Christians with a different significance nowadays) are festivals that have their roots in the occult or pagan rituals. As a result, I am not surprised they found their way into these novels.
Scio, Scio
And the very real danger is that kids will be introduced to this happy little world of wizards and wands and go looking for the real occult...and that is a dangerous place. Wiccans and witches and neo-pagans are opening themselves up to very real dark forces which Christians believe do not come from God. It's not so spectacular as magic spells and such, but the damage to the soul could be permanent.
So, if one has a grounded faith and knows where fantasy begins then obviously Harry Potter is fine. However, if children are to read the books then they should do so with parental supervision and explanation to keep them from wandering down the wrong path.
Laady

A book is a book, you take from it what you will.

Some people just assume that younger readers won't understand what's real and what isn't when cases of people joining the occult and/or trying to fly are rare. Seems to me like these people were already vulnerable, before they read Harry Potter, and could have been corrupted by almost anything.

Padfoot625
The idea that a child reading HP is opening a door to the "dark side" is utterly ridiculous. Funny but I was raised in a Christian faith and was taught that everything came from God - yet I just read that there are "dark forces which Christians believe do not come from God." Christians as a whole? That's quite a statement.
Scio, Scio
yeah, most Christians still believe in Satan...I thought. I could be wrong. I'm Catholic, you know, and have little regard for watered down theology. Hence, I do not make it a point to be overly familiar with the latest fads in Christianity Lite.
And, well, you also misconstrued my statement. Reading Harry Potter doesn't open a door to the "dark side." Harry Potter doesn't contain actual spells or actively subvert the Christian faith. It's a dark series, but it also paints a friendly picture of the occult...this is the problem. Children will think the occult less dangerous than it is, and some will wander into it. In this age of moral relativism it is obviously trendy to discount any sort of talk about spiritual consequences.
KatieKat

I am curious SCio....what do you and other devout Catholics consider the "occult". Do you consider Hinduism, Kabballah, Buddhism or other major religions a part of the occult?

Or is that a term reserved for the religions based on the ones the Romans outlawed while trying to convert everybody to Catholicism.

Scio, Scio
Aren't you a Sunday school teacher? Or was that my dementia?

No, the occult is all that fancy slick paganism, satanism, new age, astrology type stuff. anything that asserts power comes from us rather than God. I'm not exactly an authority on it.

Ouija boards, pentagrams, nature worship, crystals...all that crap.

And hey, if you had an empire to run you'd want everybody the same religion too. Especially if you actually believed you had the right one.

KatieKat

Yep. I am a Sunday School Teacher. I also have a personal opinion that God represents itself in different ways to different people.

I have studied many religions and wicca and pagans do not believe that the power comes from themselves. They believe in the dual nature of the God/Goddes. Nature is a representation of that Goddess.

"Dark" forces involve evil and malevolence. True wiccans and pagans don't try to use those forces, just like true Christians don't call forth Satan to do their work. Wicca is no more Satanic than Hinduism, Buddhism or any other religion.

Satanists are nothing more than silly mixed up Christians that want to make their mommy and daddy mad. To believe and worship Satan requires a vbasic belief in Christinaity.

PS...The Roman Empire ran for hundreds of years while respecting the religions of the places it conquered.

Laady

It's a dark series, but it also paints a friendly picture of the occult...this is the problem.

So, basically...anything and everything featuring even the slightest bit of magic is "dark" or are we saying that just particular things are?

:;:$%^&*#@dm%

Hello Scio,

Yes, I agree with what you say; I used to think, whilst still a young man, that children are not influenced by what they see on TV, cinema, or read in books because *I* was never influenced. I could tell what was fantasy and what was reality. With increasing years, I came to understand that not all children/people are the same, and, in the increasingly complicated world we live, this differentiation between fantasy and reality can become blurred, and some children are unable to make this distinction to a greater or lesser degree. Parents (in an ever-permissive society), are not always able to decide what is suitable viewing material for their offspring. Thus, I feel that cinema adaptations of Rowling's books should not only carry a 'parental guidance' tag, but also a clear statement to the effect that the events portrayed are totally ficticious and have no bearing whatsoever in reality. The latter could be further repeated at the end of each film. It may seem to be 'overkill', but today's children will become adults and will have children of their own; so, perhaps let us make these distinctions clear to all. After all, most if not all genuine DVDs carry a warning about copyright offences, so a similar caveat could be made mandatory where occult/hidden material is to be viewed.

:;:$%^&*#@dm%

Hello Scio,

I'm Roman Catholic too. I think we should stick together as we live in a world where people seem to have lost their way. Many people seem to think that 'grown people' are 'crazy' to believe in God - as if 'He' is something like 'Father Christmas', or something children are taught when young, but come to realise it is silly when older. By admitting one is Roman Catholic is a bold statement it seems. That makes two of us! :-)

Indiana
[this is good]

While i understand what some are saying when they say books containing magic can influence young children I dont see that as an issue with Harry Potter. Like someone else already mentioned there is parental guidance, but even for those children who dont have that, they are also taught at an early age in school how to differentiate between fiction and non-fiction books.

Also maybe its just me but a child reading Harry Potter is no different then a child reading the Left Behind series both are fiction, yet some of the same people who have issues with Harry Potter have no issues at all with the Left Behind series. Seems rather hypocritical to me.

Laady

And here I thought admitting to being Agnostic was a bold statement that made one appear crazy... :p

What would you define losing one's way as?

Laady

I asked, further up, what, exactly, one would define as being "dark" and got no reply. I agree that it's hypocritical to single out Harry Potter. I want to see some people go after the classics before I take any of this seriously.

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