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MAGIC
OF LOVE?
Subject: Newsletter_30
_Harry_Potter
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
From: Mtn chick
A few things I would
have to say to anyone who is on a "witch hunt" concerning Harry Potter:
#1...Notice that they
celebrate Christmas at Hogwart's School of Magic (GASP....they even said
CHRISTmas, not X mas!! : ) (And did I see a nativity scene being unboxed
on a table in the tree decorating/chess game scene?)
#2...Notice how Harry's
magic that defeats "you-know-who" turned out to be the power of his mother's
self-sacrificial love? Also, Ron showed willingness to lay down his life
for his friend....exactly what Jesus taught.
#3...Harry's mom and
dad were a positive influence on his life...he knew they loved him and
each other (good family values)
#4...Many kids may
feel like they are living "under the stairs" and being mistreated by family,
friends, teachers, etc., but can see through this story that you can overcome
your past, and that there are people out there who will care about your
well-being and growth, whether it be spiritual or emotional.
I, too, was a little
unsure of the whole Harry Potter craze, but tried not to form an opinion
or judge until I had either read the books or saw the movie. Now that
I've seen it, I understand what it's purpose is. I do not feel that it
is compromising to my faith. My faith is strong enough to know the difference
between fantasy (Harry) and Truth (Jesus).
Response:
Thanks for those useful insights. -David
THE
TRUE ORIGIN OF "SATANIC HYSTERIA"
Subject: Newsletter_30
Satanic_Hysteria_
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 20:01:10 -0500
From: Joe Admire
...comes straight
from the Prince of Darkness. I feel that Satan _wants_ to get people hysterical
because it diverts and distracts them from the Christian life and witness
they should be living (much as, in my personal opinion, the recent anthrax
attacks have actually been an attempt at diversion to distract the US
and the international coalition from being able to detect the _real_ next
wave of terror attacks, wherever and whenever that may be coming). Satan
_wants_ people to live in fear and hysteria because when they're in a
state of terror about what Satan might do, they're not putting their trust
in God.
Furthermore, I think
that people who buy into "Satanic hysteria" are actually, in some cases,
coming dangerously close to or actually slipping into the ancient Manichaean
heresy, which holds, if I may oversimplify terribly, that Satan is as
strong as God. The plain fact of the matter is that Satan was doomed to
failure from the very beginning. The only reason he has any power at all
is that people _let_ him have that power rather than putting their faith
in God. Those people who are howling about Harry Potter would do better
to put their energy into imitating Christ.
-Joe-
Response:
Thanks Joe, it is always good to hear from you! -David
COMMENT
Subject: Newsletter_30
Harry Potter
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
From: -KW
Thank you, thank you,
thank you for standing up to the 'witch hunt'. I've read all 4 of the
Harry Potter books as have my 3 children. They supply a healthy dose of
imagination (something seriously lacking in children's lives today) with
values that are in line with the ones we teach in a Christian home. I
became aware of a group that has put out an anti-potter video and it nauseated
me. For one thing, they make claims that the books teach children authentic
satanic spells and incantations, which anyone who has read the books will
realize is rubbish. For the other, I felt that they were only interested
in their own gain. I was also appalled at a group that was criticizing
Rowling for allowing the Potter imagery to be used by Coca-cola because
it encourages kids to drink sugary, empty calorie beverages. While I won't
argue the merits of drinking coke, I had to wonder why attack only Rowling?
Why not go after the Burger King commercials that use the Shrek characters?
Or maybe McDonalds for handing out miniature Barbies. Aren't they promoting
anorexia? You see how ridiculous this can get. Let's let parents actually
BE parents and talk to their children about the difference between real
and imaginary. When I asked my 9 year old daughter if she thought the
things depicted in the Harry Potter books were real, she rolled her eyes
at me as if she thought dementia had finally set in. I'm a lot more concerned
about her watching the preview of the Brittany Spears tour tonight than
I am of her watching the Potter movie. I think it's time for the Christians
who know God as loving and compassionate to speak out before the ones
who see Him as mean and punitive take over the world.
-KW
Response:
Thanks for your insightful words. You make several good points. -David
GOOD
AND EVIL WITCHES?
Subject: Newsletter_30
_Harry_Potter_Is_Dangerous
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
From: Eric Waltersdorf
David, All my reservations
about H.P. come from the fact that it sells the notion that there can
be good witches and that there is some nobility in witchcraft if it is
used for "good". That's nonsense. There is no good witchcraft.
Is H.P. a modern fairy
tale. Yes, I believe it is. Can it be used a subtle means of blurring
God's standard of right and wrong? I certainly believe it can. That is
my concern.
Movies made from books
tend to pick out and exaggerate points of the director's and screenwriter's
personal bias on the original text. Nothing therefore is left to the imagination
or discussion, because a conclusion is produced in film. From what I have
seen so far this film ended up a dark impression of the book. Too bad.
Keep up the good work.
Respectfully, Eric Waltersdorf
Response:
Thanks for your kind words Eric. I do not think that Potter promotes witchcraft,
anymore than Fantasia does. -David
COMMENT
Subject: Newsletter_30
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
From: "Dan Laskowski"
HERE IS THE LINK i
WAS TALKING ABOUT DAVID
This newspaper
is in the UK.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/news/story.html?in_review_id=306029&in_review_text_id=250010
IN CHRIST Dan Laskowski
Response:
Thanks -David
HARRY
POTTER OPENS THE DOOR TO THE OCCULT
Subject: Newsletter_30_Harry_Potter_Is_Dangerous
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
From: "Dan Laskowski"
Greetings David
For a long time, I have had links pointing to your website, and though
I don't always agree with your reviews I still point others to HOLLYWOODJESUS.COM,
but I must now speak out loudly about your stand on Harry Potter.
Although the new Harry
Potter movie seems innocuous, according to you, I recently heard that
"Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" have both attracted
so many girls to REAL WITCHCRAFT in England that a witch website needed
to hire extra help to handle all of the extra traffic. When asked how
the young people were attracted , the teens replied the names of the above
listed TV shows.
I would also like
to add the name of "Charmed" to the list because I can't seem to pull
my 2 teenage daughters away from their intense interest in it. If I put
my foot down and tell them not to watch it, I later find out that they
watched it in a different time slot or taped it in a different time slot.
"Charmed" is total garbage in my opinion and blurs the lines of good and
magic by having "White Lighters" (white magic) and "demons" mixed together.
To blur the lines further and confuse the viewer further there is even
a "demon" who is "half human" and is now being presented as "good".
Though I haven't seen
Harry Potter, I'm sure that this same kind of confusion will be prevalent
throughout. I'm hoping that when the movie is released and you actually
view it that you will recant.
Remember David. Todays
media is not like what happened with Zeus. People didn't see Zeus on TV
every day. The printing press hadn't been invented yet. There weren't
newspapers on everyones porches with the headlines "ZEUS IS GREAT!". TV
and Movie media is ALL CONSUMING and for the 90-120 minutes the viewers
of the Harry Potter movie will be absorbing everything they see. The press
and media are already sending out the message "HARRY POTTER IS GREAT!"
In Christ Dan Laskowski
http://musicinit.com
Response:
Zeus was bigger and more important than Harry Potter could ever hope to
be. We are talking the difference between an elephant and an ant. Your
attempt to minimize Zeus is charming but not historically correct. Zeus
was worshipped for 2000 years and his temple was one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world. Potter is not worshiped and is a flash in the pan,
historically speaking -David
THANK
YOU
Subject: Newsletter_30
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001
From: "E.M."
Thanks for the sound
and enlightening comments on Harry Potter. When I was reading the series
for the first time some of my more evangelical Christian friends would
raise an eyebrow (or more) and I would politely explain to them the fact
that it is just a work of very creative and enjoyable fiction. I hope
a lot people that disagree with the film read the review above and will
most importantly read the books for themselves and see the movie. Yes,
Harry Potter can be dark (I think too dark for some children), but the
writing just seems to get better with each novel.
Someone mentioned
Tolkien earlier. I am more eagerly awaiting the LOTR
movie series and re-reading the series right now. Someone mentioned Tolkien
"may not have been a Christian" this is a wrong statement. Tolkien was
a devout and faithful Catholic and great friends with C.S. Lewis. Tolkien's
books, espeically the Silmarillion are full of mostly unintentional Christian
themes simply because that was his worldview. In fact, before I am became
a Christian I read the LOTR and was disappointed to find out Tolkien was
a Christian. ;) (people can be silly)
Response:
Thank you! Tolkien was a Christian, indeed. -David
Faithfully in Christ,
Emily M.
Response:
READING
NONSTOP
Subject: Newsletter_30
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001
From: Heidi
I had gotten an e
mail from my sister in law about how good harry potter books are- My husband
picked one up for my daughter the other day.My daughter has been reading
it nonstop and is upstairs right now reading the first book (She's been
reading it since 7.00 pm off and on last night.(I've read a bit too) While
I was bringing her home from school today we were talking about Harry
potter and I told her that in real life witchcraft is not good- She asked
me why- she seemed to think it was ok! (she's 9) Normally wizards and
witches are portrayed as from another time, But this book is not like
that. I think we really need to help our kids understand-They may think
its cool and that "I wish I could do that or "wouldn't it be neat if we
could fly or so on- They don't realize the evil in the real world -they
are innocent- So we need to let them know- This is Harry Potters world-
Not our world. I have explained that in the real world satanists and people
(not all wiccans or nature lovers ect) do horrible things- ie kill babies
and burn animals. I didn't want to go any further than that. I explained
to her that in real life we can't fly, but when were in heaven we will.
We need to make sure we leave the magic in harry's world,because its not
the same here. Here it is evil- If we don't talk to our kids about it
it may seem mythical, and magical- they may want to get into something
that they don't realize is very bad. We need to educate our kids because
not all kids might think that its all "make believe".
Heidi
Response:
Killing babies, etc? Harry Potter is any thing but this. Apples and Oranges.
Thank you for voicing your concerns. -David
DISAGREE
Subject: Newsletter_30
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001
From: "Troy
Harry is a Potter,
and our children are his clay. Have many parents had a real sit down with
there child and explained that magic is real, witches are real, demons
are real, and they are all under the controlling influence of spiritual
darkness? My guess is not, probably because that might be too "scary".
So to keep things "neat" and "controllable" they prefer to portray witchcraft
as harmless and imaginary, but it is neither harmless nor imaginary. Enter,
Harry Potter, the lovable character who "softens" witchcraft by using
it in a good vs. evil conflict, who wouldn't cheer for the hero in the
story. However, deep inside the heart and mind of a child a change has
taken place, a door has been cracked, a bridge has been crossed. It so
subtle that it is nearly unperceivable, almost like the hand of potter
gently impressing the clay. They perceive the use of magic as playful,
almost benign. Now the line has been "grayed". "Daddy, kids are playing
Harry Potter at school, pretending to cast spells, is that okay?" "Daddy,
I saw this girl at school, she had a pentagram necklace, she said it gave
her powers like Harry Potter, what do you think?" You can obviously see
were this heads. Be the gatekeeper God meant you to be now, so you won't
have to back peddle later. Bottom line: Make a better choice than Harry
Potter for your child's mind and spirit.
Response:
Does this mean Cinderella, Sword in the Stone, Fantasia, Lord of the Rings,
The Hobbit, CS Lewis' fiction, Wizard of Oz, etc. are wrong by the same
logic. I am confused. Where do you draw your line? The magic in Harry
Potter is pretty tame stuff compared to some of these classics. -David
HARRY
POTTER AND CHRISTIANITY
Subject: Newsletter_30
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001
From: Maggi
I also have no problem
with the Harry Potter film or the books. What I do have a problem with,
are Christians who have no problem with The Wizard of Oz/Cinderella/Snow
White, etc (all of which feature witches) and yet, they'll attack Christians
who enjoy Harry Potter (and they use they excuse..."its about witchcraft").
Why is one okay and not the other? They both feature witchcraft, right?
If someone doesn't want to watch Harry Potter, that's perfectly okay with
me, but I have a problem when they jump down the throats of believers
with the "How can you call yourself a Christian" attitude. Harry Potter
is fantasy. The characters are obviously not real people and even the
"witchcraft" is portayed in an unreal, fantasy way. Right now I'm reading
the entire Lord of the Rings series, which featires wizard, goblins, magic,
etc. I was actually shocked to see Family Christian Bookstires selling
the series. I couldn't help but wonder how many Christians have probably
complained to them about selling "occult books" (which some have called
bother Harry Potter & Lord of the Rings).
I don't know if I'd
let very impressionable young kids, or kids who scare easily read Harry
Potter (or even the Wizard of Oz), but I suppose that each parent needs
to decide for themselves what their child can or can not handle. I'm going
to be an English major in the spring and I'm trying hard to read all of
the major classics and other popular books (including Harry Potter), so
that if we study them in school, I'll know what we're talking about. I
don't believe that Harry Potter causes people to get involved in witchcraft.
I've know people in the past who are into wicca and stuff and most of
what is in the books is far from reality.
Another thing I was
thinking about...
A lot of Christians
I know of don't even like adults or teenagers reading Harry Potter because
of the witches. But does that then mean that we also should not read Macbeth
since it has characters that are witches? Real witchcraft does not involved
flying around on broomsticks like in Harry Potter or many of these other
fantasy stories. I could maybe understand the concern of the witchcraft
was realistic and/or gory in nature, but even then, shouldn't adults be
able to read whatever they want to (within reason), without other Christians
accusing us of "not being very Christ like?" I don't believe teens or
kids get into the occult because of Harry Potter or even Marilyn Manson.
Many of them are introduced to it by their peers and get into it in order
to feel accepted. I don't think they read Harry Potter or the Wizard of
Oz, and actually believed that's what the occult is all about (flying
around on broomsticks, making up silly sounding spells, etc). If they
did, then I'm sure that when they got involved in witchcraft, they were
sorely disappointed.
Heck, I even had Christians
freak out on me for seeing the Sandra Bullock movie Practical Magic because
she and a few other actresses play witches. But for goodness sakes, it
was done in such an unrealistic, fantasy way. If a youngster walks out
believe that that's what witchcraft is really about, maybe the parents
should sit down with their kids are talk to them. Parents talk to their
kids about drugs and alcohol, so maybe we should add the occult to the
list. BUT the adults should do some research themselves. I don't want
adults sitting their kids down and telling them that Harry Potter is a
good example of witchcraft or the occult. Trust me, the real occult is
much more scary and satanic then getting on a broom stick or saying things
like "hocus pocus." If a child gets involved in the occult, why blame
Harry Potter? Why not blame the parents for not teaching their child the
difference between reality and fiction? If a child goes into a movie like
this, thinking this is what witchcraft is all about, then something is
wrong with that child, not with the movie. If your child is that naive
then maybe you should keep them away from Harry Potter. But if you have
an older child who knows about discernment, then I see nothing wrong with
giving them something like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings to read.
Also, why is it that
so many Christians who have strong opinions AGAINST things like Harry
Potter, aren't even educated about it? They seem to only go by what they
think its about or what some other Christian (who probably hasn't done
any research either) tells them its about. For example, one Christian
told me that the Wizard of Oz is okay because the witches are portrayed
as bad whereas in Harry Potter they're portrayed as good. Hello? Remember
Glenda the GOOD witch, from Oz? So before you start judging things like
Harry Potter, there are a couple of things you need to do:
1) Be consistent.
Don't pick and choose by saying "Well, the Wizard of Oz and Cinderella
are okay but Harry Potter is not" and then use the lame excuse "Because
Harry Potter features witches." If Harry Potter is bad because it features
witchcraft, then shouldn't the others be considered bad as well?
2) Do you research.
Know what you're talking about. Get the books out of the library and do
some research online (and not just from "Christian" sources, which can
sometimes be quite biased).
I just think that
there are some Christians who love to find things to complain about. I
don't know what they'd do if there wasn't some kind of "lets condemn this
or that to Hell" bandwagon to get onto. I remember when they used to freak
out about Ghostbusters and The Wizard of Oz (and some still do), then
it was Pokemon and now its Harry Potter. I can't wait to see what's next.
IN HIM,
Maggi
http://www.100megsfree4.com/csministries/index.html
By the way, growing
up I watched the Wizard of Oz every single week for the longest time.
I also grew up on fairy tales. And guess what? I am not and never was
interested in the occult...unless you consider the time when I used to
pretend I could fly around on my mom's kitchen broomstick.
Response:
Yes you are so right. Thank you for some sanity on the issue. -David
HARRY
POTTER NON-DEMONIC
Subject: Newsletter_30
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001
From: Chris
I dont think this
movie at all is demonic or will advance the satanic movment or somthing.
All it is is a movie with a cool story and fun graphics for entertainment.
It annoys me when so called "christians" condem others or try to scare
others into coming to know Jesus. You know what brings people to the Lord?
His love. Not the fear of hell or demons, because if thats all your living
for, not to go to hell, then what kind of life is that? We have to show
the unsaved Gods love for them and that he wants to have a intimate relationship
with them, we have to show them that He's not a mean rulemaking God, but
a God who loves us and wants to protect us. So, intead of pointing the
finger and saying, " this is demonic and your goin to hell!" say," Jesus
Christ loves you and died for you and he wants a relationship with you."
basically. Sorry i kinda got off track.....so yeah, Harry Potter, not
demonic, just fun and games.
Chris
Response:
You are not off track, you are right on! -David
VALUES
Subject: 'Harry_Potter_Can_Be_Used_Positively_Newsletter_30
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001
From: Richard
We are bible believing
Christians and struggle with the attitude of some towards the Harry Potter
books.
Before our children
read them I read them. If I thought that they were unsuitable it would
have stopped there. However I found the books full of values that I can
support e.g. importance of the family, sacrificial love, the clear distinction
between good and evil, the fact that there is always a price to pay, I
could go on.
I started by reading
the books to the children and we discussed them. Again if I thought they
were getting the wrong message we would have stopped.
I was heartened to
hear my 10 year old recognise the actor who plays Madam Hooch as appearing
in a current TV program, a sign , I believe that she can distinguish between
reality and fantasy, and Harry Potter is fantasy.
God Bless
Richard Stringer
Response:
Thank you for being such a caring parent. God bless you. -David
JEN'S
COMMENT
Subject: Newsletter_30
Date: Mon, 12
Nov 2001
From: "Bill Yates"
Love the newsletter.
I think it may be useful for your readers to know something in regards
to Jen's comments "I am sure that Tolkien's (Lord of the Rings) work will
come under fire as has Harry Potter but I believe in this case that the
story is what you take away from it. I have read the Hobbit and the Trilogy
at least 7 or 8 times now and every time I have learned more from it.
Although Tolkien himself may not have been a Christian, there are Christian
values that are still presented to readers in his story." Tolkien was
most certainly a Christian and extremely instrumental in leading his fellow
Oxford professor, C.S. Lewis, to the Lord as Dr. Lewis tells us in his
autobiography. Makes any talk about the magic in Lord of the Rings so
ridiculous, I am waiting for that discussion to take place.
Thanks for the discussion,
Bill Yates
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