Harry Potter.....Good Or Bad [can be closed]

[Tarrou]

SinfulGuillotine

I'm French, and that means...what, exactly? Is this about freedom fries or something?

"We are at a very serious moment dealing with very serious issues and we are not focusing on the name you give to potatoes"! *Ahem* I couldn't resist.

But if she thinks that 'conservative' and 'French' are mutually exclusive concepts, she's clearly not familiar with the Front national.  

[Siren of Saturn]

i could use some monty python quotes, but i will resist razz
and "ask a ninja". Ninternship.  

[Siren of Saturn]

SinfulGuillotine

Siren of Saturn

No, i don't get to. I'm homeschooled but even when i did go to school, i was often a loner. I talk to a lot of people online...and i actually did something good in one girl's life because of it.

In that case, I think you should stay open to the idea that you'll probably change a lot once you get out of your little bubble.

I was raised in a pretty sheltered environment, and my life and world views changed drastically when I got out into the real world a little more.

Just something to be aware of.

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and sinful, your right. This is a petty battle of words. We can really ask God when we go to heaven.

Indeed.

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I'm more conserative, your french. There's nothing wrong with that but that will make our "debate" endless and pointless.

Huh?

I'm French, and that means...what, exactly? Is this about freedom fries or something?

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But i will say i've taken time to look at your profile and learned more about you. Which will make this debate all the more pointless. *end rant*.

Again, what precisely are you trying to say?

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Also please stop acting like i'm a baby "grow up. What are you like, 5?". One thing i at least try to do while debating is show respect. I think it's the more mature thing to do.

Well, saying that I had no sense of right and wrong because I don't agree with you on a fairly petty issue was rather childish.

But I apologise. And for the record, I never said you were five. That was someone else on another thread.

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And i'm taking latin. I've had to read a lot of mythology for school.*take a hint where i learned about my screen name from...Siren of Saturn.* It wasn't a choice, but i've never read Mcbeth or The Tempest.
Let's not make history repeat itself all over again.

So are you against those things being included in a child's education?

My point is that once you open the door by banning Harry Potter, that sets a precident that gets very Orwellian.

You want to know something funny? I don't even like Harry Potter. I think it's highly, highly overrated.

But book-banning scares the living daylights out of me.

Yes. This is about freedom fries. And Freedom toast. and caviar.
I'm not out to ban books. That's not my intention about it at all. Just for christians to be more aware of it. Heh..well...i may be sheltered at home..but i know in a box what's coming to me. And personaly..i'd rather stay in my box. I know my people there. Thank you for being respectful smile  

[Berezi]

Siren of Saturn

Yes. This is about freedom fries. And Freedom toast. and caviar.
I'm not out to ban books. That's not my intention about it at all. Just for christians to be more aware of it. Heh..well...i may be sheltered at home..but i know in a box what's coming to me. And personaly..i'd rather stay in my box. I know my people there. Thank you for being respectful smile

Can I tell you something, though? If you stay in your box, you're going to have a hard time really loving with Jesus's love. I mean, look at all the sinners Jesus associated with. He ate meals with them. That's quite a big deal. In the old times relationships were formed over meals, it was a sign of friendship, closeness, and hospitality to share a meal together. If Jesus lived in a box, it must have been really huge.

Keep that in mind before you get too comfortable in your box.  

[SinfulGuillotine]

Siren of Saturn

[Yes. This is about freedom fries. And Freedom toast. and caviar.

You're joking, right? (Hard to tell sometimes.)

And if not...really, please tell me what you meant to imply by bringing up the fact that I'm French and you've read my profile.

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I'm not out to ban books. That's not my intention about it at all. Just for christians to be more aware of it.

Saying that people shouldn't read something sounds pretty close to banning it to me....

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Heh..well...i may be sheltered at home..but i know in a box what's coming to me. And personaly..i'd rather stay in my box. I know my people there. Thank you for being respectful smile

Sheltered boxes are....not good.

I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, but part of being a Christian is, as Berezi said, loving with Jesus's love, and I think that's really hard to do if you've never sat down with, say, a drug addict and really seen them as a human being not so very different from yourself. Because, trust me, that's incredibly difficult to do unless you've actually gone out and talked to someone like that.

So, boxes are generally a bad thing, and I think that not wanting to step out of a box is pretty dangerous. Hate loves boxes. Love and compassion...not so much.  

[Siren of Saturn]

SinfulGuillotine

Siren of Saturn

[Yes. This is about freedom fries. And Freedom toast. and caviar.

You're joking, right? (Hard to tell sometimes.)

And if not...really, please tell me what you meant to imply by bringing up the fact that I'm French and you've read my profile.

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I'm not out to ban books. That's not my intention about it at all. Just for christians to be more aware of it.

Saying that people shouldn't read something sounds pretty close to banning it to me....

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Heh..well...i may be sheltered at home..but i know in a box what's coming to me. And personaly..i'd rather stay in my box. I know my people there. Thank you for being respectful smile

Sheltered boxes are....not good.

I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life, but part of being a Christian is, as Berezi said, loving with Jesus's love, and I think that's really hard to do if you've never sat down with, say, a drug addict and really seen them as a human being not so very different from yourself. Because, trust me, that's incredibly difficult to do unless you've actually gone out and talked to someone like that.

So, boxes are generally a bad thing, and I think that not wanting to step out of a box is pretty dangerous. Hate loves boxes. Love and compassion...not so much.

The reason i love my box is because i've seen what the world has to offer. And i've had to deal with it. My step brother was a drug addict for so many years i don't even know, my step sister ran away from home while she was in high school and made our life a living hell. My mom was raped, my sister was raped, I used to have a terrible addiction to self mutilation, and we just recently *praise God* have finally had Dfacs leave our family...i don't know if they have that in france, but it's kind of like where the government tries to take a child away from their parents. My dad also has had ALS since 2001 and my sister was diaganosed with diabetes two years ago and also has belumia.
If there's anything i didn't cover just let me know. For right now i'm enjoying peace and quiet. And i know what it feels like to be rejected by christians. My scars are living proof. But i also know what it feels like to the wiccan to has a christian friend.
And i've had to spend 2 weeks in a mental hospital. I don't know how much more open you can get in there.
As i said...i'm really out of the box but in a sense enjoying my peace inside of it.

And don't worry, that was a joke smile *about the french* I'm quite a melting pot of English myself. People don't take kinly to pols or people with three z's in their last name.  

[Berezi]

Siren of Saturn

The reason i love my box is because i've seen what the world has to offer. And i've had to deal with it. My step brother was a drug addict for so many years i don't even know, my step sister ran away from home while she was in high school and made our life a living hell. My mom was raped, my sister was raped, I used to have a terrible addiction to self mutilation, and we just recently *praise God* have finally had Dfacs leave our family...i don't know if they have that in france, but it's kind of like where the government tries to take a child away from their parents. My dad also has had ALS since 2001 and my sister was diaganosed with diabetes two years ago and also has belumia.
If there's anything i didn't cover just let me know.

I'm so sorry to hear that. That's rough.

See, I understand that feeling of just being scarred from the world very much. I've had my own set of trials, too. My mom was raped, too. My uncle was an alcoholic, but he's starting to get his life together, praise God. I used to despise everything about me because of my weight and what the world had taught me I should look like versus what I actually do. And I used to think that romantic love dealt only with being accepted physically. I've seen my father and mother fall apart over the course of a week since my father was diagnosed with brain cancer. I've experienced so much loss over these past few months. I've been ejected from my home. I had to tell my parents that dad has brain cancer because they're deaf. I coordinated all of their medical needs and balanced being a high schooler. It was brutal. I've seen friends turn into drug addicts, become suicidal, attempt suicide, and more. So I get where you're coming from.

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For right now i'm enjoying peace and quiet. And i know what it feels like to be rejected by christians. My scars are living proof.

It's nice to enjoy peace and quiet, but really, it depends on the reason. Are you enjoying it because you've sought it out or because God's provided it for you? Because here's the thing - I'm out of my box all the time. However, I am always at peace, and it really is well with my soul, even with all the trials I'm in right now. Why? Because God provides my peace. God's peace is so awesome not because we can find it in seclusion, but because even while everything is crumbling around you, you can still find peace in God.

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But i also know what it feels like to the wiccan to has a christian friend.
And i've had to spend 2 weeks in a mental hospital. I don't know how much more open you can get in there.
As i said...i'm really out of the box but in a sense enjoying my peace inside of it.

Another one of my friends was in the same boat. She's still kind of hurt because of that. But at the same point, she's really been doing a lot of healing in that. Her box got blown out of the water after that, and she's adjusting to it very nicely, I think, because she's leaned on God this whole time.  

[dreamingscribe]

interesting topic.  

[marie66-may90]

I feel that harry potter is good, but it also depends on how seriously you take it. My patsor said that she thought it was okay as long as we didn't belive in it because that would be taking it too far. Other that, Harry Potter is great!!!!!! heart  

[Monergism]

How is Harry Potter bad? Harry Potter books are just books but it also can be used as a tool for the Occult. It is true that these books are pure fictional and are meant for little children to read. The problem with Harry Potter is that it can influence children or adults to enter the occult beliefs. If these children believed in this kind of occultism, then it is possible that there will be demonic influence. This is why Christians are upset.

Is it wrong for a Christian to read these books? Depends. If they were seeking new beliefs or ideas then it would be wrong. If the Christian is reading it for research or something to read (I prefer the Bible instead) then it should be fine.  

[[..Deon.Celestia..]]

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The only argument against HP that I have heard before reading this thread is that witchcraft is wicked. Seeing as how it is also mentioned here, my response to it is that I believe that reading the book solely for the purpose of reading the story and not for the sake of being intrigued by witchcraft is fine. What really gave me things to think about were the other points mentioned. ^^

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[Rei003]

I love Harry Potter as a fictional story. That's all it is, a story. It shouldn't be taken seriously but it does. There is nothing wrong with reading Harry Potter as long as everyone understands that nothing in the story is real. I know alot of wiccans and they said that the witchcraft used in there is not real....so there you go *ding*  

[[~mihael~]]

okay, everyone tgat thinks harry potter is satanic, is WRONG. i am a christian a huge fanatic of harry potter! the spells in harry potter are just words. It is a fictional series. it does not pertain to real life in any way!!!!!. if so, then how?? I have read all the books more then 10 times each, wathed all the movies enough that i can say the words without even watching the movie. i know more about harry potter then anyone in this guild!!! so those that still aren't convinced that its not satanic, pm me and i will set you straight!  

[Gilwen]

I'm sorry, but. . .who are these people who read Harry Potter in order to find new beliefs?! neutral

A couple of things:

First of all, Christians who are searching for other beliefs obviously have bigger problems than Harry Potter. They could just as easily eat up every word Nietzsche or Hitler or LaVey or L. Ron Hubbard or Dr. Seuss says. No reason to bash Harry Potter, which obviously has no contextual (the subtext is still up for debate, as this topic suggests) agenda to convert.

Second, the Bible is clear that we have no right to blame worldly things for our own sinful thoughts. Jesus used this example to discuss unclean foods and tradition, but you get the point. We have our sinful nature to deal with. It is that which tempts us to do wrong, not some children's book.

Matthew 15:11
What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

The disciples scratch their heads and say "HUH?" for a few verses, then Jesus continues:

Matthew 15:16-19
"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

The big problem with this line of thinking ("Harry Potter is evil") is that we give power to objects where power is not due. Books can't change the heart. God changes the heart, and the sin nature tries to corrupt and lead astray. Read Romans 7. It's a doozy.

~Gil

PS My first post back here in MONTHS and I use a word like "doozy." How embarrassing. xd

PPS And sorry, but staying in a box goes against the great commission, Mark 16:15, etc. If you're spreading his glory by figuratively "going" online, fine, but staying in our comfort zones was never something Christians were meant to do.  

[Spastic waffles]

I am practically one of the biggest HP fans out there.

I'm also a Christian.

Yes, I believe that these books are FANTASY that should be kept at nothing but that. I'm a writer and I've written about magic and I've written a few dark stories including a murder/horror story. It's a book. It's fiction. It's purpose is to entertain, nothing more. If people are stumbling from their walk with Christ becuase of a fictional book, their problems are way more serious than a book. The book could do nothing more than act as a catalyst at most. These books are never going to take a true Christian and turn them Wiccan, Athiest, or anything else.

J.K. Rowling herself, when asked about this, stated that she had never had a fan come up to her and tell her that they'd converted to Wiccan or any other religion of this sort because of her books. And I see no reason why she'd lie about this. So, either her books aren't causing this or her fans aren't telling her about it. I believe the former.