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 Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:43 pm
Hey all. So I have a bunch of Christian friends at school that are not allowed to read or watch Harry Potter because their parents think that it is evil and blasphemous and Satanist and poo like that because of the magic. Personally, I disagree. Harry Potter is fictional. There is nothing even remotely evil about it. That's just me. I want to know how you people feel. Do you watch or read Harry Potter? Do you're parents allow you to? Do you allow your children to? I want your opinions. (Btw, thanks Rowe, I got the idea from your siggy!!!)
Please avoid discussing the content of any of the movies or books in the event that people who have not had the chance to read or watch still want to.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:09 pm
Harry Potter is a very good movie. Everyone is blowing this all out of proportion in my opinion...for what it's worth. Harry Potter movies are no worse than The Wizard of Oz for heaven sake! It's ficitional. Now if people really could hop on a broom and take to the skies, cast spells or even jump from one dimention to another, then there would be cause for concern.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 9:19 pm
queenbee832000 Harry Potter is a very good movie. Everyone is blowing this all out of proportion in my opinion...for what it's worth. Harry Potter movies are no worse than The Wizard of Oz for heaven sake! It's ficitional. Now if people really could hop on a broom and take to the skies, cast spells or even jump from one dimention to another, then there would be cause for concern.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:38 am
I'm a huge Potter fan and here's how I see it.
I think that sometimes we Christians, just like any big group of people or whatever, like to "show our complete support" by attacking something popular that goes against what we believe. Most of the time it's something harmless like the HP books which are completely fictional and nothing like the Wickain religion in my opinion. Kindof like that guy that sued to get God out of the pledge of eligience. We both could have used that energy to prevent something else like unhappy marriage or premarital sex and that guy could have put a non-religious canidate in office or something.
It's just missplaced agression really.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 1:02 am
*SCREAMS*
okay. Better. except not really.
I am a Christian in support of Harry Potter.
I wrote my term paper this last year on Christian symbolism and morality in the Harry Potter Universe. Seriously. Book seven only confirmed alot of the themes I wrote about, and added another HEAP of symbolism to the mix....The paper is currently in a state of rewrite--because I am that passionate about chilrdren's literature.
Harry Potter IS NOT of the devil or the occult. and if you think it is, well, I think that's idiotic. I could argue round this for days and day and days.......
Let me just give one quick example. Look away if you haven't read book three.
In POA, Harry needs protecting from soul-sucking, life-destroying creatures, and he calls out "Expecto Patronum" "Expecto" means ""I long for," "I look for," or even "I look expectantly for" and "patronum" means "protector" and "savior".
So Harry literally shouts "I look expectanly for a savior" and a STAG comes to his rescue. A stag has been a Christ symbol since the middle ages. If C.S. Lewis had written the scene, everyone would have caught that one. But, not only is it a stag, but just to make things clear, it's a stag that also LOOKS LIKE A UNICORN. A Unicorn is an even more recognizable Christ symbol.
So Harry shouts for a savior, and a Christ symbol rescues him for SOUL SUCKING CREATURES! There is all sorts of speculation on what the Dementors represent. One of my favourite speculations is, because they make a person relive their worst memories, that Dementors represent the worst in all of us....our SIN.
To Recap. Harry calls out "I look for a Savior" and a CLEAR Christ symbol comes and rescues him from the worst part of humanity, it's SIN.
Yep. chew on that Laura Freaking Mallory.
Okay. Rowena is calm. Rowena is calm.......truth be told, I'm ticked off because I had this argument with an anti potter group at the music festival I'm attending this weekend. They told me to come back tomorrow....and come back I shall. Idiots.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:07 am
Rowe...Sorry. I didn't mean to tick you off. I just wanted opinions. I agree that it is stupid to think that Harry Potter is Devil Worship and poo like that. I never realized that thing about the Patronus. That's kinda cool. If you have anymore things like that, please PM me so that we aren't spoiling stuff for others. I'd like to hear what other symbols are in the book. Mainly so I can point them out to my Christian friends at school.
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 11:04 am
Old Journal EntryI think that was from when book 4 was released. It explains my feelings on Harry Potter fairly well, except that now I am reading the series(in order to catch up to my Wife so I can read book 7).
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:48 am
Hahah... Well, if this hasn't been the focus of the ED already for a few months...
Actually, I've been working on a bit of a project for fun, to compare similarities between my own religion and Harry Potter, and let me tell you, it's not easy at all...
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:39 pm
Wiccan Clarinet Rowe...Sorry. I didn't mean to tick you off. I just wanted opinions. I agree that it is stupid to think that Harry Potter is Devil Worship and poo like that. I never realized that thing about the Patronus. That's kinda cool. If you have anymore things like that, please PM me so that we aren't spoiling stuff for others. I'd like to hear what other symbols are in the book. Mainly so I can point them out to my Christian friends at school. Don't worry, you didn't tick me off. smile It was just the timing of this thread...I came home from a Christian music festival where I had just let a group know that I had a problem with their "Harry Potter is an occultist attempt to indoctrine our children" videos (as well as the video about secular rock and roll that claimed Bono was demon-possesed and/or antichristian--I mean, come on. Listen to some of the old songs....where he shouts "Jesus is coming"...) and found this thread. It's a great topic and it's very interesting to me. There's plenty of other good stuff. I'll dig through my paper and send you some more examples--or at least some of my sources. John Granger is an author to look up. He's written whole books on the subject.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:07 am
Wow...some people do blow it way out of proportion.
I'm a Christian but I'm a Harry Potter fan. Why is that so wrong to some people? neutral sweatdrop
Anyway, it's okay to be a Harry Potter fan and a Christian at the same time, just so long as you don't take the books so seriously that you end up jumping out the window with a broom, hoping to fly, or practice any witchcraft in real life. We have to keep in mind that it is one thing to love and be entertained by a book and movie series, and then it is another thing to actually act on the same actions like the characters in the books. We just have to be careful and we'll be fine. It's not like we are going to go to hell just because we adore a famous, larger-than-life fictional series and like to talk about it.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:16 am
top_spy Anyway, it's okay to be a Harry Potter fan and a Christian at the same time, just so long as you don't take the books so seriously that you end up jumping out the window with a broom, hoping to fly, or practice any witchcraft in real life. Like the witchcraft in Harry Potter is at all like any form of occult magic. Boy, that would really make my destruction rituals a little easier though.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:53 pm
PirateEire top_spy Anyway, it's okay to be a Harry Potter fan and a Christian at the same time, just so long as you don't take the books so seriously that you end up jumping out the window with a broom, hoping to fly, or practice any witchcraft in real life. Like the witchcraft in Harry Potter is at all like any form of occult magic. Boy, that would really make my destruction rituals a little easier though. yes, I know her IRL. I seem to attract all the looneys... sweatdrop
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:21 pm
From one of our many 'characters' in the HP subform: Misses Molly Weasley -is OOc for this thread-
My English teacher gave us a huge speech on what books are about. She used Harry Potter as an example. I'll try to relay what she said to you to the best of my ability.
Harry Potter is not a book about a boy who gets a letter from Hogwarts, a Wizarding School. It is not a book about Harry's adventures in Hogwarts and his new friends. It's not a book about Voldemort wanting to kill Harry. It is not a book about wizards and muggles.
Harry Potter is a book about the power of fear. Voldemort is AFRAID of death, and it drives him to do anything possible to avoid dying. He kills others. He installs fear into other people; fear of death; fear of pain; fear of torture; fear of him. He manipulates that fear and turns it for the better.
And when he finds that Harry is making his fear come back, he has to destroy him. He has to push death away, because he is so afraid of it.
Harry Potter is about love. Harry was loved by his parents, and they protect him even after death. Harry is loved by Dumbledore, by Sirius, by Mrs. Weasley, by Ron, by Hermione, and by Hagrid. There is a connection of love in between a parent and their child, but Harry no longer has parents, so he has to find that connection within other people. He creates his own family; he finds love. Snape loved Lily, and used that love to defend Harry in his own way.
Harry Potter is about hate. Snape hated James, and that prevented him from loving Harry. Voldemort hates Harry because he is afraid of him.
Harry Potter is about racism and estranging people. The muggles, the purebloods, the mudbloods-- it's so similar to society today. The pure-bloods are more 'worthy' than anyone else.
Harry Potter is about death. Death is permenant. You realize that EVERYONE is going to die. And NO ONE can come back from death without reprucussions, such as being a ghost, or not even really being alive at all. Harry's parents are dead. Many of his friends and loved ones die. But Harry has to realize throughout the book that DEATH IS PERMENANT. He cannot wish them alive, even though he obsesses over the possibility of his parents coming back to life for some time.
Harry Potter isn't a book about a boy wizard. It's about life.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:19 am
Rowena Marion From one of our many 'characters' in the HP subform: Misses Molly Weasley -is OOc for this thread-
My English teacher gave us a huge speech on what books are about. She used Harry Potter as an example. I'll try to relay what she said to you to the best of my ability.
Harry Potter is not a book about a boy who gets a letter from Hogwarts, a Wizarding School. It is not a book about Harry's adventures in Hogwarts and his new friends. It's not a book about Voldemort wanting to kill Harry. It is not a book about wizards and muggles.
Harry Potter is a book about the power of fear. Voldemort is AFRAID of death, and it drives him to do anything possible to avoid dying. He kills others. He installs fear into other people; fear of death; fear of pain; fear of torture; fear of him. He manipulates that fear and turns it for the better.
And when he finds that Harry is making his fear come back, he has to destroy him. He has to push death away, because he is so afraid of it.
Harry Potter is about love. Harry was loved by his parents, and they protect him even after death. Harry is loved by Dumbledore, by Sirius, by Mrs. Weasley, by Ron, by Hermione, and by Hagrid. There is a connection of love in between a parent and their child, but Harry no longer has parents, so he has to find that connection within other people. He creates his own family; he finds love. Snape loved Lily, and used that love to defend Harry in his own way.
Harry Potter is about hate. Snape hated James, and that prevented him from loving Harry. Voldemort hates Harry because he is afraid of him.
Harry Potter is about racism and estranging people. The muggles, the purebloods, the mudbloods-- it's so similar to society today. The pure-bloods are more 'worthy' than anyone else.
Harry Potter is about death. Death is permenant. You realize that EVERYONE is going to die. And NO ONE can come back from death without reprucussions, such as being a ghost, or not even really being alive at all. Harry's parents are dead. Many of his friends and loved ones die. But Harry has to realize throughout the book that DEATH IS PERMENANT. He cannot wish them alive, even though he obsesses over the possibility of his parents coming back to life for some time.
Harry Potter isn't a book about a boy wizard. It's about life. OH man that was a good thread about the books...very deep and a good example of what JK was trying to get after in her books not about magic...geezz well my dad is an ordained pastor in the Nazarene church and him and I are both big fans of harry potter and as he says it is just a story nothing more. People are like oh it has magic but LOTR has magic as well... The only slightly valid argument is that it was writen by a secular author but all her intetions seemed fine to me so I don't see that as a point either. So therefore I heart heart heart Harry potter razz
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:42 pm
^ it was a good thread in deed.
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