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Harry Potter-Good or Evil?

post #1 of 45
4/14/03 at 7:21am
Thread Starter 
With the movie being released on DVD and book 5 coming out, I thought I'd ask-Is the Harry Potter phenomenon good or is it leading children to devil worship?

I think it's great. These are books that getting kids to read, and introducing them to the worlds of fantasy and imagination. There are also a lot of powerful lessons in the books, about friendship and appearances and predjudice.

A friend's mother thinks that the books are leading children to devil worship and witchcraft. She won't let her grandkids read the books, and my friend still hasn't, either (and she's 28).

What do you think?
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post #2 of 45
4/14/03 at 7:34am
I think Harry Potter is amazing, personally


I think that anything that gets kids reading and using their imaginations in the age of video games and TV babysitters, is a wonderful thing.

As far as devil worship- well, I didn't see any references to that in either movie Witchcraft, well yeah I guess, but not in an evil sense. Its in no way worse than the Disney movies out there with Fairy Godmothers and fantasical magic creatures, IMO.
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post #3 of 45
4/14/03 at 7:58am
devil worship and witch craft are two very very different things. People that pratice "witch craft" do not beleave in the devil. They have a goddess and god and beleave in nature and balance. They also do not pratice "black magic" because things will come back to you three fold. I really HATE when people say devil worship and witch craft. Actually wiccans (witch's) have one rule, they can do what they want as long as they don't harm anyone... So I would much rather be in a room with a group of people praticing witch craft then alot of other people.... With that said most witches own cats and love cats since they cant be all bad!! I'm going to stop now
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post #4 of 45
4/14/03 at 7:59am
I own all of the Harry Potter books and pre-ordered the next one, months ago.

I don't see a problem with them - the bad guys always lose.
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post #5 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:09am
Princess Purr- I'm so glad you touched on that subject. I was going to, but I thought it might be controversial ( even though this IS the IMO forum )

Witchcraft and Devil Worship really DON"T have anything whatsoever to do with each other. Being a Pagan/Wiccan myself, its frustrating to always here the terms grouped together.

There are many, many other belief systems out there beyond the Christian one, and to say Harry Potter is 'evil' because it pokes at some sensitive areas in one religion is a bit unfair. The book burnings and such were utterly ridiculous.
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post #6 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:13am
oh good i'm not alone!!! I'm wiccan, incase you couldn't tell by my post
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post #7 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:16am
I guessed

Its a never ending battle to get away from the stigmas attached to the term "Witch" .
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post #8 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:17am
I know!! Luckly my family was okay with it in though they are very catholic. Once i explained it they were like ohhhhh that is pretty interesting
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post #9 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:21am
I wasn't so lucky when I sprung it on my family- they're all convinced I'm going to Hell in a handbasket The clincher is that none of them are particularly religious themselves- my dad is an atheist!!

Oh well, it took me a long time and a lot of bad church experiences to figure out that I had it all wrong. When you finally figure it out and theres that peace, its all worth it.

Sorry to hijack the thread...carry on
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post #10 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:37am
Thread Starter 
When I posted the question, I deliberately didn't point out the difference between witchcraft/wicca and devil worship. I have had many friends who were Wiccan, I consider myself a untrained Pagan), and I know that the two aren't the same. However, a lot of the fundamental Christians who burn the Harry Potter books and try to ban them from schools DO think they are the same thing. It's like the argument that marrijuana (sp?) isa "gateway" drug. They claim that these books present witchcraft as being something fun and glamorous, and that kids may want to research it. But (since in their mind witchcraft and devil worship are the same) that threatens kids' mortal souls, so kids must be protected from even being exposed to these books.
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post #11 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:37am
I think that anything that gets kids to read and gets them interested in writing and anything literary is all good. I read the hype from the Christian Coalition that these books should be "banned" and I am just puzzled as to why? I have a 12 year old grand-daughter, that until these books came out, she didn't want to read, and also couldn't very well. Now she reads like a champ thanks to Harry Potter. It wasn't that she couldn't read, she was just not interested in the books that were offered to her.
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post #12 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:46am
Quote:
Originally posted by okeefecl
When I posted the question, I deliberately didn't point out the difference between witchcraft/wicca and devil worship. I have had many friends who were Wiccan, I consider myself a untrained Pagan), and I know that the two aren't the same. However, a lot of the fundamental Christians who burn the Harry Potter books and try to ban them from schools DO think they are the same thing. It's like the argument that marrijuana (sp?) isa "gateway" drug. They claim that these books present witchcraft as being something fun and glamorous, and that kids may want to research it. But (since in their mind witchcraft and devil worship are the same) that threatens kids' mortal souls, so kids must be protected from even being exposed to these books.
that's just it, why should they banned it because it makes witch craft look fun. If you want to study wicca you should be allound to regradless if you got interested in it because of the fictional view or not. In the books i have read about wicca there is nothing in there that would hurt a kid or that a kid shouldn't read. I think that people need to start making a stand when it comes to others looking down on pagans and wiccans. It's okay to lie to kids and tell them that santa and the easter bunny are real, but they can't learn about witches...just doesn't seem right. What are the movies rated? If they are rated PG...then the parent is supposed to be there to explain that the movie is make pretend. If they would like to be really smart they can explain what wicca really is...
It's kinda like the cats and dogs movie...are cats evil NO, are they trying to take over the world NO! It's just for fun!!
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post #13 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:50am
Well, they may still look down on us and condemn us, but at least we aren't burned at the stake anymore- ( I always try to find that silver lining )

The same people who won't let their kids watch Harry Potter let them watch The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Snow White- all of which have magical elements. Can we say hypocritical???
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post #14 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:53am
that is true. Most movies have some kinda of magic in it.
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post #15 of 45
4/14/03 at 8:58am
I love, love, love Harry Potter!!

Anyone who bothers to read the books (before they start condemning them) would see that the bottom line is a Harry is a courageous little boy who sticks up for his friends and for what is right. He is a noble character (remember when he rescued fleur delacours sister during the water challenge at risk to his own life) with strong values and I would venture to say we should all be so lucky to have half the heart and soul of this fictional little boy. If I had children I would want them to read the HP books because there are so many valuable lessons in them.

BTW, I didn't preorder my book this time around, because I did that with goblet, and I didn't get it until the day AFTER it became available and it just about killed me that it was in the stores and I couldn't buy it immediately because I already had a copy coming that I had paid for. I will be one of those nitwits who stand in line at barnes and noble at midnight the day it becomes available

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post #16 of 45
4/14/03 at 9:36am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by airprincess
BTW, I didn't preorder my book this time around, because I did that with goblet, and I didn't get it until the day AFTER it became available and it just about killed me that it was in the stores and I couldn't buy it immediately because I already had a copy coming that I had paid for. I will be one of those nitwits who stand in line at barnes and noble at midnight the day it becomes available
I pre-ordered from Borders. All people who pre-ordered were invited to come to the store for the midnight release and were promised to get their book that morning. I love Harry Potter, but not that much. I'll wait 'til the afternoon to pick up my copy.
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post #17 of 45
4/14/03 at 9:37am
I pre-ordered and saved a lot of $$. Since I ordered, the price went down, so I'm saving more.

I was raised in a Pentecostal home and anything Satanic was a big no-no. However, fairy tales and TV shows, featuring magic were allowed. "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeanie" were a couple of my favorite shows.
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post #18 of 45
4/14/03 at 9:40am
I love Harry Potter and what it stands for. Her is an orphaned child, abused by his care providers who learns that, like all children, there is something special about him.

People don't give children enough credit - they know what is real and what isn't. The type of "witchcraft" in the movie/books isn't like the "witchcraft" of Wicca. Both types are fascinating and should be viewed with an open mind.
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post #19 of 45
4/14/03 at 9:41am
Last year I preordered from Amazon, so they actually shipped it on the release date and I think it took 2 days to get to me. The wait practically killed me since the book was out already.

I NEVER pay full price for books, I always get mine at www.half.com but if ever there was an exception, this is it!
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post #20 of 45
4/14/03 at 10:30am
Was there a great outcry about Snow White and Rose Red? Or Hansel & Gretel? Bedknobs and Broomsticks? The Good Witch? These were just some of the stories/books that I read when I was a child. My mom was head librarian, and I don't remember her ever saying that certain groups were banning any books other than rated X ones! And then, the libraries didn't ban them, they just put them in a special section for the people who wanted them. I'm trying to think about other books that even touched on witches- I am sure there were a bunch of them. A child is full of imagination and wonder, why not keep them in tune with it and let them experience life in Harry Potter's eyes, they could have worse heroes (and some do) in life than HP!
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post #21 of 45
4/14/03 at 10:40am
I agree! I love the HP books, and would certainly recommend them for children (and adults). I have the sneaking suspicion that the people who want them banned have never read them. I think most of us who grew up on Mary Poppins, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, etc., etc., didn't grow up to be Satanists. The stories are very moral, and more importantly, they encourage kids to read. Are these critics also all het up about "Lord of the Rings", since that is fantasy, too? I'm allergic to the very idea of banning or burning books - the Nazis carried that to an art form, and looked what happened.
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post #22 of 45
4/14/03 at 10:46am
Another pagan witch weighing in here.

First of all, if a kid were interested in witchcraft based on Harry Potter and did some research they would be sorely disappointed. We don't have all those cool powers, but I wish we did! I always wanted to be able to light a candle or cigarette with my finger. (I don't know if Harry can do that, I just always wanted to.)

Second, like others have said, ANYTHING that gets kids interested in reading is a good thing. Period. When the big Ebola scare was going on there was a book out about it that my high school students (the boys anyway) were scrambling to read. OK, so all they wanted to read about was how gross the disease was, but they READ it! Harry Potter is fun, imaginative, and maybe even a little scary in parts, but evil? I don't think so. Anton LeVey was evil, Alestair Crowley was more evil than most. Harry Potter isn't in the same league.

This is much like the furvor in the 80s over heavy metal music. Motley Crue, Kiss, ACDC were all satanic and evil and putting messages in young people's heads. They weren't and most of us who listened to it turned out just fine. Law abiding and everything.
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post #23 of 45
4/14/03 at 10:49am
Quote:
We don't have all those cool powers, but I wish we did! I always wanted to be able to light a candle or cigarette with my finger

You mean you can't do that???
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post #24 of 45
4/14/03 at 11:23am
I like Harry Potter. I've read all the books and seen the movies. They might be a little scary for young children, but they have very positive values in them. And the bad guys do always lose.

I think it's a fairly realistic view of the world (well, aside from the magic): there is evil out there, and it takes courage to overcome it, but good can win, if you believe in doing what's right. I'm going to have my kids read Harry Potter, whenever I have kids.
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post #25 of 45
4/14/03 at 11:45am
I love Harry Potter. I think some people are reading too much into it.
I saw an interview with some kids on tv a while ago about Harry Potter - one kid, she must have been about 8 or 9 years old said something like 'They are just being stupipd, its just a story'

Well said.
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post #26 of 45
4/14/03 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally posted by valanhb
Another pagan witch weighing in here.

I always wanted to be able to light a candle or cigarette with my finger. (I don't know if Harry can do that, I just always wanted to.)
I dont feel so alone anymore That would be pretty cool...heck, i can't even get a black cat...let alone light a candle with my finger!!!
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post #27 of 45
4/14/03 at 12:37pm
it only proves their ignorance. Do these book banners smoke? Do they drink? These things can kill! Why aren't they using all their resources to ban that? These are life and death issues. Books only spark the imigination, and expand the mind.
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post #28 of 45
4/14/03 at 12:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by DragonLady
Books only spark the imigination, and expand the mind.
I think this is the heart of the matter. If a child's imagination is sparked and their mind expanded, then they are more likely to question what they are taught and told. For a number of these fundamental religious groups, that's what dangerous about most books. These groups demand that the followers just believe what they are told and to not question. With questioning often comes un-belief.
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post #29 of 45
4/14/03 at 3:59pm
I'm not a big fan of Harry Potter, even though I hear the movie is awesome! My little brother likes it!
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post #30 of 45
4/14/03 at 4:20pm
But the parents who object to our hero, Harry, are often the ones who let their kids watch all kinds of R-rated movies without batting an eye.

Speaking as an educator, these books inspire kids to read....something most of them aren't doing nearly enough of!
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