Harry Potter to be or not to be

July 15, 2007

who was blaming man? i lay the blame totally on satan, who will use anything and everything to drag people away from Christ.

if your snarky comment was directed anywhere near me, i'm offended.

Man/Satan. . . same thing. Those who allow Satan to use them are the same as Satan.

Not directed at you or anyone. Just a comment. Sometimes snarky is the only thing that gets noticed here. . .

How else would you suggest we protect our children from the world? To come out from among them and be separate. Either you protect your children by exposing them with a God centered world view, or you completely shelter them. That type of attitude is 100% Amish. The difference is when they are allowed out into the world they are not completely shell shocked.

I used to think I could protect my children from all these types of things, then I had to send them to public school. No way can I protect their minds for those 9 hours a day. I have to have faith that what I have taught them at home will prepare them to counter what they hear at school, in the classroom, on the bus and with their friends. If I didn't give them the proper upbringing at home, I'd better be worried.

In three years my son will be out in the world, on his own. I'd better make sure he sees and understands the types of things the World/Satan is going to throw at him. I'd better make sure that he understands what God is repulced by and what He loves in our lives. We are at war, and I had better properly prepare my children for battle or they will get squashed.

July 15, 2007

ok, let me make my own point perfectly, crystal clear. i hope i don't come across as being too snarky.

we CAN NOT shield them from every worldly influence. we DO send our kids (most of us anyway) to public schools. they ARE in the world, we can NOT avoid that (unless we are amish, which none of us are, to my knowledge), and i'm not even suggesting that.

but we're FOOLS if we don't try to make sure that we limit the impact of those worldly influences and take our kids to the theaters for an evening of wholesome family entertainment that includes sorcery. i'm sorry, i just don't follow the kind of logic that says "oh but the kids are exposed to it 9 hours a day, so it won't hurt to expose them to even more of it in the name of quality time".

ok, let me ask this... using that kind of logic, why not allow children to view porn? after all, it's certainly "in the world" and we can't shield them from knowing it exists. so since they're gonna learn about sex, and probably view porn before they hit puberty, and will absolutely without a doubt be introduced to "soft porn" in the media every day of their lives from the time they're born, why not just let them view it in the home where we can monitor it and use it as a lesson on healthy vs. unhealthy sexuality is? at the VERY least, under this flawed logic, we should at least sit down and watch brokeback mountain with our pre-pubescent munchkins.

Questing One · July 15, 2007

ok, let me make my own point perfectly, crystal clear. i hope i don't come across as being too snarky.

we CAN NOT shield them from every worldly influence. we DO send our kids (most of us anyway) to public schools. they ARE in the world, we can NOT avoid that (unless we are amish, which none of us are, to my knowledge), and i'm not even suggesting that.

but we're FOOLS if we don't try to make sure that we limit the impact of those worldly influences and take our kids to the theaters for an evening of wholesome family entertainment that includes sorcery. i'm sorry, i just don't follow the kind of logic that says "oh but the kids are exposed to it 9 hours a day, so it won't hurt to expose them to even more of it in the name of quality time".

Ok, I'm new here, just joined today in fact, but I'd like to interject on this current arguement. I agree with the person who started this whole thread. I have read almost every Harry Potter book that has come out. I've seen quite a few interviews with J. K. Rowling and have even had conversations with her online. At no point were these books meant to make the average child or Joe turn to the "occult". That's a fabrication from most of the people who fear change or new things. Look at it from this point of view: a little boy who had to grow up in a home where he was unwanted and treated like dirt, he then finds out that he is famous for defeating a Dark power in the world and grows older to find that this Dark power is rizing again and only he can stop it and save the world. Hello? Does anyone else see a classic good vs. evil book? The only thing that has changed in the centuries of book writing is that there is no longer a knight in shining armor coming to save a maiden from a firebreathing Dragon. It's a boy who begins as an average person and finds out he is special and supposed to save the world. How is that evil? The line is clearly drawn all the time between good and evil and it is us as humans who try to erase it and re-draw it to our own designs. People claim that they have to shield their children from the world and stop all the worldy influence from planting evil seeds in their minds. This is not true! The only thing you are ever required to do is to pass on the word to your children, help guide them on the right path, and trust God in his plans for your child. Harry Potter (while getting more and more for adult aduiences), is harmless. I wouldn't take a 4 or 5 year old to see it because they wotn understand the difference yet but mature children and teenagers know what is going on in the movie. If you ban your kids from seeing these movies or reading the books then you are banning them from seeing a battle that goes on constantly in the real world. You can make it so much easier on everyone if you just talk to your child about what thye saw in the movie and if they understood what went on. In every case there is a hero and in every case there is a villan. If you start shielding them from movies like Harry Potter then why don't you ban Spider Man too? Or stop them from watching Batman or any other show. You might as well ban them from watching Avatar: The Last Air Bender. The only difference in those shows are the methods which good and evil fight. In old books: a sword, in the bible: Spiritual Pureness, Harry Potter: a wand. Are we really that naive? I hope I didn't offend anyone and if I did then I apologise for my words, but I still stand by them.

July 15, 2007

ok, let me make my own point perfectly, crystal clear. i hope i don't come across as being too snarky.

we CAN NOT shield them from every worldly influence. we DO send our kids (most of us anyway) to public schools. they ARE in the world, we can NOT avoid that (unless we are amish, which none of us are, to my knowledge), and i'm not even suggesting that.

but we're FOOLS if we don't try to make sure that we limit the impact of those worldly influences and take our kids to the theaters for an evening of wholesome family entertainment that includes sorcery. i'm sorry, i just don't follow the kind of logic that says "oh but the kids are exposed to it 9 hours a day, so it won't hurt to expose them to even more of it in the name of quality time".

Well, that's not what I was saying at all. I don't take my children to the theaters to see a movie just because they will see it at school. I rarely take my children to the theater anyway. Mostly they watch the movie if it comes out on television.

If anyone in here was Amish, I think they would be breaking a few of the MAJOR rules!

There is no such thing as wholesome family entertainment when Hollywood is involved. As long as you remind your children of that, I think you're OK.

Quality time is a walk in the park with the dogs, or a bike ride, or just sitting and talking around the dinner table. Not watching movies or television, or even playing board games [greed].

I said it before, I'll say it again, I am no fan of the Harry Potter movies. However, I and my children realize they are no different than Cinderella, Snow White, or any other movie. Fiction. I realize that some of the sorcery stuff may be real but the MOVIE is not.

If you think that sorcery is the only thing your children need to be sheltered against, you would be mistaken. The breakdown of the family unit in 95% of the modern television shows, movies and the public eye is more harmful, IMHO. How many of those will we be cutting out?

I mean, how well do we adhere to these verses?

Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

If we were to adhere to these verses, we would end up tossing out our televisions and most of our books. There is only one Truth, and it's only contained in one place. . .

I have said my piece, I will no more speak on this subject.

Emily~Anne · July 15, 2007

Is anyone aware that the author of Harry Potter did his very best to make HP an ACCURATE portrayal of witchcraft? In fact, he made only one mistake where in a certain ritual the broom faced the wrong way in a movie, and the witches cursed the movie. If your child was a witch, do you think it would be OK cause witchcraft is 'fictional'?

July 15, 2007

questioning one:

so, just because the intent of the author, publishers, and producers was harmless, that lends any movie or book (or at least specifically this series) more credibility than God's word on the subject?

bib, LOL, yes, i suppose the amish would be breaking rules being here.

of course sorcery isn't the only thing kids should be sheltered from. exactly the reason i expanded it to include movies with porn, or that portray sexual relationships. allowing children (and many people here do, even if you don't) to view movies that glorify witchcraft, however "innocent" it may seem, is no different than allowing them to watch brokeback mountain.

there are a few good quality programs on tv. but ya gotta pay the big bucks for cable, and even then you have to have a watchful eye.

Questing One · July 15, 2007

who was blaming man? i lay the blame totally on satan, who will use anything and everything to drag people away from Christ.

if your snarky comment was directed anywhere near me, i'm offended.

Sory for this but it is slightly nagging at me. You blame Satan for enticing us and dragging us away? He does very little in what we do to ourselves. For example, it says very clearly in James 1:13-15;

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fullgrown, gives birth to death.

Satan has little to do in his job. The capability to do evil is already there as well as the desire. What sins that we do, we do to our selves. It takes very little urging from anyone. That includes yourself.

Emily~Anne · July 15, 2007

questioning one:

so, just because the intent of the author, publishers, and producers was harmless, ....

Witches think of witchcraft as harmless. We cant go by the world's standard of what is harmless, we need to go by God's word.

Questing One · July 15, 2007

questioning one:

so, just because the intent of the author, publishers, and producers was harmless, that lends any movie or book (or at least specifically this series) more credibility than God's word on the subject?

bib, LOL, yes, i suppose the amish would be breaking rules being here.

of course sorcery isn't the only thing kids should be sheltered from. exactly the reason i expanded it to include movies with porn, or that portray sexual relationships. allowing children (and many people here do, even if you don't) to view movies that glorify witchcraft, however "innocent" it may seem, is no different than allowing them to watch brokeback mountain.

there are a few good quality programs on tv. but ya gotta pay the big bucks for cable, and even then you have to have a watchful eye.

Hold on, you are taking quite a leap there. You're going from an Author's choice to use what you call "witchcraft" to push the point of good and evil in the world, to what some misguided person decided to put on the internet. I fail to see the connection between the two. Sure, you may not approve of the way that J. K. Rowling wrote her books. However, comparing it to internet trash is going a little far. That would be like me having a problem with the Bible because i didn't like the way it fully expressed in detail the death of Jesus. (I have no intention of any blasphemy, just trying to prove a point)

July 15, 2007

who was blaming man? i lay the blame totally on satan, who will use anything and everything to drag people away from Christ.

if your snarky comment was directed anywhere near me, i'm offended.

Sory for this but it is slightly nagging at me. You blame Satan for enticing us and dragging us away? He does very little in what we do to ourselves. For example, it says very clearly in James 1:13-15;

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is fullgrown, gives birth to death.

Satan has little to do in his job. The capability to do evil is already there as well as the desire. What sins that we do, we do to our selves. It takes very little urging from anyone. That includes yourself.

of course God can't be tempted. are we God? nope.

of course God doesn't tempt us.

but WHO does the Bible refer to as the great deceiver?

you're right. we have to take responsibility for our choices. it's not the devil's fault if we make bad ones. it's our own. that is why God tells us to be ever diligent in being aware of satan's wiles. that's why we are to arm ourselves with spiritual armour. that is why we are to take every thought captive to Christ. and if we aren't doing that, if we're enjoying the fruits of sinfulness, our own or someone else's, who are we serving? satan or God?