If you believe your tag "He is worthy to be praised" then seek the answer from Him and His Word and don't let the opinion of others, either on or outside this forum influence you. Here are a few Scriptures to start, please seek out others on your own and allow His Holy Spirit to guide you.
2Chronicles 33:1-6
Galatians 5:19-24.
You say not to let the opinions of those on this forum influence him, and then quote Scripture about how witchcraft is detestable. That wasn't what was being asked in the first place, though. The question is whether those passages are even applicable to Harry Potter, which quite frankly, they aren't (and quoted said Scripture would seem to reflect an opinion that it does).
I say that because anyone that's done even the most basic research on the occult knows that the 'magic' you see in Harry Potter or other fantasy books/movies is an invention of fiction, not of reality. If it has any connection at all to reality, it's probably that the stylized nature of it originated with court alchemists in the medieval period, who likely made grand to-dos comparable to today's effects/fireworks shows, to hide the fact that they were largely charlatans and con men.
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Is the pain of not knowing, worth the price of saying nothing?
All I did was point to Scripture, I gave no opinion and did not engage in fear mongering. All other posts were telling him not to listen to his parents, youth minster, and degrading those who offered a different view. If he is to make up his own mind, as we all must do at some point in our life, he should consider all sides of an issue. Including the source his parents and others have used to come to their conclusion.
Still, I will ask a question of those who consider yourself Christian - How is that Scripture is not applicable to all aspects of life?
__________________ "The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously." - Hubert Humphrey, US VP 1965-69
"Militant atheists are intellectual trolls who are so blinded by their hatred that they can't see their own hypocrisy of being exactly what they claim to hate: intolerant. If anything, I pity them as I would for anyone who is so blinded and unhappy." - Anonymous
All I did was point to Scripture, I gave no opinion and did not engage in fear mongering. All other posts were telling him not to listen to his parents, youth minster, and degrading those who offered a different view. If he is to make up his own mind, as we all must do at some point in our life, he should consider all sides of an issue. Including the source his parents and others have used to come to their conclusion.
Still, I will ask a question of those who consider yourself Christian - How is that Scripture is not applicable to all aspects of life?
At the time witchcraft was a way of worshipping pagan Gods.
This story has nothing to do with Pagan Gods or any sort of religious worship what so ever.
On top of that, both verses say bad things about practicing witchcraft. Not reading highly fictionalized stories about "witchcraft" (Which btw looks nothing like the actual practice if Wicca.)
Under the same standard, you could not watch any movies or TV shows or read any books where any of the characters where sexually immoral in any way, got drunk, used slanderous or hateful language, where angry or selfish.
Because those things are all things we are called to avoid, reading stories about people who act like that would also be banned.
Guess that means you can't read the bible, because the bible has that in there!!! And that stuff is all true and realistic which is far worse then any fictionalized account. David a clear hero of the bible, sleeps with another man's wife and then has him murdered to cover it all up!!
Even if we give the bible an exception, the idea still holds no water. Avoid all media that involves sin. . . Thats not very smart. It creates a bubble around children to where they don't know what reality is really like. Sin is a major part of reality, and even the celibration of sin is a major part of reality.
The idea that Harry Potter is bad because it makes several faulty assumptions.
The first and most glaring is that people who read Harry Potter can't seperate reality from fiction. Considering the age group the book targets I find that to be a very faulty assumption indeed.
The second is that reading it is going to encourage people into the actual practice of Wicca. That is also not true. I have met many Christian and non-Christian readers of Harry Potter of various ages. None of them have ever become involved with the actual practice of Wicca. They all understand that Harry Potter is fiction, and that Wicca (if they even know it exists considering how few people actually practice it.) does not look anything like that.
Its Christian fear mongering using a scripture that means basically "Don't worship the Pagan Gods and don't try to combine Christianity with Paganism" and twisting it into "Harry Potter is evil"
Again under the same standard, pretty much any literature in which a person sins should then be banned because they are all mentioned in the same verse.
If you see a movie where two people have pre-marital sex, is that going to make you decide to go out and fornicate?
If you watch a TV show where a person is a practicing homosexual, is that going to turn you into a homosexual?
If you read a book where a person using insulting language towards another person, are you going to go jump up and insult someone?
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My sole intent was to point to Scripture, not to insert my opinion, or to accuse or engage in theological debate. However, it is obvious by your post that we have very different experiences and hold a vastly divergent view on the validity, veracity and use of Scripture. And by you making such definitive statements and attributing those actions to me - where I have not done what you say- shows it is not possible to discuss those differences. Thus I respectfully leave it that we disagree.
All I did was point to Scripture, I gave no opinion and did not engage in fear mongering. All other posts were telling him not to listen to his parents, youth minster, and degrading those who offered a different view. If he is to make up his own mind, as we all must do at some point in our life, he should consider all sides of an issue. Including the source his parents and others have used to come to their conclusion.
The Scripture pointed to, however, were passages about the immorality of witchcraft, not how to determine what is witchcraft. The OP knows witchcraft is evil, so those passages don't do any good unless it's been decided that Harry Potter is indeed witchcraft. But they're not going to help determine if that's the case.
What matters here is convictions. Even though HP doesn't count as witchcraft by any spiritualistic or scholarly standard, one's convictions about such things matter in their choices. Some people are absolutely convinced that rock music or secular music is pure evil and irrevocably tainted by Satan (yes, even CCM), even though it's not. It's the same thing. One should never betray their own convictions, but not everyone will share those convictions - which is pretty much the entire gist of Romans 14.
Still, I will ask a question of those who consider yourself Christian - How is that Scripture is not applicable to all aspects of life?
It's about knowing when and what passages are relevant to the topic at hand, not that Scripture as a whole isn't applicable. This holds true whether one believes in formalized Inerrancy or not.
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Is the pain of not knowing, worth the price of saying nothing?
Tom619- this isn't to condemn you, but to try to help you.
My job is not to become popular but to share the Truth from His Word and this is what I found Deuteronomy 18:10-12 NIV:
10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.
Again, please consult the Bible- which I firmly believe is the final authority on all things and should be used as such. A lot of well-meaning people may say it's acceptable to do certain things or participate in certain activities or entertainment; however, that is just their opinion. We have to learn to go to God's Word.
This isn't about fear mongoring or anything like that, it's about trying to help this young man out- by pointing him to the Truth. I have to make sure that I'm doing my very best not to cause anyone to stumble in their walk with the Lord. I pray that your eyes may be opened to see the Truth.
Not my opinion, or anyone else's opinion on the matter- but the Truth.
HELLO!! Reading a fictionalized story about fictionalized "witches" (Which btw isn't even close to reality) is not PRACTICING witchcraft.
Thats like saying watching a TV show about someone who has pre-marital sex is practicing fornication.
This is ridiculous! Yes the bible forbids practicing witchcraft. But how does reading a story make someone practice witchcraft? If I go to the wikipedia article on homosexuality, is that going to make me a homosexual??? Let me test that . . .
Umm nope, I still am attracted my fiancee, still not attracted to other men. Guess that makes me still heterosexual, even though I *shock* read material about homosexuality.
How in the world does reading a story or watching a movie make you do the stuff in the movie? I watched entire documentries on the KKK and the Neo-Nazi movment, does that make me a racist??
It doesn't matter if Harry Potter was absolutly 100% realistic on Witchcraft and Wicca (BTW its about 0% correct). Watching the movie or reading the book doesn't make you into a pagan.
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Last edited by Luther073082; 29th September 2009 at 01:44 PM.
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