Harry Potter should not be watched by Christians.

[Bible Highlighter]

If Harry Potter were written for the sake of glorifying witchcraft I might agree with you. It seems to me that the story uses magic as an element to tell the story, rather than spread an agenda.

This is simply a statement of denial of what Harry Potter actually is. That is like saying the sun is not warm or bright. Try telling people that Harry Potter is not about magic or witchcraft to a witch. Just ask people on the street. What is Harry Potter about? They will start talking about the magic (witchcraft) part at some point.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

And the Word of God uses witchcraft in the context of someone who makes a pact with the devil to use power. That's not related to what you are saying we shouldn't watch. You have no scriptural basis for not watching/reading Harry Potter. No pacts with the devil there. It's a fantasy world.

Your joking right? Harry Potter promotes witchcraft and it does not teach that it is bad but it is okay. The Bible talks about witchcraft but it condemns it. Big difference. One is a promotion of darkness and evil under the guise of fiction, and the other is a correction of such evil in truth.

 

[Thomas White]

Your joking right? Harry Potter promotes witchcraft and it does not teach that it is bad but it is okay. The Bible talks about witchcraft but it condemns it. Big difference. One is a promotion of darkness and evil under the guise of fiction, and the other is a correction of such evil in truth.

You are trying to use what you define witchcraft as, not what the Bible defines witchcraft as. Witchcraft in the context of the Bible is making a pact with the devil for power and practicing that power. You are trying to make the Bible fit to your definition, and it won't. You have to understand the context of the scripture to understand the scripture. If you don't, you do yourself and everyone who listens to you a great disservice.

 

[Thomas White]

This is simply a statement of denial of what Harry Potter actually is. That is like saying the sun is not warm or bright. Try telling people that Harry Potter is not about magic or witchcraft to a witch. Just ask people on the street. What is Harry Potter about? They will start talking about the magic (witchcraft) part at some point.

A witch would undoubtedly tell you that what they use in Harry Potter is not actual witchcraft. There are no similarities.

 

[Cis.jd]

The whole Harry Potter is not bad because is fiction excuse does not work. Jesus condemned the mind sin of lust (Which is fantasy) in Matthew 5:28-30. We are told to cast down imaginations and lead every thought captive in obedience to Christ Jesus in 2 Corinthians 10:5. Harry Potter is the glorification of witchcraft. God condemned witchcraft heavily in the Old Testament. To think about something sinful in a fantasy way does not make it any less sinful. Is cartoon inappropriate content okay? Surely not. Just because it is pure fantasy does not undo the fact that sin is being pushed or communicated upon the viewer. It's wrong. Harry Potter is a promotion of witchcraft in a fantasy setting.

Thinking Harry Potter is promoting witchcraft and has all these "satan" effects just makes christians look silly.

We are given the ability to imagine and create art and it doesn't have to always be about rainbows and baby bears. This is a ridiculous pov that I find highly embarrassing to the faith. There are certain christians that have to stop using fundamentalism as their only way of reasoning and world view, because you'll end detracting seekers from christianity with such absurdity.

Your cartoon inappropriate content analogy doesn't work. Your whole reasoning is that they both promote sin. So just by this logic, then I can't watch any move, even WW2 movies because of sins being on there. Cartoon inappropriate content is made for one purpose and it is to get people to touch, it's simply inappropriate content. Harry Potter is just dark PG-13 fantasy.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

This is simply a statement of denial of what Harry Potter actually is. That is like saying the sun is not warm or bright. Try telling people that Harry Potter is not about magic or witchcraft to a witch. Just ask people on the street. What is Harry Potter about? They will start talking about the magic (witchcraft) part at some point.

I would like to think I can determine a message in a book. The Golden compass for instance is decidedly more anti Christianity by deliberate decision of the author. Harry Potter uses magic as a means, not an end. I don't remember there being scenes where the characters expounded on the nature of magic and what it means in a metaphysical sense.

You can critique HP but the way you're going about doing it is misguided and lacks imagination. There are way worse stories out there that involve magic as a plot device. (Worse in the sense of the message they convey, not necessarily their literary quality.)

 

[GaveMeJoy]

We cannot take something that is real in the spiritual world and declare it is not real just because we write it off as fantasy in a book, or movie, or comic, etc. We cannot change the reality of sin just because we declare it to be fantasy. Sin can still be promoted and effect people in the real world within something that is fantasy. Cartoon inappropriate content and Dungeons and Dragons proves this point. If sinful thoughts and or ideas fill a person's mind, they can very easily start to do those kinds of sins themselves physically. I had a desire to once cast a real spell as a part of my influence of playing Dungeons and Dragons. I am thankful to the Lord that nothing came of it and I gave up quickly.

One of the elders of my church plays dungeons and dragons. He had a doctoral degree in bible, spends 2-3 months a year teaching pastors in African and his life is completely beyond reproach.

there are two ways to play the game: in a way that glories God with an emphasis on Christian fellowship and comraderie, and in a way that glorifies violence and the occult. While most people play it like the latter, it can undoubtedly be played in the former way in my opinion. Though I don’t play because I think it’s nerdy.

 

[timothyu]

Dr. Who

Fantasy?? Say it isn't so.

 

[Cis.jd]

One of the elders of my church plays dungeons and dragons. He had a doctoral degree in bible, spends 2-3 months a year teaching pastors in African and his life is completely beyond reproach.

there are two ways to play the game: in a way that glories God with an emphasis on Christian fellowship and comraderie, and in a way that glorifies violence and the occult. While most people play it like the latter, it can undoubtedly be played in the former way in my opinion. Though I don’t play because I think it’s nerdy.

D&D does take a LONG time to get fun, I heard it took most people a collective time of 40+hrs and most people can't go that far due to how boring it is until then. It took me 20 hrs of playing until we gave up and returned to poker or occasional street fighter.

 

[Cis.jd]

deleted

 

[zippy2006]

It's a real stretch to say that because God called fantasy about a woman a sin, that all fantasy is sin. God is presenting an ethic around sexuality, not fantasy. Your argument fails for that reason.

In fact this is a pretty terrible misrepresentation of the OP. He didn't say watching HP is sinful because it's fantasy. He said that fantasizing about sinful things is sinful ("To think about something sinful in a fantasy way does not make it any less sinful."). That's true.

I don't think HP is necessarily sinful (though there are good arguments to be had). Either way, the OP's claim that fictional things can be sinful too is perfectly true. Jesus himself clearly describes sins of the imagination in Matthew 5.

Harry potter is 'FICTION'! Yes! It is!

The OP didn't say HP isn't fiction. He said fiction can be sinful, and he explained why.

There are all sorts of fictional things that are sinful, especially for children. Indeed the things that we deem unsuitable for consumption are by and large fictional. For example, most R rated movies and items you would find at an adult bookstore are fictional. That doesn't magically make them morally sound.

 

[Cis.jd]

In fact this is a pretty terrible misrepresentation of the OP. He didn't say watching HP is sinful because it's fantasy. He said that fantasizing about sinful things is sinful ("To think about something sinful in a fantasy way does not make it any less sinful."). That's true.

I don't think HP is necessarily sinful (though there are good arguments to be had). Either way, the OP's claim that fictional things can be sinful too is perfectly true. Jesus himself clearly describes sins of the imagination in Matthew 5.



The OP didn't say HP isn't fiction. He said fiction can be sinful, and he explained why.

There are all sorts of fictional things that are sinful, especially for children. Indeed the things that we deem unsuitable for consumption are by and large fictional. For example, most R rated movies and items you would find at an adult bookstore are fictional. That doesn't magically make them morally sound.

Well no. He is using Harry Potter as an example. Your entire analogy doesn't make sense with the examples you've used such as R rated films, you can't use forms of fiction that have actual mature content and then make it as the same case of "harmful" as Harry Potter. The fact that HP is used as an example for the OP's point shows his inability to understand fantasy for entertainment purposes. This isn't enticing/influencing any form of behavior or activity that any rater R or inappropriate content does. There is absolutely no agenda in HP other than entertaining.

 

[PaulCyp1]

So Christians should not watch or read anything fictional, but only historically accurate texts??

 

[zippy2006]

Well no. He is using Harry Potter as an example. Your entire analogy doesn't make sense with the examples you've used such as R rated films, you can't use forms of fiction that have actual mature content and then make it as the same case of "harmful" as Harry Potter.

No, that's the point. If you think Saw IV is harmful then you've abandoned your argument that fictional things can't be harmful. So the argument isn't about whether HP is fictional, it's about whether HP communicates harmful content.

The fact that HP is used as an example for the OP's point shows his inability to understand fantasy for entertainment purposes. This isn't enticing/influencing any form of behavior or activity that any rater R or inappropriate content does. There is absolutely no agenda in HP other than entertaining.

The OP thinks HP is harmful, and "it's fictional" is a fallacious response. Claiming that things intended to be entertaining are never harmful is also just plain wrong. Similarly, claiming that things lacking a malicious agenda are never harmful is also wrong.

These Harry Potter threads just turn into a bucket of bad arguments.

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

Check out this thread OP :

The Reality of Sorcerers, Witches and Magic from Bible Scriptures and Church Fathers

From Old Testament to New Testament to Lives of Saints to Church Father Writings to Church Councils and Canons sorcerers and sorcery is heavily condemned and spoken against.


.

 

[BrotherD]

 

[BrotherD]

I would like to think I can determine a message in a book. The Golden compass for instance is decidedly more anti Christianity by deliberate decision of the author. Harry Potter uses magic as a means, not an end. I don't remember there being scenes where the characters expounded on the nature of magic and what it means in a metaphysical sense.

You can critique HP but the way you're going about doing it is misguided and lacks imagination. There are way worse stories out there that involve magic as a plot device. (Worse in the sense of the message they convey, not necessarily their literary quality.)

So God calls witchcraft and abomination, should we not listen to God?

 

[BrotherD]

I'm curious to know how many of these Christians who fuss about Harry Potter have watched The Wizard of Oz or Star Wars? How many of them have read The Hobbit, The LOTR, and Narnia? As a Christian, I refuse to succumb to any of the legalistic condemnations of fantasy and sci-fi books.

It is all evil per the word of God, we cannot love what God calls sin more than the Lord himself.

Psalm 101:3 KJV — I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

 

[HatGuy]

The whole Harry Potter is not bad because is fiction excuse does not work. Jesus condemned the mind sin of lust (Which is fantasy) in Matthew 5:28-30. We are told to cast down imaginations and lead every thought captive in obedience to Christ Jesus in 2 Corinthians 10:5. Harry Potter is the glorification of witchcraft. God condemned witchcraft heavily in the Old Testament. To think about something sinful in a fantasy way does not make it any less sinful. Is cartoon inappropriate content okay? Surely not. Just because it is pure fantasy does not undo the fact that sin is being pushed or communicated upon the viewer. It's wrong. Harry Potter is a promotion of witchcraft in a fantasy setting.

I'm a fantasy author. AMA

The entire point of Harry Potter is not to promote witchcraft. Rather, the point is to ultimately show the strength of love and friendship, and how that conquers racism and worldly power. The magic and the school is all a plot device to tell a story.

Interestingly enough, Rowling even uses scripture in the last book to prove the point.

Fantasy or magic and the like is a plot device usually to show a bigger point. Most good stories work like that. If Harry Potter was all about promoting witchcraft, no one would have really cared for it and the books and movies wouldn't even smell an hour of success.

inappropriate content cartoons and the like have a different, and obvious, objective. And that's where the real difference lies.

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

So God calls witchcraft and abomination, should we not listen to God?

Yeah in the real world when it's tried by real people. Not fantasy books which use a magical world as a setting.