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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.
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.
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.
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 porn 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.
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.
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.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 porn 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.
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.
Harry potter is 'FICTION'! Yes! It is!
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 porn does. There is absolutely no agenda in HP other than entertaining.
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.)
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.
I'm a fantasy author. AMAThe 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 porn 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.
So God calls witchcraft and abomination, should we not listen to God?
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