Harry Potter should not be watched by Christians.

[A Realist]

This is such an interesting case because the "fundamentalist" is presenting a substantial argument and the "intelligentsia" is basically responding with, "I like Harry Potter so it can't be bad!" It's the same thing with these threads every three months.

Actually, I think many of us are in the "My kids watched the Harry Potter movies, and we don't give a crap about what the Finger-pointers think" camp.

 

[JacksBratt]

This is how much hate is out there... People get real dangers mixed up with propaganda.

They hate so much that they have to bring their hate into every topic and forum thread... everything, no matter what.. ends up with them showing that they hate Trump...

1 John 4:20 King James Version (KJV)

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

 

[GreekOrthodox]

I'm of the opinion that CF is the most sinful thing out here! I've never been more fed up with idiotic threads like this. Have a blessed Lent everyone

 

[JacksBratt]

Where does this statistic come from?

Oh, IDK, there was so many saying the same thing. I just googled "rise of Wicca in the US or the west" and got a ton of hits.... I have heard it on radio stations and talk shows.. They even made "Satanism" a recognized religion in the recent past.

 

[zippy2006]

Actually, I think many of us are in the "My kids watched the Harry Potter movies, and we don't give a crap about what the Finger-pointers think" camp.

Corrected: "My kids watch Harry Potter so it can't be bad!"

 

[YesMe]

This is how much hate is out there... People get real dangers mixed up with propaganda.

They hate so much that they have to bring their hate into every topic and forum thread... everything, no matter what.. ends up with them showing that they hate Trump...

1 John 4:20 King James Version (KJV)

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

It's a game my friend, the whole world is a stage, Trump is one of them, Obama is one of them, Bush is one of them, and so on and so forth with many other, everyone is playing their role... You are either with this group or with that group, but all groups are lead by the same people that orchestrates the whole show. They want you to play the game, to get involved.

Movies, music, politics, sports and so on and so forth have one final goal, to keep you entertained so that you keep playing the game, to keep you asleep.

 

[Norbert L]

Harry Potter is a promotion of witchcraft in a fantasy setting.

Or it's a novel series promoting the supernatural, like God being born from a women, is sentenced to death and being resurrected.

You see once people acknowledge there actually is a supernatural, the door is opened for them to accept Christ as ruler of the natural things here on Earth as well as those in Heaven. Or have you forgotten that God also used magic to show His supremacy over the fallen fake gods here on Earth. Exodus 7:10-12

 

[Emsmom1]

I remember as a kid a family in our church gathered up all their "bad" belongings: books, television, transformer toys (why those are bad, I have no idea) and set a nice bonfire in the front yard. I also remember my mom telling me she did not have a television-or a Christmas tree- until she was married because it was considered "sinful" in her sect (Church of Christ-the church where women have to wear dresses and can't cut their hair--not to be confused with the United Church of Christ). And my husband did not see a movie until he was 15 because his church forbade it.
I guess my question is: who gets to decide? Bible Highlighter, do you think a person will go to hell if s/he has a Christmas tree? Or if women wear pants? Because there are churches who surely believe that. Do you think people who enjoy Harry Potter will go to hell or be punished in some way?

 

[dms1972]

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 read the first Harry Potter book to see what it was actually like years ago and because I was going to write a review of it and contrast it with books by CS Lewis and Tolkien. It honestly hasn't stayed with me what the story was other than a few bits, such as he was locked in a cupboard, and people without magic abilities were 'muggles', and he was sent to a wizardry school or something, oh yeah Hogwarts - so it didn't make a massive impression on me.

It was a bit Dahlish in some respects, I thought platform 9 3/4 was a neat plot device. But the more talk there was about the books the more I felt they were being over-rated. Reading about someone dealing with problems by waving their wand about a lot isn't all that interesting and doesn't teach me anything.

I remember thinking well is it wrong to read this, and if it is, is it also wrong to read Tolkien and Lewis? The conclusion I came to was that magic was depicted in a rather different manner in Tolkien and Lewis, than in Harry Potter. In Lewis and Tolkien it hasn't the chaotic aspect of Hogwarts magic, and its not really the main theme, even though Gandalf is a Wizard in Lord of the Rings, he doesn't make a lot of use of any special abilities, if i recall correctly. In CS Lewis I don't recall there being any protagonists who use magic powers, they are all ordinary children.

Also neither Tolkien and Lewis's stories contained the elitist anthropology of the Potter universe or its sub-text about social stratification: Muggles and Squibs (non-elite), pure blood Witches and Wizards (the elite) - for even a character like the obnoxious Eustace, and Edmund (who both at first do not believe in Narnia) could be converted and become a friend of Narnia in CS Lewis's stories. Former friends of Narnia such as Susan could end up forgetting about Narnia and thinking it was a just a childhood game. In Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, there is a distinction between men and elves, is this elitist? Both races are flawed. The Elf Queen Galadriel would do more damage if she had possession of the One Ring, than if someone from the race of men, or a hobbit had it. But I don't think there is an elitism in Tolkien's distinction between the races of Middle Earth.

There are similiarities between Harry Potter and bits of the Narnia Chronicles, such as Jill and Eustace in The Silver Chair being bullied by the other kids at their school Experiment House.

I think the stories differ in how they treat of their subject matter and the nature of the conflict between Good and Evil in them. In that regard I see the stories of Tolkien and Lewis as less problematic, but each mature christian should be convinced in their own mind as to what to read and what not.

 

[lsume]

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.

it is imperative that one be born again in order to live a life commensurate with ones blessings.

Here are some verses about being sealed from The New Testament;
John.6

1. [27] Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Rom.15

1. [28] When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.

2Cor.1

1. [22] Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Eph.1

1. [13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealedwith that holy Spirit of promise,

Eph.4

1. [30] And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

 

[Cis.jd]

This thread has increased my suspicions on how various denominations have doctrines that glorify satan more, always seeing him with so much power and doing so much work, while in the mean time giving christians such a ridiculous image to those outside.

Being unable to distinguish a fantasy entertainment genre all because of being unable to tell a plot device from a message just shows that they can only think through a fundamental scope.

If the Bible has turned you to being that ridiculous, that media such as Harry Potter is satan now then there was never a Holy Spirit reading with you. You are just on the same level of irrationalism as the Salem witch trail hunters.

 

[timothyu]

and teach them about things in life that are out there to trap and deceive them.

Like the politics of man. Good luck on subduing that over the next year,.

 

[Cis.jd]

My argument is not an analogy at all. It's a counterexample that proves fictional works can be sinful.

When you are referencing or comparing two things for the purpose of explaining/clarifying your point, that is an analogy.

And if we end up providing fallacious reasoning that is not responsible to the truth we just look like ideological agenda setters. I don't care how much you like Harry Potter. The idea that because it is fictional it isn't sinful is blatantly false. If you want to defend Harry Potter you will have to do so with an argument that is actually valid instead of merely rationalizing a personal preference.

This is such an interesting case because the "fundamentalist" is presenting a substantial argument and the "intelligentsia" is basically responding with, "I like Harry Potter so it can't be bad!" It's the same thing with these threads every three months.

.
I'm not a fan of harry potter, I never even said "I like HP". My stance is simply for certain Christians to drop this HP and anything fantasy related being sinful argument. These arguments make Christianity look ridiculous. Your whole arguments against HP is just out of fundamentalistic religious views they are not educated or backed with any intellectual reasoning. It's a misclassification of evil because of how you can't look past an immediate visual imagery; everything is looked through this fundamentalistic lens.

When we say "fiction" we are not just saying none of these are real but there is no real spiritual message in it. There is no ties or any promoting of anything you believe. That is what the word "fiction" is being used in the context of this thread.

Fictional works can be sinful if there is an agenda behind it. If I made a movie such as Harry Potter all for the purpose to influence your kids to worship satan, then we can consider that evil. But there isn't any of that in HP, it's just simply fantasy made to entertain.

The only reason why you think this HP/Saw argument made any sense is because of your superstitious views that you actually see HP to be harmful. It's like saying fiction and then using Dora and Friday the 13th as part of my analogy, that is ridiculous. That is why there are ratings in movies because there is a maturity level for specific content.

 

[LightLoveHope]

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 like harry potter because it is about friendship and boarding schools. It bridges the world of children to that of adults and being dangerous and serious about life.
What is science, hard rules, experimenting is symbolized with spells and cheats. Computers, and machines appear no different if you do not understand them. And what saves Harry from the evil of the dictator and dominator of the world love, and being with people over being alone and desiring immortality at the price of losing your soul.

Now maybe you do not know but these are themes of Jesus and His truth. To die for your friends and what you believe in is worth everything compared to selfish domination of the dictator.

In my church many would condemn me for having the books and the movies. But then how many know repentance, faith and holiness, and how cleansing our hearts is the Kingdom come to earth through faith. If you want to win the world you have to understand and love sinners. There is nothing to fear in understanding, rather it is in knowing the failure of the world that we find victory in Christ.

Talking to the dead is crazy. Why should a spirit or a dead person know anything more than we do or be anymore reliable? Worse still by making the unknown more authoritive than God and Christ, we sin, literally.

What I find interesting is the idea we can expect miracles without reason or justification, as if bringing the Kingdom into this world is just our whim or desire to prove God exists, as if the issue is Gods existance rather than mans evil and sinful behaviour. People have no idea what they want or resolved, they are just a mess, trying to achieve what is before them, no more no less. Some believers just want a patch on their trauma, but at the smallest cost possible, nothing like giving their heart, soul and strength to God.

 

[timothyu]

Was Walt Disney the prince of darkness?

 

[LightLoveHope]

I love science fiction, because it can exagerate situations, create impossible problems and then makes characters react to them. Through such stories, like parables, points are made which have depth and complexity, which pure description could not summarise.

God brought a bible with thousands of life stories, interactions through which we can relate and learn His approach and His attitudes to us. The bible is there because the whole relationship is complex, very complex and we are very fragile and very vulnerable and apt to easily destroy ourselves through impetuous certainty.

Just look at the christian groups and their variations of interpretation, failing to understand the simplest of issues of us needing to be children, humbly broken and listening, taking steps, on step at a time.

 

[Cis.jd]

Was Walt Disney the prince of darkness?

Barney is satanic. It's a toy of a false animal that the Bible never mentions in Genesis and he magically just becomes an actual costume, with out the grace of God. That is obviously satanic.

 

[dms1972]

-

 

[dms1972]

Barney is satanic. It's a toy of a false animal that the Bible never mentions in Genesis and he magically just becomes an actual costume, with out the grace of God. That is obviously satanic.

I don't get the satanic aspect - I don't think I would criticise it just because its a purple dinosaur costume. But if it really did this, i mean if a non-existent animal turned into a costume all by itself, then that costume should be ripped up into tiny pieces, and

That's not to say the Barney show is worth watching, I don't like what I have seen of it because its so saccarine, and promotes a sort of togetherness that seems rather false, instead of letting kids find their own pals who share their interests, sports, hobbies, or allowing them to do their own thing in peace, the idea of "the more we get together the happier we'll be" is put forward and while that might seem nice to some, it is saccarine, and makes kids feel they have to be part of the group to be happy, even if they are not interested in what the group is playing or doing. Imagine three kids who are out to break into a car and steal the radio, and this one kid who is kicking his football against the wall, is the one kid going to be happier trailing round with those three, not knowing what they are up to? No. That's why the message of the show is idealistic gas.

 

[KarateCowboy]

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.

This here.

Lust for a woman is not the fantasy literary genre. It's like saying we can't count crows on the fence because The Bible says "You will not murder".