Harry Potter should not be watched by Christians.

[JacksBratt]

But I see you guys being actually deceived by satan. What better way to make sure no ones goes to christ by making his followers exhibit such a silly image on him and the belief surrounding him?

What "image"?

Look at the Salem Witch Trials, this one of the most frequent referenced examples of "Christians being evil". These Christians accused others of doing witchcraft, and because of their idiocy it led to the brutal deaths of many innocent people.

Yes, that was a terrible time of misplaced ignorant actions.. I don't think we should jump to that extreme as a comparison... as they are not parallels.

Nobody here is asking for people to be burned at the stake.. It's a simple acknowledgement of the fact that HP is glorification of something very dangerous, attractive and evil, and wrapping it up to deliver to the most impressionable age group.

These where all devoted christians saying the same thing about "satan is deceiving everyone" and backing their ridiculous views through Biblical citation. This is what happens when a person has shut out any form of knowledge that they don't know anything about the world other than a fundamentalistic understanding of scripture.

Again, the two are not parallel.. Nobody is calling for this type of action... There are also times when groups of people have been deceived by cultist leaders like Jimmy Jones and David Karesh...

We just need to learn from all of these.

That is a good example of satan actually deceiving because this is more effective in detracting people from Christ than fantasy art. This is the same Salem Witch trial mentality, minus the violence.

I disagree... not even close.

 

[JacksBratt]

I don't know about you, but I don't believe God is some petty insecure deity that gets offended for not being the main attention; that his own creation can't be entertained with out him being in the spot light.

Actually.. you might want to rethink that:

"For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." "(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth."

 

[timothyu]

The whole world as we see it is a fantasy built upon our imagination of what is reality.

 

[Cis.jd]

What "image"?

A negative image. Whether a violent/evil religion or an absurd one.

Yes, that was a terrible time of misplaced ignorant actions.. I don't think we should jump to that extreme as a comparison... as they are not parallels.

Nobody here is asking for people to be burned at the stake.. It's a simple acknowledgement of the fact that HP is glorification of something very dangerous, attractive and evil, and wrapping it up to deliver to the most impressionable age group.

It's the same, there is still the witch craft accusations just minus the violence. JK Rowlin would likely be voted to burn in the stake because they would think her books are witchcraft.

 

[Cis.jd]

Actually.. you might want to rethink that:

"For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." "(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth."

I said God wasn't petty or insecure, and you are telling me to rethink that and referencing this verse as a basis. So am I wrong about him being petty, insecure, attention dependent type of Deity?


edit: this verse from Ex 20:5 is about worship. My post is in response to the poster who seems to think being entertained by something that has no reference to him isn't bad.

 

[timothyu]

JK Rowlin would likely be voted to burn in the stake because they would think her books are witchcraft.

Methinks witchcraft to them was more along the lines of crop failures or illnesses and the like. Those were the religious folk who never tumbled to the fact that anything not white might be human also. I doubt their minds could have grasped fantasy other than of a sexual nature (and possibly over a witch involved).

 

[Cis.jd]

Methinks witchcraft to them was more along the lines of crop failures or illnesses and the like. Those were the religious folk who never tumbled to the fact that anything not white might be human also. I doubt their minds could have grasped fantasy other than of a sexual nature (and possibly over a witch involved).

You are likely right. Most of them couldn't read or read anything other than the Bible. Back then it was based off crop failures and whatever conditions.. now it's just based on visual imagery. Anything with magic, monsters, scary things, supernatural things is automatically going into the satan bin at our modern day .

 

[Marumorose]

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.

We should ask ourself this question. What is a sin?
A sin is when you disobey God through actions, words,thoughts and feelings
Example:

1. if you say "i will kill you". that's a sin.
2. if you have feelings of killing someone. that's a sin
3. if you think about killing someone. that is a sin
4. if you actually kill someone. that is a sin

Matthew 15:11 and 19
11. Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man
19. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

Fiction and reality are the same thing in the kingdom of God and the devil knows that. Movies like harry potter are created to manipulate us into thinking that sins like witchcraft are natural and fun.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Methinks witchcraft to them was more along the lines of crop failures or illnesses and the like. Those were the religious folk who never tumbled to the fact that anything not white might be human also. I doubt their minds could have grasped fantasy other than of a sexual nature (and possibly over a witch involved).

Actually the Salem hysteria may have been tied to ergot-tainted rye. Apparently when you have flour tainted with LSD as they main part of your diet, it leads to problems. Who knew.

 

[timothyu]

Anything with magic, monsters, scary things, supernatural things is automatically going into the satan bin at our modern day .

And back in Jesus' day, it was magicians, only because they mimicked what God does, much like many religious rituals today .

 

[timothyu]

We should ask ourself this question. What is a sin?

The will of man over the will of God.

 

[timothyu]

Actually the Salem hysteria may have been tied to ergot-tainted rye. Apparently when you have flour tainted with LSD as they main part of your diet, it leads to problems. Who knew.

Perhaps with the right music it all could have been avoided.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

Perhaps with the right music it all could have been avoided.

Some tunes, some funky lights, and the right snacks and Salem would have turned out very differently.

 

[timothyu]

Some tunes, some funky lights, and the right snacks and Salem would have turned out very differently.

It's odd they went on a satan rather than a God trip.

 

[JacksBratt]

A negative image. Whether a violent/evil religion or an absurd one.

Thanks....

However, many people have done many things in the name of God... it only takes a bit of digging to see that it is twisted.

It's the same, there is still the witch craft accusations just minus the violence. JK Rowlin would likely be voted to burn in the stake because they would think her books are witchcraft.

Probably, back then..

However, again, this is not about burning anyone.. it is only opening peoples eyes to the subtle introduction of satanic practices and how they are presented to children...

 

[Tropical Wilds]

It's odd they went on a satan rather than a God trip.

That’s those repressed Puritans for you.

One of the accused was my Great x9 Grandmother. She pled guilty to doing witchcraft, but only to find the other witches, and was shocked that landed her in trouble.

 

[timothyu]

One of the accused was my Great x9 Grandmother. She pled guilty to doing witchcraft, but only to find the other witches, and was shocked that landed her in trouble.

The old guilty by association ploy. Kinda like what is done to Christians within the Democratic tribe.

 

[timothyu]

One of the accused was my Great x9 Grandmother.

Does that make you spawn of satan 9x removed?

 

[Tropical Wilds]

The old guilty by association ploy. Kinda like what is done to Christians within the Democratic tribe.

Lay off the rye, then.

Does that make you spawn of satan 9x removed?

Removed implies that I’m off the main branch, and she wasn’t Satan... She made an implied pact with him. So I’m a direct relative of somebody who made an implied pact with the devil.

 

[dms1972]

I think there are a number of issues involved in this discussion, some of which may fall under the discussion of the weak and the strong in Romans 14.

That chapter is about faith and conscience and how one should act in regard to others who may follow the example of the believer who is strong in faith. A very good treatment of the topic is Wisdom when Christians Differ in a book called Decision Making and the Will of God by Garry Friesen.

He gives several principles based on a careful exegesis of Romans 14.

• Learn to distinguish between matters of command and matters of freedom (14:14, 20)
• On debatable issues, cultivate your own convictions (14:5)
• Allow your brother the freedom to determine his own convictions, even when they differ from yours (14:1-12)
• Let your liberty be limited, when necessary, by love (14:13 - 15:2)
• Follow Christ as the model and motivator of servanthood (15:3 - 13)

But there is another issue, the power of literature and films to mold minds, particularly young minds - is this something we rightly evaluate?

Films are a different form of media from a book, you can stop and put a book down for a bit, and think about the story. With films there is less opportunity to reflect or time to think, and you need good boundaries to keep the bad out, and let the good through.

Michael D. O'Brien has written a very useful book aimed at equipping people with tools for discernment - called A Landscape with Dragons. He comments on the difference between books and films:

"In many ways this new visual culture is pleasurable, but it is a tyrant. Literature, on the other hand, is democratic. One can pause and put a book down and debate with the author. One can take it up later, after there has been time to think or do some research. The reader's imagination can select what it wishes to focus on, whereas in electronic visual media the mind is pummeled with powerful stimuli that bypass conscious and subconscious defenses."
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I think the OP would be better to state their own reasons for not watching it [which i see they now have], and let others cultivate their own opinions and convictions, and leave judgement of those opinions to God.