Whats wrong with Harry Potter?

Those who express horror at the Harry Potter books are akin to those who tut-tutted at table legs and piano legs being undressed (ie rudely naked) and draped them with skirts. Reading badness into summat that ain't bad at all.

I don't see anything wrong with Harry Potter. It's a pretty good fiction series. There are lots of deaths in it though.

Does anyone know Trey Smith? Is his stuff better than Harry Potter? Or, Is it on the same level?



angels, devils and god in a nutshell?
Author Trey Smith appears to be the upcoming Christian writer on topics like Angels, Devils, Demons and even God. I have found his "Angels and Devils" information represented by a growing number of churches. And, quite honestly, found the Nutshell Angels and Devils Quick Quiz amazingly entertaining.

Trey Smith Books - Top Picks Book Directory

As a literary / film agent I have done a review of the "Letter" Trey Smith's people claim, "started everything." These are my observations of Smith's work.

Positives

1) The material is engaging and probably qualifies as the most well-written "spiritual" content I have ever read. It has an eerily real feel to it that is not normally found in the often "fairytale-ish" vibe of common religious (Christian) literature. I would actually give it a thumbs up over "spin-off" religions materials as well, like Ron Hubbard's Scientology. I am not a religious person, but for the moments that I was reading about God, angels and demons in Trey's Nutshell pages; he almost had me convinced.

2) The material does an excellent job of breaking down very complex ideas into simple, easy-to-visualize concepts; which probably means we will see this saga of wars, angels and demons on movie screens one day soon.

3) The fictional novel (Book One - Satan: Judgment Day for the Dragon) of the God in a Nutshell series is astoundingly face-paced and interlinks new ideas with old concepts in a uniquely stylistic format. Basically, it is a good read.

Negatives

1) It is hard to tell whether Trey Smith is actually talking about angels and demons; or if he is giving us a fictional story meant to represent the flaws of mankind.

I have to admit, my favorite character in the whole story was the devil himself. I am certainly not into the "black face paint and fingernail crowd", but from the devil's point of view, destroying mankind often seemed like a pretty attractive idea.

Over-all, I give this book "two thumbs up." It is certainly worth reading.




Here are some facts related to the Angels, Devils and God in a Nutshell Material



God in a Nutshell History

God in a Nutshell began as a single letter that was written by Colorado author Trey Smith. The letter, now commonly referred to as God in a Nutshell Letter One, took on local Denver radio attention and was requested for use as a teaching material by a significant number of pastors in Colorado. It ultimately spread via the internet to churches and ministries around the United States. However, the Nutshell Letter One has also taken on religious controversy surrounding its content and the clearly Christian viewpoint it represents.

Content of Nutshell Letter One

God in a Nutshell Letter One, and the letters which have followed, present the Christian perspective of God in a step-by-step format. The Letter/s approach broad topics, such as, evolution, temptation, demonic control and the purpose of Jesus Christ in a single theme of mankind’s search for connection with an intelligent source greater than himself; God. Additionally, the Letters have content regarding the creation of angels, angelic groups, classes of angels and hierarchies of demons which have raised questions amongst some factions of Christianity.

Current God in a Nutshell

The God in a Nutshell Letters have given rise to a fictional book series by author Trey Smith which catalog the wars between God’s angels and Satan’s demons. The first book of the Nutshell Series is titled, Satan: Judgment Day for the Dragon.





Links related to this page:

There is nothing wrong with them. People tend to believe that if children read these books, they may end up wanting to practice it.

Why can we read The Chronicles of Narnia but not Harry Potter? Magic is magic and fiction is fiction. Seriously.

The above post was my opinion on the matter. Please keep that in mind. All of my posts about this topic are all my opinion. You cannot prove or disprove them.

Anyway, I honestly feel that no matter what the case is, magic in a book is the same. Sure there are WITCHES in the book... but they are no different than a witch in a disney movie because they are fictional. Every spell in that book is practically translated literally from latin. They aren't real spells and it is only a story. A story to read and enjoy and when you close it, you know you are in the real world and that God exists and that actual Witchcraft is MUCH different than that.

The basic point is: Understand that it is a book and that irl, things are not like that. Witchcraft is frowned upon in Christianity and it can be dangerous, some say. Just enjoy your fiction and make believe world while you can. You have your entire adult life to worry about real life stuff.

It's fiction. I really like the Harry Potter series and I don't see anything wrong with Christians reading it. I read a lot of fantasy books with a huge amount of magical element. In addition to this, I even like the books of Dan Brown and I don't think they have affected my faith in any way. Maybe if you're weak in faith they're not for you.

yeah i think herry potter is the great actor in their film.And he playing good roll in this movie.There is mostly people buy their film`s tickets online.And now starting new plays

I grew up around a lot of real wicca and witchcraft. Harry Potter is nothing like it. I do not think there is any relation between the two. I think people who have a problem with Harry Potter have not read them. So they do not know what they are talking about and rely on rumors and other peopels words for information.

AlbusEarwax said:

I grew up around a lot of real wicca and witchcraft. Harry Potter is nothing like it. I do not think there is any relation between the two. I think people who have a problem with Harry Potter have not read them. So they do not know what they are talking about and rely on rumors and other peopels words for information.

Click to expand...

Stephen Dollins(former occult member actually a High Priest) Thinks differently in his book - Under the Spell of Harry Potter.

Also in another book that I read Harry Potter and the Bible it showed the very distinct similarities. In fact both of the two books I just mentioned agreed that about 2/3 of the "magic" mentioned is connected to the occult or things done in it.

Now including that God says that those who practice magic commit "abominations" and should be killed. I say the case is strong against.

This all does not include the fact that all the "moral values" in the Harry Potter series actually are "graying" morality. Characters lie, cheat, steal, disrespect authority and break the rules, yet they never get a just punishment. Half the time they are praised or rewarded for their immoral choices once they defeat the "greater evil"(Which is just like them, but a bit worse).

I have picked up a book or two of the series. I find the style compelling and the story started to draw me in, but when I started to look under the surface, the spiritual effects were awful. THat is why I have not touched any Harry Potter things in a good long time.

It is things like this that the enemy uses to enter our minds and hearts. A good book or books to read on such things is C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters or Lord Foulgrin's Letters by Randy Alcorn.

Remember, just because it's "fiction" doesn't mean that it's not an attempt by Satan to gain a foot hold in your life and interests. Never discount the spiritual effects of something.

If Griffins and Phoenixs exist. If you believe in the OT law regarding those who practice 'magic' in such a broad sense that Daniel and most of the Prophets stand convicted of witchcraft. Then yes Harry Potter is a dangerous book.

If you are a parent and have concerns, look instead to places more mundane. A general distrust of ALL authority. A common flaw in many childrens stories, but one to think about. But even there HP is far from the worst. At least a couiple of adults are shown to be faithful. (Black and Dumbledor).

But still an area for caution. A huge contrast to 'Have Spacesuit Will Travel', 'Triplanetary' or 'Red Planet' by Heinlein where the parent(s) of the young heros are trustworthy, but seperated from their children by force or circumstance.

Oh one other danger, one that only comes with success. HP like many childrens books before it was written at a pace of about 1 per year and was designed to match teh growing up of the young readers. Great for those who read it when it camo out. A potential problem for those who came later. Think about it! You read the first of a series and like it, what do you do? You read the next story! A child can easily reed the whole series in a year. A child who found book 1 charming and stimulating could find the final book terrifying and disturbing. (Even if that same child would ahve instead found it stimulating and a growing experience if read 6 years later). But can't the same be said for Narnia? The end of 'The Final Battle' would be quite distrubing for a child who loved 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe'.

But in the end my 'concerns' regarding HP are in fact more a critique of how many parents are these days. A child should not be left alone and TOTALLY unmonitored with HP any more than they should with TV. If a kid becomes 'enchanted' whith Harry Potter their parents should at least listen to what the child says about the books.

But when it comes to worrying about the magic in HP I say Ridiculos and banish that bogert!

I really like the Harry Potter series and don't see anything wrong with it. It's fiction. Sure it deals with things not always appropriate for children but the people horrified by it and their kids reading it can just not let their kids read it. Simple.

My DH runs into similar criticism from time to time. He's a magician (or conjuror, if you prefer), occasionally does kid's parties and some parents have complained that he's encouraging the kids into dabbling into the occult. Nonsense!

We give the Devil far too much credit sometimes, seeing him under every bush as the saying goes. Having said that if someone has any doubts about reading or watching anything it's probably better to avoid it. My personal feeling is that you wouldn't be missing much if you didn't read HP (just my opinion, I know some of you like it!). But I doubt it would do any harm if you did.

AlbusEarwax said:

I grew up around a lot of real wicca and witchcraft. Harry Potter is nothing like it. I do not think there is any relation between the two. I think people who have a problem with Harry Potter have not read them. So they do not know what they are talking about and rely on rumors and other peopels words for information.

Click to expand...

Well, Wiccans do not practice evil spells either, so I guess there is that in common with Harry Potter's ''witches''. The mundane truth is that Wiccans do not actual practice any magic, really. They are a faith based on old pre-Christian beliefs. I disagree with their beliefs - they blend too many religions together and misinterpret them - but they are not usually bad people, just as most Christians in England aren't.

ExaltedReign said:

If you actually look at Wicca, its much more mild than people think. Their credo is something like "Do what you will, but don't harm others".

Click to expand...

Actually that is Thelema, which is generally mild...Wicca on the other hand is soft and shares too much (for a pagan face) with Christianity too. Infact I believe, and I do not wish to offend Christians and Wiccans, that it was started by ex-Christians fed up with Christ but wanting to keep a lot of the basic morality.

Violent - and real - witchcraft doesn't really exist and it probably never has.

that is not true. I grew up with realitives who say they are witches. Also friends of the family who are wicca. the ones who are witches can be scary. I feel sick alot when I am near them. It is hard to like them also becase they do not like me. they can be mean. I do not see them very much now.

Harry potter rocks but im guessing its magic witch is wiccan with people think is evil.

AlbusEarwax said:

that is not true. I grew up with realitives who say they are witches.

Click to expand...

Is this a reply to me, Albus? Well, people can claim they are witches but does it mean they can actually caste spells?

Also friends of the family who are wicca. the ones who are witches can be scary.

Click to expand...

You should not be scared on them, Wicca doesn't really hold any magic like that, it is just a religion based around mixing different pagan - and Abrahamic - concepts into one. You should not be scared, you would be saffe unless they were murderors or something like that.

I feel sick alot when I am near them. It is hard to like them also becase they do not like me. they can be mean. I do not see them very much now.

Click to expand...

You feel much the same way as I, and others, do around hostile Christians. In the end some people of other faiths give off negativity and hostility towards you.

FreedomKnight said:

Stephen Dollins(former occult member actually a High Priest) Thinks differently in his book - Under the Spell of Harry Potter.

Click to expand...

After being suckered in by Mike Warnke and John Todd, I'm gonna need some verified credentials from anybody who uses a claim to have been a High Priest in the occult to 'sell their ministry'.

Captivated said:

My DH runs into similar criticism from time to time. He's a magician (or conjuror, if you prefer), occasionally does kid's parties and some parents have complained that he's encouraging the kids into dabbling into the occult. Nonsense!

We give the Devil far too much credit sometimes, seeing him under every bush as the saying goes. Having said that if someone has any doubts about reading or watching anything it's probably better to avoid it. My personal feeling is that you wouldn't be missing much if you didn't read HP (just my opinion, I know some of you like it!). But I doubt it would do any harm if you did.

Click to expand...

Magician as in illusionist? one who uses slight of hand, misdirection and smoke and mirrors?

Since I do not believe in a literal devil I have to agree people see him far too much. But if I were to believe in such and see his work everywhere I would see it in the manner of The Screwtape Letters, not in big things that everyone is looking at, but in small things, in subtle suggestions and temptations.

I love Harry Potter.
If it has that many Christian themes, reading it as a small child didn't make me a Christian, so I don't see why it would lead Christians into the occult. It's just a book.