Posted on 04/26/2005 7:55:47 AM PDT by gopwinsin04
I agree with you.
If it doesn't clash with my Illuminati meeting, I'll be there.
I am a Christian.
What about The Lord of the Rings? Tolkien was a devout Catholic and is credited with being C.S. Lewis' biggest reason for becoming a Christian.
It is fantasy, yes. It is not reality. I personally feel that LOTR is better literature and does a better job of defining good and evil. However, I read books 4 and 5, and seen the movies, 1, 2 and 3 of the HP series, and do feel that it is decent literature, particularly considering that it is written in a post-modern culture by a European.
It is very accurate to state that power is tempting and has a tendency to corrupt. Saruman fell to the temptation of power in LOTR, and one would expect Harry P to be fighting those temptations. Aniken (sp?) Skywalker fell to to the Dark Side (unrelated sorry).
I also found the references to HP in the article to be misrepresented and taken out of context... severely.
Although I appreciate anybody championing for a Christian worldview, misrepresentation only harms that cause.
C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings are both excellent examples of Christian-authored fantasy that are widely praised.
I cannot squarely place the HP series in with these two, but having attended to the all 5 currently available HP stories, and having read LOTR at least 5 times in their entirety, and thaving read several of the Chronicle's of Narnia books, I cannot pillory HP as demonic nor evil.
The HP series pits good vs. evil palpably, and the books' struggles are full of personal sacrifice for cause and friendship. Harry's friends take big risks to help Harry and each other. They do fight with authority when authority is astray. But, then there is the whole protestant movement, no?
Harry, if you pardon the expression, is kind of an ass. Because the story is from his viewpoint, we can see that the character the Rolling has created is self-absorbed, often selfish, but generally comes back to himself, does the right thing, and then feels a fool for his previous failures of understanding.
Synopsis... Article misrepresents HP. Stories are entertaining and are less harmful than reading the newspaper... With parental guidance, may be as useful as other fables in illustrating god vs. evil, sacrifice, honor, etc.
Haven't you got a build-a-burger get together as well?
I like Pope Benedict, and I also like Harry Potter books. They tickle my imagination, and I have yet to doubt my Christianity in favor of becoming a wiccan or something silly like that.
""The Vatican feels it has the copyright on what is good and what is evil and it does not want anyone else infringing its right to this monopoly. "
Well lady. That's why he's the POPE and you're not!
Uta's just a little ticked off cause the Pope won't allow Gay marriages or Gay priests.
I have it on good advice that if you play the soundtrack to "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" backwards, it says "Vote Hillary! in 2008" over and over.
oh brudder ;-)
Is that next to the Build A Bear in the mall?
It was one of my favorite books as a child.
The movies don't do the books justice, especially #3.
Right after it says, "Ron is dead!"
"and I have yet to doubt my Christianity in favor of becoming a wiccan or something silly like that."
But what of 'young heads full of mush'?
You probably made your decision to be Christian based on the teachings of your parents and church.
But what of the young impressionable minds out there that might find being a 'wizard' or 'witch' exciting?
Considering the lack of control by many parents nowadays, I can see a real problem with them being influenced by these books and movies.
So are the3 Sherlock Holmes plots, and most of Dickens. Shakespeare is littered with cliches.
Good luck selling your inspired stuff.
Good on the Pope! Its about time that pop-culture be given its walking papers.
Good and evil are very clearly defined in HP. Good is having a desire to help people and protect those less powerful, evil is the desire to control people especially those less powerful. There certainly is better stuff out there for Christians, but that doesn't make HP bad for Christians, sometimes everybody has to relax and entertain themselves.
My teenage son is an avid reader. He devours books. Reads lots of fiction, classic and modern. Some of his favorites are Hemingway, Dickens, Twain, Rawlings, Cussler, etc. (Old Man and the Sea one of his favorites...must be a guy thing, LOL, I thought it was depressing.)
He's not really into fantasy/fiction, but did enjoy the Hobbit and Tolkein's Ring trilogy.
That being said, he loves Harry Potter books because he says they're fun. I don't think "great writing" is what makes these books appealing, I think it's more the fantasy element.
Ditto, I love Harry Potter books, but it's not the Bible I use to live my life.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.