Harry Potter and "the Death of God" - by Michael D. O'Brien

LifeSiteNews.com ^ | August 20, 2007 | Michael O'Brien

[Ranxerox]

Anti-Potter Nitwit

Pfffft. Ain't that the truth...what a load of tripe. To paraphrase Freud: "sometimes a story is just a story."

Oddly enough, I don't see legions of kids running around in wizard robes, waving wands at people, and cursing them with humorously disguised bad latin.

[r9etb]

Oddly enough, I don't see legions of kids running around in wizard robes, waving wands at people, and cursing them with humorously disguised bad latin.

Well, now, that's not quite correct. I know a lot of kids who do exactly that ...

They're playing Harry Potter, just like they'll grab weapons and play pirate, or cowboys, or soldiers, or Power Rangers, or whatnot. They're having (gasp!!!) FUN!

Yeah, old Satan loves it when kids use their imaginations.... /s.

[DeFault User]

He (Harry) must grow up, it goes without saying, and he does so throughout the seven tales by coming into the realization of his inherent semi-divine powers. These are never referred to as god-like powers because that would be a tacit admission of some kind of higher authority, and Potterworld will admit no absolute hierarchy in creation.

It seems apparent that Mr. O'Brien sees the religious allegory in Potter's life, but then chastises the author for not admitting "some kind of higher power". It's likely that O'Brien would have accused Rowling of blasphemy had she done so.

You can't win with critics like this who are so obsessed with their narrow view that they see a nefarious purpose in anything that does not track exactly with their preconceptions..

[cgk]

Couple weeks ago there was a threat about HP, and I agree with that one.

Would you mind linking to this? I'd like to read it. A threat? About what?

That’s not the case with “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman. He stated that he wrote the series to challenge Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, which he saw as ‘Christian indoctrination’.

Have you read these books? I have not, but was recommended to read them by 2 family members, though was always less than enthused to do so.

[JenB]

Or is really, really jealous that his books aren’t as popular.

[uglybiker]

This author’s just trying to stay in practice for when the next Dan Brown book comes out. ;-)

[Tijeras_Slim]

Those in thrall to Potterworld may, for a while, be pleasured and distracted from their real condition by the orgy of sensations, by stimulated affections and the rush of adrenaline, by blood and gore and fright and lore, by fabulous imagery and ingenious invention.

You gotta check out this one.... I think this dude moonlights as Captain Hyperbole.

[null and void]

Ping

[null and void]

"and as far as I can remember none of them die naturally."

Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel.

[RightWhale]

Every fairy tale ever told (I think) relies on magic or talking animals or some sort of necessarily fictitious events.

Maybe, but true fairy tales, and mythologies before them, have some kind of point, and come from a time when everybody accepted magic as reality (still a few pockets of such, apparently) while Harry Potter is even less magical than Tom Swift.

[null and void]

Balaam’s donkey???

[RightWhale]

The only one more magical than Tom Swift is the architect in Fountainhead.

[MEGoody]

As far as rivaling the Bible in any sense - and the author is quite specific and quite serious about this - it is difficult to see how an adult with all his faculties intact could manage to make the comparison.

The day this book was released, our local news did some interviews of people who had been camped outside bookstores and all kinds of stuff. Many of them were dressed like characters from the books. The majority of them were adults.

Kinda sad. You'd think adults would have enough life to live that they wouldn't have to obsess over a book written for kids.

[trisham]

Interesting article.

[DarkSavant]

Wow, this is the silliest, most over-the-top thing I’ve ever read. Putting author’s name on my auto-ignore mental list.

I actually read one of this guy's books(Father Elijah). While it wasn't particularily good, there were some very powerful section. One of my friends actually knew the guy personally too. Reading something like this from him is depressing. Seems to be a case of misplaced religious zeal.

[Artemis Webb]

I saw a really nice boxed Potter set on Amazon the other day. I already have all the books but I was waffling on paying for the boxed set. Thanks to you for posting this article. I will go buy it right now!

Thank God for J.K. Rowling!!!!

[LadyNavyVet]

I believe if Rowling were a professed Christian like Tolkien and Lewis, the Potter series would be applauded for its insightful and vivid portrayal of the battle between good and evil, yadda,yadda,yadda. The writings of Tolkien and Lewis are as fanciful and as full of magic, mystery and alternate worlds as the writings of Rowling. But that’s okay because they’re Christian.

Too much time, effort and ink has been wasted by Christians lambasting poor fictional Harry instead of focusing on real evil in the world.

[Artemis Webb]

Oh yeah..one more thing;

Cthulhu Saves!

[martin gibson]

read later...NOT.

did you know that Barbara Bush is a SATINIST because she acknowledged the Harry Potter books as part of her advocacy work with librarians. Plenty of FreeTard threads that will fill you on all the details...

[Artemis Webb]

"All told, it is the grandest trans-cultural event of epic proportions in the history of mankind, rivaled only by the Bible."

"This is almost too silly to comment on. It is nothing of the sort"

True.

"Twenty years from now Potter will be an item of nostalgia for a dimly-remembered childhood fad."

False
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/215025/universal_studios_plans_a_harry_potter.html