It was deemed "Harry Potter Day" last Friday at summer school. All these kids had to put on fake round black glasses and don witches hats. Even some of the adults dressed up like witches and did a Harry Potter skit. Then the kids all particpated in a quiz show about the books. I didn't feel comfortable sitting there wondering if a children's camp should be celebrating witchcraft or books about witchcraft. Then again, was I looking too much into it?
What do you guys think of letting your kids read Harry Potter? I've heard some people debating on the radio today and one side thought that the books are evil (being based on sorcery, witches, and the like) and the other side said to lay off, they are kid's books, that no one is hurt by reading them. I've never read Harry Potter, nor have been interested in reading the books. But I am curious as to what parents do these days in regards to deciding what their kids read. And, more importantly, what they would think if Harry Potter Day was celebrated at their school or camp.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
26 comments:
What about The Lord Of The Rings?
That is my thinking of the issue too, Nate. It is no different than any other fictional book that has soldiers, or aliens, or Jedi, or wring wraiths, or any other made up character. It is fiction. If any child thinks that any work of fiction is real then there is the problem.
The fact that the beliefs and language of the Harry Potter books is closely paralleled in real life does not make it any different than all the other works of fiction. It is still fiction. If the reader keeps that in mind then I see no harm in reading stories with witches (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe), god-like humans (most comic books), or giants (Bible, Samuel 16-18).
Just kidding with that last reference, for those of you who don't know me well enough to figure that out.
That they had a Harry Potter day is a little weird, but those books are a large piece of pop culture with children everywhere. So it does kind of make sense that in a camp where children from all over the world attend that they have a fun day centered on a character that they all can identify with. Besides, I don’t think that we would want them running around in tights for Superman/Superwoman day. Plus the capes would be a safety hazard.
I think I won't let Levi read Harry Potter books because (based on movie previews) the stories look pretty corny.
I'm glad you brought this up Kristi. I would never let Levi read Harry Potter but I look forward to the day when he can read Tolken(or read it to him). I guess its just a feeling I had about what would be okay but I always questioned if it is hypocritical or not. Both Randy and Martha made good points but as a mom I am going to have to go with Martha on this one.
Oops that was me!
I think there is a BIG difference between fantasy type stories, and fiction based on real facts. Witchcraft is very real, and very enticing, and very anit-God. The things experienced in Star Wars can only be imagined and acted out as "pretend", but the things depicted in Harry Potter can be put into real life practice.
As Nate pointed out when he was talking about pool rules, kids are like sponges. They soak it all up. In my opinion, they should not be fed unhealthy concepts, especially witchcraft. I think a good parent, in a debate like this one, should err on the side of protection of their child instead of over exposure. I would not want to be the one responsible for opening my child up to evil influence.
So, sorry Randy, NO SMURFS! They're gay. I know, my friend Jeri told me.
Witchcraft is not real. It is a misrepresentation of real things, gaining power through means other than God. “Witchcraft” is no more evil than gossip or stealing. It is all deviation from the will of God for our lives, yet people don't seem to get all upset about seeing those things on TV or in books. Is gossip sometimes right or is stealing sometimes ok. Try looking at the 8th and 9th commandments for clarification on that rhetorical question.
I say that because sometimes those actions, as well as many others, are portrayed in a good light or at least as acceptable. I am not defending witchcraft, but am saying that all things, that in any way, communicate a theory that things which are all bad, are actually not bad all the time, can not be read, watched, or listened to at all. No more anything, which I don't necessarily disagree with, yet I think it might be important to stay updated on the cultural happenings.
People can become Jedi, just by another name. The idea of the force is a thinly disguised rendition of the main aspects of eastern religions: that we are all part of some greater force, that we are all part of "god," that we all have the capacity for good or evil depending on our own choices and actions. Well that is all witchcraft. We are evil, separate from the Power that binds this universe together, and only able to become one with It by the grace of that Power. I am sure people get lead away from God by influence from the religion of Star Wars. Sure, they can't be Jedi, but they can reach nirvana, oneness with truth (the force).
Whether one blatantly denies the power of God through Satanic, naturalistic, or humanistic worship or one carries oneself around in some self-righteous super Christian manner, thereby subtlety challenging God’s power and grace, one accomplishes the same thing.
So if someone went through the Harry Potter books and changed witch to “symbologist” it would all be OK? These “symbologists” would gain power by tattooing symbols on their bodies. Beings from an ethereal celestial race would be channeled through those who have the insight to wield this power of symbols. That is witchcraft slightly veiled, but I am sure much more palpable to most of our psyches. If that example that I just gave can be accepted as entertainment, because it is fiction, then why can’t the Harry Potter series. Harry Potter is not real, nor are the beasts in the books, or the fact that there can be a good witch. It is all fake. No kid can go out and become a good witch. If he understands that, then I think the problem is solved. It depends on knowing fiction from reality.
It's all about themes.
We are using the term "kid" very loosely here. I think that alot of this stuff that "can" be viewed withouth compromising our relationship with our God maybe could be allowed "age appropriately." Given that the parents are teaching discerning skills to their children, some things are OK for older children which would not be OK for yournger.
And, Randy, your point about witchcraft, gossip and steeling all being evil, in that they are a deviation from God's will in our lives, I agree with wholeheartedly. We all, adult and child, should be much more careful about what we entertain ourselves with.
So am I
Since I don't regularly check blogger comments very often, it looks like I'm coming into this discussion late.
Having never read/seen the Harry Potter books/movies, I don't know whether I'm very qualified to comment on this, but of course I will anyway.
As much as I like to argue with Randy every now and then, I have to say I agree with most of what he said on this so far.
I have no reason to believe that the Harry Potter series paints "witchcraft" in any more of an "achievable" light than Lord of the Rings, or the C.S. Lewis Narnia stories; all the commercials I've seen of the movies involve very unrealistic scenes, not unlike the other series mentioned.
I would disagree with the concept that all forms of sin are equally wrong, and I would agree that witchcraft is in a different league than lying or stealing. But, then again, murder is pretty bad too, and is portrayed in a positive way in LOTR and many other stories that the Christian community generally finds acceptable.
Actually, I think Randy's reference to the Bible is pretty relevant in this case. Some of the stuff that Israel did to some of its neighbors (sometimes under direct orders from God) was pretty brutal, and would be unquestionably morally reprehensible for any nation to do in this day and age. Given an incorrect (or incomplete) contextual understanding of such passages could (and probably does) lead some wackos to believe that all kinds of atrocities are acceptable. However, the entire context of scripture as studied by a mature reader will put those events in the proper frame of reference and prevent such misinterpretations/misapplications.
I guess, in the end, that would be my reason for not approving of the Harry Potter stories. In other cases (like LOTR and Star Wars), the magic elements were primarily just fluff in the context of larger stories, which had plenty of positive lessons in issues such as honor, etc. In Harry Potter (as far as I know) the "magic" was the primary focus of the movie, and not as much of a less relevant backdrop as it was in the other examples.
I don't know about the argument that some sins are worse than others. I realize how it plays out in our lives as WE see it, but then I wonder why the Bible says that if you've broken one point of the law, you've broken all points. And if you look lustfully, it's the same as committing the sin. It seams that we probably don't weigh our sins on the same scale as God does.
In my opinion, Harry Potter, Star Wars, LOTR, Narnia, The Wizzard of Oz, etc. should be considered for viewing as your children reach an age and maturity level that you think they can discern well. Maybe by the time they reach that point, they won't be interested anyway. (Except Star Wars, of course.) Personally, I think Harry Potter is geared towards kids who are much too young to sort it all out.
I read a review on a Harry Potter movie yesterday. You may not like Dobson, but I like his Movie Review page called Plugged In. It's very conservative, but that helps me to make a decision when I'm considering giving Kenny permission to go to the movies, because it sites every little item in the movie. (I can choose which sins I want him to be entertained by!!!)
I think this review is worth reading. It seems pretty balanced.
www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/ movies/a0000279.cfm
Actually, the other day, Randy Sr. was vegging in front of the TV and watched some of the Harry Potter movie. He said it was stupid, but then he says all movies are stupid.
Hey, it's Kat. Wow Kristi, way to go on a deep subject. Obviously this Harry Potter stuff has done exactly what Satan wants it to... cause division and controversy. I read the first book because I didn't want to be one of "those" people who comment without seeing. The first one is very tame and I can see how kids dig it. Harry goes to a "magical" place for school... which to me is just like when the kids went into the wardrobe and found Narnia. I think if the author stopped there and left all the magic in that place, there wouldn't be such a problem. But, Harry comes home and can still perform magic. Then I started reading the second book and it gets darker and darker with the characters getting pretty scary... chanting; casting spells, etc. That's where my soul got chilly and I had to stop. It was dangerous for me to even go there in the first place (coming from the New Age lifestyle/"white" magic bullcrap) God gave me a "spidey-sense" and I fully obeyed. It would be hard to discern if you hadn't lived the life I did and seen the things I've seen.
To me, it's just not worth risking my relationship with God. Look how huge it's become... that alone scares me. You don't see the masses running to get the first copy of any Christian novel. People are searching... they want to be taken away to fantasy land... what they can't do they want to try to emulate. Still, it's always a story of good and evil... where good always win... that's good right?
But have you seen "MindFreak" Criss Angel? He's straight from Satan's house. Tell me after seeing him you don't think Magic is real. Illusions or not... he's just plain creepy! He wears a cross around his neck... think he's a beliver? Okay, I'm done.
Is it just that the magic/sorcery in HP gets too dark? Or should we condemn everything related to or having "magic" or "witches" in it? I am pretty naive I guess when it comes to this stuff. I watched Lance Burton and Copperfield growing up (but knew they were only illusions)and I dressed up for Halloween. That did not make my parents bad, nor did that have any long term effect on my mind. I watched Nickelodean's 24 hrs of Bewitched, along with reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I may be naive about witchcraft, but consider this: I don't remember Bewitched, Buffy, or Sabrina the Teenage Witch having spells written out and broadcast on air, but isn't it given since they are witches? Are people upset at HP because the spells are (no pun intended) spelled out for them in writing? Like I said, it was a given that all those tv shows were revolving around witches, yet I didn't hear a word from the Christian community about them. A new Bewitched movie just came out in the theatres not too long ago. I didn't hear anything bad about it, either. Kids are smart. They can figure out what magic is without reading HP. They could wonder what would give Sabrina, Samantha, and Buffy their powers without even opening a HP book. It's totally left up to the discernment of the parents. I'm not saying that I would want my child read HP. Again, I'm naive and would err on the side of caution with that (plus their grandma j would kill me). It's just really hard to pick apart what is deemed "good" and "evil". I know my parents didn't mean- and didn't cause- any harm to me growing up. Of course, we didn't have HP books but *gasp* we watched Mary Poppins (who did have magic) and Pee Wee's Playhouse (meck-alecka-hi-mecka-hiney-ho).
You know what Kristi? Maybe I wasn't right in letting you dress up, along with your daddy in his old man mask, and go to the neighbors to ring door bells for candy. Maybe this ruined you - you think? Remember too, I hate Halloween and and NEVER did decorate the house for it but I have always given out candy to the neighbor kids.
Really, since I haven't read the books or seen the HP movies, I should not comment. I think there are many, many decisions that we have to make as parents and as individuals and just pray that they are the right ones.
No, marm. It didn't ruin me at all. Except that I really really like candy now. I'm not a devil worshipper or a witch because you let me trick or treat.
So much has been said here. Its a little over whelming to try and comment but I did want to share a little story. In Prescott one of my patients was really in to the HP books. He had his little HP journal that he wrote his own spells in and everything. He was also about 10 years old which I think is the target age for these books. Maybe I'm crazy but even pretend play like that freaks me out. I guess my conclusion after reading all this commentary on the subject is that I need to pray more diligently that God would give me wisdom and discernment in raising Levi. Being a parent is such a huge responsibility but I gladly embrace it.
Not to get too off-topic, but regarding the question of some kinds of sin being worse than others, I think it's kind of obvious that it is.
The fact that all of it separates us from God is what is being referred to by the "if you've broken one point, it's as if you've broken them all" quote, since any infraction removes us immeasurably away from the standard of perfection. Since you can never make up for this gap on your own, in that sense it doesn't matter whether the gap is 1 million or ten million miles. In the same manner, forgiveness is offered regardless of the distance (which I think is a much more difficult concept for most Christians to accept).
0
But in the sense of weighing one kind of sin against another, I think it's pretty clear that there are differences. Sure, part of this may be our perception of the differences, but I think it's also based pretty clearly on God's point of view as well.
If they were all the same, then when God was spelling out old testament law to the people of Israel, it wouldn't have taken up as many pages, he could have just said if you do anything wrong at all you should be executed. Since instead he delineated on a great many issues, I would tend to think that he views them differently in some way.
As for reading the books and watching the movies themselves, (in case I wasn't clear before), I say that when in doubt, you should just not allow them. There are plenty of other good stories out there. If they really make a big deal about it, then I would take the time to look into it further and then make my decision after I've actually reviewed the material myself.
It's interesting that you bring up Bewitched and Buffy, etc. I grew up watching Bewitched myself but even as a child, her mother (Andora) scared the crap out of me. And on Buffy when Willow became a witch, I was disturbed by the cantations... the calling of the four corners of mother earth; air, wind, etc. That's when I stopped watching it.
The only thing I can say is that what God tells each one of us individually is the way we should decide what's good and what's not. Being in the word and being guided by the Spirit is the only way we can be sure to be safe. I believe he gives some people a stronger shield against certain things. For example, me... I really need to stay away from stuff like that because of my past on the other hand my past has given me a discernment to know when I'm crossing the line.
His word plainly states that witchcraft, seers and the like are not of God.... we need to recognize that. But I don't believe in shielding our kids from everything (ie. Halloween)... then they won't have the ability to discern anything on their own.
It's not black and white and we'll make mistakes... I just keep praying and reading the word. That's the best defense for anything. If I'm wrong, He'll let me know.
Hey Jared, please forgive me if you felt my statement, "I don't wan't to be one of "those" people without seeing" was directed to you (or anyone else commenting here)... I was talking specifically about people who make gigantic waves about things they know nothing about. It was generalized, yes, but about any of you... totally NO. Sorry. There's something that errks me when "left wing" or extreme "right wing" people make a big stink trying to make sure they are heard.... does that makes sense? I want to be in the middle... my comments are just that and I definitely don't want people to get the wrong idea.
I am grateful for all the insights here and even for the debates... this is a continuous topic for my walk with God. I am so stricly opposed to astrology and the like but I also don't want to be frozen solid to what's going on around me. I suffered greatly when first becoming a believer because of what I was in to... I wish I could relay how serious it could be even to entertain it just a little bit. But truthfully, I also believe one's free will has to be his or her greatest lesson learned without me shouting, "beware the devil".
so again, forgive me anyone who took offense ... I am still not very good at the debate thing but learning.
Kat, your're so sweet!
Also, even if one hasn't ever been "into" all that stuff, sometimes it's just a stewardship issue. What do I choose to spend my time an money on. And what do I choose to be entertained by. Don't you all agree with me?
"big wink"
your're = yourrr'rrre = you're
oops!
hi, everyone has made good points and I ran out of time and could not finish reading all of these comments, but it seems that most people are commenting on this from the outside looking in, I have indeed read all five books and I'm currently reading the sixth. When the books first came out I had no idea what they were about and I didn't care really. But I did see that children in our country (and all over the world) were actually picking up books and reading them. That's very rare if you really think about it. So i was encouraged, I've run across several people around me who think that by me reading these books that i'm going to go out and start practicing witchcraft. THEY ARE WRONG, of course I'm an adult and know better.
I do agree with Randy these books are a work of fiction and shouldn't be taken seriously, but I can also agree with Martha. I don't think certain children should read them, only children of a certain age should be able to read these books, but like LOTR AND LW&W they should be read with a parent(especially if the parent is as concerned as you all are)
Now speaking of those two books, the only reason that those books are not questioned by the christian community is because they were wriiten by known christians as a means of "outresearch", but come on, I've heard pastors preach sermons on THE MATRIX, so why can't we turn HP into a simple story about good and evil. Yes there is witchcraft involved, but really these books are about a boy who's throw into a world he doesn't know, how he has to cope with the truth about himself and his parent's while finding his way as a teen and dealing with the death of his parents and jr. high/high school.
i think that before anyone can judge anything they have to sit down and really look at it, someone commented that they can't wait to read the lord of the rings to their child, that's great...but why not think about reading HP and teaching them while you go along. afterall you can't judge a book by it's cover or by what you've heard other people say.
Would I let my future child read these books? yes (at least that's what i say now) because I have fallen in Love with the world jk rowling paints in the pages of these books, would i let them do it before they at least 11 (the age harry is in the very first book)? no, and i wouldn't let them do it without me being there to teach them that witchcraft is wrong and to answer any questions they might pose.
Now Kristi, to answer your question about Harry Potter day, well that's a little much, but at least the kids have halloween customes
Fear is bred into society through [insert organized faith here].
As a good christian, why not try the following:
1.) Read the books.
2.) Talk to people who have read the books.
3.) Discuss here.
It's so easy to have somebody tell you something is "evil" than actually determining that for yourself.
My OPINION on the books (I am currently reading the latest):
The idea of witches and goblins, snitches, and trolls (oh my!) is absurd. THAT IS WHAT MAKES IT SO GREAT!
If you think about it, we live our day-to-day lives hearing about bombings, murders, car accidents. Some of us enjoy escaping to another world's troubles and fantasies.
In short:
Try something new and decide for yourself.
welcome to the blog world, kenny!
Post a Comment