Harry Potter vs. The Fairy God-Mother

Long live the tooth fairy too!

Jen, once again. I think you made a well written statement.

 

Actressdancer: I hope now you can get back to your MIL with all kinds of "hey thats not fair" over how she puts you and your family down and gives into her other grand kids.:lol:

 

That's ok, My bestest friend in the whole world (JenniBear) thinks completely opposite of me, I think and she will get on here and tear me a new one as soon as she can! hahahahaha!

 

Well, gee, if she saw it on a fake site that is more than I thought. I figured she just heard it from someone else who felt the same. Who heard it from someone else, who...:lol:

 

My little 1¢ opinion here

We celebrate Halloween - and go all out if possible. We dream of doing a haunted hay ride etc. Not because of the devil or anything evil - but because we LOVE to see kids faces when they see what we have done. Hearing them laugh and be scared but having a great time makes it all worth while for us. I wear special theatrical contacts during the Halloween season to get reactions and in the future it will be to help promote our farm. Previously it was to promote our haunted house that we had in our garage in suburbia.

A quick story though - the family across the street did not celebrate Halloween. They enjoyed the work we put into it - but they spent the day at their church etc. No problem from either side. We had a HUGE wind storm 60MPH winds which in the early morning tore up a tent we had set up and knocked over 2 - 200+lb pillars with foam gargoyles on top. The ONLY person who came out to help pick it up was the man (completely dressed up in his very expensive business suit) who didn't believe in Halloween. The rest of the steet made comments, but no one stopped to help.

I read Harry Potter because it's entertainment. Same reason I watch movies (but I prefer reading) and I love Murder She Wrote (but I would NEVER travel the same place she's going to be because someone always gets killed) My whole family has played Dungeons & Dragons which believe it or not teaches them to work together and that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.

I respect everyone's opinion - as long as they respect mine and I don't try and change people, it's not my job - I have enough to do - LOL

 

what a pain in the behind to get back on here!!! I have been trying for DAYS....I reset my browser and deleted all my cookies....so now I'm back! I hope!!!!!

Hey JenniferErix...I won't mess you up too bad!

There are a lot of things that my kids are not allowed to watch, but then I do allow shows that other people might not. SPONGEBOB ROCKS!!

My kids know who Harry Potter is, but why it is not allowed. I don't like them to watch shows with witches as characters, or with plots of sorcery, witchcraft, magic powers, or shows that portray dating (this REALLY irks me). Even though I was not raised in a Christian home, I just KNEW that there was something wrong with it. I don't even like Halloween (even as a child I didn't), but my dh allows it. This year, that day falls on a Wednesday, so we will be in church this year! YAY! I told the children I will buy some bags of candy and let them eat all they want. ha ha!

I hate hate lying to my kids about the Easter Bunny, Santa, Tooth Fairy...but I downplay EB and Santa (they go to Grandma and Grandpa's House instead!) and focus on Jesus. All these fantasy/fairy ideas make me bristle and go against my gut these are LIES!

 

God hates witchcraft, yes, but neither my children nor I practise witchcraft. HP is a good V evil morality tale & great as a discussion starter on all things Christian.

Besides, a well meaning Christian lent me a video on the evils of HP which contained practising witches, real spells & incantations etc, which my child walked in on & was completely horrified by. So was I. HP has a great deal more in common with Christianity than it has with Paganism, imo.

Lastly, there is other stuff out there as bad or worse than HP & nothing like the same sort of fuss is made about that. Plenty of Christians who fuss about HP fill their minds with trashy tv shows/books/music/violence etc & I am a good deal more worried by that than I am by a fairy tale. However, God made us all differently & some people are more susceptable to some influences than others so we must guard ourselves carefully & teach our children the same.

 

I agree with you completely! It is a never-ending job to protect and guard our children's eyes, ears, and heart from the trash of this world.

from the mom who allows SpongeBob lol

 

I'm editing this to say that this may be what causes some people to oppose the HP series:

"There shall not be found among you anyone who …practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you."
Duet 18:10-14

The Harry Potter books distinguish between "good" magic and "bad" magic. Even the "good" people in the books cast spells and pronounce curses. God's Word doesn't distinguish between the types of magic. He says it all comes from the same source.

 

The Harry Potter books do not sit well with the Spirit in me. I happen to know a few ex-witches, now Christians, who have voiced the very same concerns that I have.

One of the biggest differences between Harry Potter and, say, the witches in the Oz books is that in Harry Potter, the children are in school to learn witchcraft while a witch in the Oz books was always a witch, we are not told how they "become" one, and there were no children witches.

Then there is the promotion of witchcraft, which has a much stronger seductive influence in the HP books than any of the magic/fantasy books I read as a child.

Recently a friend told me of a picture in a local weekly newspaper of child dressed as warlocks and witches with wands at a bookstore promo with a HP theme. The caption read "...practicing their spells."

We don't do Halloween and it really was not originally because of my faith, although that is why we continue this practice, but because I just never liked it even as a child. Older children running around doing mischief and scaring younger children. Then a few towns I lived banned trick or treating because so many children were getting hurt, some were my friends.

It is not that I live a sinless life of absolute purity, but celebrating or promoting or even reading about witchcraft (witchcraft, to me, is the practice of attempting to influence or control through any kind of supernatural methods according to one's will instead of seeking God's will) I just try not to do because I cannot see how it honors/serves my Lord. Besides that, it really doesn't sit well with the Spirit within me and that is enough of a warning for me.

 

Yes, I, too, know people who are trying to leave witchcraft behind. One of my good friends (in fact, a hs mom) says it becomes so much a part of one's thinking that it's hard to totally come out of it: manipulation of people and circumstances, personal power, using things (not necessarily wands), particular words, looking for omens, superstitions, signs, "seeing" things... and on and on...

Not at all, however, am I implying that everyone who reads or watches HP is into practicing witchcraft: it's just that it's a way of thinking contrary to discerning the will of God, Who asks us not to take revenge and to "bless those who curse us."

 

This might just be me, but it seems to me that the Harry Potter series is important from a literary standpoint. It is on the same scale as The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and other titles from the Inklings group of English, Christian writers. Alot of books have controversial themes, Romeo and Juliet (almost all of Shakespeare for that matter) but they are still an important part of literary history and therefore are worth studying, at least in my opinion.

 

Jen, That was amazing and I agree 110%!!!

 

I agree, there may be some virtue in that, especially if all literature is held up to the light of God's Word.

Not much, IMHO. I'm responding to this thread to honor your wishes to know why some people (and I don't speak for everyone) hold certain opinions, because sometimes it's just helpful to know. Many times on this forum I read things and think, "Oh! That's why!" So, I hope this is helpful to you, in that regard. Like you--'not meaning to be argumentative.

 

I know folks have different opinions...thank you for sharing yours and allowing me to share mine.

I wanted to comment on this...I heard a message titled Amnon had a Friend. It is from the life of Absolom, Amnon and Tamar found in 2 Samuel 2:13. The preacher hit on what you mentioned about CelticRose...who are your friends that you hang out with. When we watch shows that is who we are hanging out with. When you read books, it is the same idea. He asked who are my children's friends using the same examples.
Amnon had a friend...he was a very sutil man. Crafty, and a liar...
Just reminded me of what I learned.

 

In harry potter he practices witchcraft and it isnt' made to be make believe. In fact witch craft is practiced today. I do not want my kids even pretending to practice witch craft. However with disney/blues clues it is obviously make believe. Even in the real world practicing witches can't make a pumpkin into a buggy.

 

I like to probe into topics. I think that's why Actressdancer started this thread, so share away! I, too, like to hear what people think and why.

 

But it is made to be make believe. It is a FICTION book.

 

I love this thread! I am learning so much! You ladies are awesome!

I have to agree that the distinction requested in the original post of "How is Harry Potter different from Cinderella, Glenda The Good Witch... etc...?" has not been answered. (I know, I have a thick skull, but I AM interested!!)

I guess it might be easier to come around the other way and ask, Why have people all of the sudden jumped on this characters back when the others did not get this level of grief?

It just seems like (And forgive my ignorance) some busy-body (Gladis Abner) type began banging a drum loudly back in the 80's (Starting with Halloween) and others were afraid to not look Christian enough and then jumped on th bandwagon with her.

Just like no one seemed to have a problem with Halloween back in say 1976(Seemed, doesn't mean no one did, I just never saw it) until someone released a press release about how they did not like it and then began the big "I am more Christian than you" competition... where no one would allow their kids to believe in Santa, then they killed the easter bunny because it might "Confuse kids" about Christ..... And then they hung the tooth fairy because she too, would "Confuse Childrens delecate Belief System." ("If the tooth fairy is fake, Christ must be, too") << Kids are NOT dumb! Then with nothing left to lambast, Poor J.K. Rowlins book gets burned a the stake....

It just seems very Salem witch trial-ish to me...

 

And they can't turn into other animals nor can they fly on broomsticks nor can they change one object into another using a wand and saying a silly Latin word. The witches in Harry Potter all do that.

Harry Potter represents fantasy in its most obvious form. He leaves the 'real world' and goes into what is very clearly a fantasy one. Frankly, even the very little bit of what's supposed to be his human world experience would seem very real to most kids.

Harry Potter doesn't even come close to resembling Wiccan, which is basically just nature worship; and, of course, any worship other than that of God is worshiping Satan.

I respect people's right to not like the books and choose not to read them, but I don't like it when people seem to think that what goes on in the Harry Potter books is something that practicing witches do. Harry Potter's witchcraft resembles the real thing about as much as I resemble Shaq [and I'm a very short, very pale redhead].