Harry Potter vs. The Fairy God-Mother

Again, I'm asking, since only a couple of you addressed this in the other thread:

How is Harry Potter different from Cinderella, Glenda The Good Witch (The Wizard of Oz), Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Sesame Street (which includes magic galore), etc? I mean, if all magic is witchcraft and all witchcraft is evil, then how can some parents choose to ban Harry Potter while allowing Blue's Clues (barring age appropriate distinctions)?

I guess I just can't make out the distinction. My mom is horrible about this. She buys my sister's twins Disney Princess/Pirates of the Caribbean stuff galore (that's what their rooms are done in) but lectured me for nearly an hour on the evils of Harry Potter. I've known many other Christians who do the same thing.

This may come off as argumentative, but I really am just trying to understand how Blue's magic wand is any different than Harry's.

 

I think you bring up a good point. I am not going to get into this one for I allow my kids all the magical stuff you mentioned. (I didn't know blue's clues had a wand, but last I saw she "skadooed into books".

As long as the kids know its all pretend.

I was wondering why this was in the christian section, but I"m sure soon people will tell their theroy on that.

 

(for the record, my children are far too young for Harry Potter, but I do let them watch other shows with 'magic').

Yes, the newer Blue's Clues seasons include a segment where she uses a magic box to go to her own room, where she is no longer a cartoon, but a puppet that talks in actual words. There is a fairy that grants wishes, etc.

 

Well I like Harry Potter. I have read all the books and watched all the movies. My son has read the first 3 books and watched all the movies. The books are too long for him. I see them as books and movies. We don't study witch craft. When my son was little we watched Blue. But I think everyone has a right to their oppions. I think what we read and watch doesn't always express who we are. I really enjoy the story of Harry Potter. Everytime I got a book I couldn't put it down.

 

God does hate withcraft and magic. The Bible speaks of it. Get a concordance and do some studying.
Hollywood has made magic look cute and nice and sweet...Yuck!
I have learned that if God doesn't approve why do I want it coming into our eyes. It is a hard road to walk on, and I do fail sometimes, but it is better when I don't.
Set nothing wicked before my eyes comes from Psalms 101. So then it is my job to find out what God thinks is wicked.
If there is lying on a show, it gets clicked off...even those little white lies as they are called are messages that "ahhhh, it isn't so bad..." But alas it is in God's eyes. Remember Abram lying to Pharoh telling him that Sarah was his sister? Well she was his sister, in part, but the idea still was that he lied...
Sorry to get off on the lying.
I challenge you to look at what God views as wicked and then take the high road and not let it into your mind.
Do you know the song, "Oh be careful little eyes what you see?"
I can think of other things that God views as an abomination and then I put it in the place of "do I want to view this"...Ah, no thanks.

Do what it right. His eyes are in every place beholding the good and the evil.

God is good... You can do what pleases Him!!!

 

I view it as make-believe, and that is all I am going to go into it.

As far as Blue's Room (the one where Blue is a puppet), I hate that show. Nothing to do with magic, I just think it is poorly made compared to Blue's Clues and a lot of other children's programming.

 

I also agree it is make believe and don't live my life through the book. We study the bible and believe God is the ruler of our lives. And these books are just books. There is alot more in the Harry Potter books then Witch craft. I think a lot of children can relate to the things that happen to Harry as he grows up.

 

I too view it as only make believe. You'd be hard pressed to find any kids anywhere who believe any of that Harry Potter or Disney princess stuff is real. It is just pretend. At least to me and my family it is. As far as Cinderella, Snow WHite, Wizard of Oz and the like I think it is a "good conquers evil" type of thing. Those movies certainly do not promote evil. In all those movies good wins out everytime with a happy ending.

Now I know this thread is going to be a hot topic because we all have different views. I certainly do not care if anyone here does or does not let their kids watch certain things and I hope nobody here cares if I let my kids watch Disney or not. I have never ever in my life thought of Disney as a bad thing and I certainly won't teach my kids that it is. But that is just me and I respect the rights of everyone to do as they wish.

 

IMO, God doesn't approve of someone PRACTICING witchcraft. It's all in how you interpret the scripture. Practicing and actually doing it is much different than watching a movie with it included and knowing it's make-believe. JMO. Now, if my children one day just decided to practice wiccan, that would be a total other story. But I don't believe that just letting a child watch something like Harry Potter is going to bring that child into the evil doings of witchcraft as long as you educate your child about it. It's all in how you foster something into your children. If something happens in a movie that is viewed as "bad", we take the time to educate, and 99% of the time, if not 100%, usually there is a lesson to go with what is viewed as "bad"...the bad guy never wins. I think a lesson taught is more valuable than just sheltering. Again, JMO. When I was little I was facinated with vampires, witches, and things of the like, and I by no means am attracted to actually practicing to be any of them. I just liked pretending.

 

I think all of these things spark good,active imaginations.

Kids understand that these things are pretend, fantasy.

I agree that if anyone chooses these practices for their life, that would be a different story.

Just saying. I know you all know by now my views on these things. Disney is a staple in this home. We love Harry and my DD loves fairies and dragons. My kids have seen it all. It is my way of exposing them to the world of pop-culture for their age group.

They enjoy these things and are not harmed in any way by them. I encourage them to explore the world around them in all aspects.

 

Timkelmom I was wondering if you were going to chime in here! You being like the biggest Disney fan in the world and all! We own most of the Disney movies but to me it isn't even about the movies. We love the stories themselves. We have the original stories (which by the way are way different in most cases than the Disney versions) and my kids love those too! We actually like the stories more than the movies. I can't comment at all on HP though since I never read it.

 

Wow, this could be a hot topic, but I have to agree with them all we read Harry and we love Disney, we know they aren't true and we don't practice.. we know they are just a book and thats, that.. that doesn't make my family bad or say we don't believe in God because we do.. we love Him..
If we don't watch tv with some kind of magic or something we wouldn't watch any tv thats all thats out there unless you go to Animal planet or one of those channel..

 

I'm glad this has been a very civilized thread.

For those of you who don't mind the Harry Potter type stuff they have some halloween pages on Enchanted learning... one of them is a story prompt for "if I had a magic wand.. I would" ----- I am very happy to say that my son's answer thrilled me to death!..... he would have his magic wand clean his room (boy I wish that were real)..... and wash dishes and do the laundry!! I thought that was very cute.

 

I think we're all civilized people here!!

 

I love Harry Potter.. why?? because it's a fun story!! To me it is just a story, I never thought anything more into it, nor have I thought anything more into Cinderella or even The Magic Schoolbus.

 

Yea, I agree Magic school bus is a good one.. Like I said if we took all the magic and things away we wouldn't have tv here. I don't think alot of people would have tv either.. that's all thats on.. we have to be our own judge, what we can read for fun and watch for fun but don't practice is a whole different story... but, it's like I told my dd's one time that is why God made us all different there is so much out there for everyone... and he loves us and long as we love him...

 

How come people in the 50's did not protest superman in the streets?

How come people did not protest Star Wars and it's use of the "Force" back in the 70's? (My mother was VERY religious back in 1977 and I remember her complaints about me going to see Star Wars. Her complaint? That I was going on a Sunday. NOTHING about how it uses the "Force" instead of God's power and so on...)

Both of these stories are actually simply retelling the story of Christ. (I know if you have not heard that theory before, it may be shocking, but it is actually a huge discussion for years about how Superman and Luke Skywalker were simply imaginative re-tellings of the oldest story in the world. This told by the men who made the movies and stories.)


For me, I cannot imagine childhood without dreams, without fantasy, without fairies and without flying (Or the possibility that if I concentrate reeeeealy hard, that I "Might" fly...) or without the possibility that clapping my hands might save Tinkerbell.

I cannot imagine a childhood without spending a night, sleepily trying to stay up to catch a glimpse of Santa, or without the glee of waking up to find a treasure left behind in trade for a fallen tooth.

I cannot imagine a childhood without the possibility of being anything I can dress up as, even if for just one night! And the excitement of getting candy, bags of candy! (I never equated Halloween with anything devil until ADULTS began carrying on about it)

I cannot imagine childhood without the magic of a talking bear who plays with a little boy int he woods or a man who can fly to save people when he wears his cape.

And I grew up to not need a church to have faith in God. I grew up simply knowing he is. I grew up well balanced and not damaged by evil. I grew up adoring fantasy and with the ability to distinct between reality and fantasy.

My Aunt, on the other hand says Harry Potter is evil, because "Kids will be lulled into thinking witchcraft it ok." "How will they know the difference?" she asks.... (She asks out of love, of course...) I replied, "The same way that I did not get lulled into witchcraft from watching Bewitched on tv!"

She then replied, "I loved that show!'

I cannot imagine my kids being that ignorant. KIDS ARE SMART! WE should not discredit them so much.

Just like my Aunt does not go an commit murder, even though she reads murder mysteries incessantly. Just like, I do not run to commit suicide, although I have seen Madam Butterfly. I do not plan to divorce even though I have seen Kramer verses Kramer.

Back in the 80's Tipper Gore actually had John Denver before a Government Panel because they though "Rocky Mountain High" (A song) was "Encouraging kids to do drugs". Sigh..... For the record, he was speaking of the experience he had when he first got to Colorado and hi epiphany of God's grand design..... ie: You will hear or see what you want to hear or see.

But, thankfully we live in the grandest country in the world where common sense prevailed in the 1980's congressional meetings about rock and roll . . . . . and that we get to choose the path that is right for our family.

My personal belief is that fantasy is just that, fantasy. The ability to experience it for what it is and not have it rule your life is precisely what makes us such fabulously designed beings.

 

*stands up and claps*

I agree 100% Jen.

I'm still not hearing from the group to which this question was posed, however. The majority of Christians I meet are ok with many forms of magic, but really not ok with Harry Potter. I guess I assumed that is there were so many people like that out in the 'real world' that there would be at least a few here. I was really interested to hear from those people about what the distinction is.

 

A mom at one of my former schools told me she was opposed to Harry Potter because it was a well-known fact that JK Rowling had said in an interview that she was trying to get kids to turn to Satan. Hmmm....I am not sure where she heard that, but I have to think that if that were true I would have heard it somewhere other than just from her while I was in the supply closet. So that is why she did not like it (though she had not read it). I don't know how she felt about other stuff.

 

Weekly World News?
(A Tabloild that is 100% Fake Stories)
That mom probably also thinks rock and roll musicians want their fans to commit suicide. sigh......

Now for some facts....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling

"I thought I'd written something that a handful of people might quite like,"
http://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/jkrowling.html

http://gaga.essortment.com/jkrowlingbiogr_reak.htm

Amazon Interview . . .
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=6230


Oh, and I have never read one of these book, not have I seen any of the movies.... But I do understand their place.

And I also understand everyones choices.
Just please base them on facts.
That mom you met at school is making up things to justify a choice she has made without the ability to defend it without a lie. That is so hypocritical.