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2.07 AVERAGE
2.07 AVERAGE
While this book wasn't quite as entertaining as I thought it would be, it also wasn't as openly unreasonable or vitriolic as I thought it might be either. The entire premise remains silly, but at least it is earnest and does it's best to be reasonable in its suggestions (which basically boils down to "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" on the part of the parents as to what their kids are reading and discussing it with them in relation to the Bible.)
This is an older book, as when it was published the fourth Harry Potter novel had just come out. To my surprise, it actually does a good job of fairly summarizing the various Harry Potter books before deconstructing them, rather than focusing in too much on objectionable content. "Harry Potter and the Bible" doesn't accuse J.K. Rowling of outright trying to teach children occultism and "magick" (a.k.a. "real" vs. stage "magic"), but rather that reading the Harry Potter novels may act as a kind of gateway of curiosity that children may decide to explore. It actually focuses far more on divination than I was expecting, I guess because things like fortune-telling, astrology, and so on are easier to fake than actual transfiguration and other more flashy spells, and therefore more plausibly exist in the real world. (I did giggle every time I saw the phrase, "...the dangers of real occultism.") However, the author seems to miss the fact that most of the time spent in Divination class is ridiculing Professor Trelawney and basically saying how pretty much all of it is silly and useless.
The book also focuses on the lack of clear morality and the dangers relativism, which I think makes the characters more relatable and realistic (because what person doesn't lie at some point?) but could understand the frustration at how Harry breaks so many rules and yet rarely gets punished for it. Of course, i would argue that plenty of books that lack magic in them follow a similar format because those are the kinds of stories children (who are relatively powerless in the world compared to the adults) like to see. So I can understand that objection to the books, as it doesn't relate to the existence of magic, but rather the standards upon which we teach kids right from wrong. There's room for debate, but the argument (until we get into basing morality on the Bible) at least has a leg to stand on.
What did surprise me was the relatively light focus on the violence in the Harry Potter books (and oh, boy, the author would have had a field day with Books 5-7!) Which, focusing on divination and Wicca rather than violence as a reason for objecting to the books may have been wise, because I would have to point out that the Bible is just as bad, if not worse, than Harry Potter in terms of violence. (Ever hear of that guy nailed to a cross and left to die a slow, horrible, and very public death? Or God charging the Israelites to rip open the stomachs of pregnant women? Or to dash babies to death on stones? Yeah...)
It does bring up the comparison of Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings and Narnia and how Harry Potter isn't like them at all (contrary to what some supporters say.) I would argue that, yes, Harry Potter can't really be compared to LOTR or Narnia, but it isn't really meant to be. It has a different purpose from those other two. The style, language, and time period are also very different and their magic styles are different as well. Just because it's more vague doesn't make it any less magical... but there's all comes from a God figure whereas apparently Harry Potter magic doesn't...? Yeah, things get kind of wishy-washy, but the point is that I always find it hilarious when those comparisons and refutations are being made because aside from being epic fantasy, those three works are quite different. (I do wonder what the Christian reaction to Narnia would be if it WASN'T written by an obviously Christian author... would it still have the same Christian allegory applied to it? Somehow I think not...)
Anyway, a mildly interesting read that you may want to check out if you're interested in these kinds of literary criticism.
This is an older book, as when it was published the fourth Harry Potter novel had just come out. To my surprise, it actually does a good job of fairly summarizing the various Harry Potter books before deconstructing them, rather than focusing in too much on objectionable content. "Harry Potter and the Bible" doesn't accuse J.K. Rowling of outright trying to teach children occultism and "magick" (a.k.a. "real" vs. stage "magic"), but rather that reading the Harry Potter novels may act as a kind of gateway of curiosity that children may decide to explore. It actually focuses far more on divination than I was expecting, I guess because things like fortune-telling, astrology, and so on are easier to fake than actual transfiguration and other more flashy spells, and therefore more plausibly exist in the real world. (I did giggle every time I saw the phrase, "...the dangers of real occultism.") However, the author seems to miss the fact that most of the time spent in Divination class is ridiculing Professor Trelawney and basically saying how pretty much all of it is silly and useless.
The book also focuses on the lack of clear morality and the dangers relativism, which I think makes the characters more relatable and realistic (because what person doesn't lie at some point?) but could understand the frustration at how Harry breaks so many rules and yet rarely gets punished for it. Of course, i would argue that plenty of books that lack magic in them follow a similar format because those are the kinds of stories children (who are relatively powerless in the world compared to the adults) like to see. So I can understand that objection to the books, as it doesn't relate to the existence of magic, but rather the standards upon which we teach kids right from wrong. There's room for debate, but the argument (until we get into basing morality on the Bible) at least has a leg to stand on.
What did surprise me was the relatively light focus on the violence in the Harry Potter books (and oh, boy, the author would have had a field day with Books 5-7!) Which, focusing on divination and Wicca rather than violence as a reason for objecting to the books may have been wise, because I would have to point out that the Bible is just as bad, if not worse, than Harry Potter in terms of violence. (Ever hear of that guy nailed to a cross and left to die a slow, horrible, and very public death? Or God charging the Israelites to rip open the stomachs of pregnant women? Or to dash babies to death on stones? Yeah...)
It does bring up the comparison of Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings and Narnia and how Harry Potter isn't like them at all (contrary to what some supporters say.) I would argue that, yes, Harry Potter can't really be compared to LOTR or Narnia, but it isn't really meant to be. It has a different purpose from those other two. The style, language, and time period are also very different and their magic styles are different as well. Just because it's more vague doesn't make it any less magical... but there's all comes from a God figure whereas apparently Harry Potter magic doesn't...? Yeah, things get kind of wishy-washy, but the point is that I always find it hilarious when those comparisons and refutations are being made because aside from being epic fantasy, those three works are quite different. (I do wonder what the Christian reaction to Narnia would be if it WASN'T written by an obviously Christian author... would it still have the same Christian allegory applied to it? Somehow I think not...)
Anyway, a mildly interesting read that you may want to check out if you're interested in these kinds of literary criticism.
informative
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I want to begin by saying how I acquired this book. My 7th-grade son was approached by a strange child asking if he liked Harry Potter. My son answered yes, and was offered a “cool” Harry Potter book. This book.
The very first page of the actual book opens with the quote “Any time the dark side of the supernatural world is presented as harmless or even imaginary, there is the danger that children will become curious and find too late that witchcraft is neither harmless nor imaginary.” Lindy Beam-Focus on the Family.
Because this book is supposed to represent the moral Christian community, it seems a bit silly that they actually believe that reading the Harry Potter series is going to turn our children into practicing, and somehow evil, witches and wizards. They can’t actually believe the world Rowling has created is real. Can they?
The book was written after the publication of Goblet of Fire. The first few chapters of the book address each installment of the series. Each is dissected and references to occult, Wicca, and paganism beliefs are brought to our attention. The distinction between magi”c” and magi”ck” are explored. “C” is merely sleight of hand used by stage performers and perfectly acceptable. “CK” is actually the manipulation of forces and energies and is definitely not acceptable. This manipulation can actually be attributed to Satan. WHAT?
After each of the first four volumes is deconstructed and analyzed, Abanese goes on to explain the differences between good Christian literature (Lewis, Tolkien, Carroll, etc.) and Rowling’s paganistic, and evil writings. Rowling’s wizards are human, whereas Tolkien’s wizards are not human at all. Tolkien’s represent good and evil “angels” or demons. Lewis’ good and evil are allegories for Christian beliefs, and their power is derived from the “One”, or God, and the “Other”, or Satan. THIS is the difference? Despite an entire chapter devoted to this idea, I can’t understand the distinction. They are both fantasy worlds conceived in the author’s imagination. The fact that two of the authors’ were practicing Christians, and one merely believes in God, makes no difference.
Abanese then goes on to lay the blame of 17-year-old Sean Sellers’ death sentence for three murders, on a love of Dungeons&Dragons, which led to his Satan worshipping. Abanese admits Sellers was abandoned as a child, physically, mentally, and sexually abused, but still attributes his “fall from Grace” to occult influences and compares the dangers of Harry Potter to this situation. “Be warned, lest you be damned” or some such nonsense. This seems to me to be a blatant search for blame other than circumstances. Abanese states Sellers turned again, and again to Christian leaders for help and was turned away. I find it hard to believe a game led to his murderous actions, or that loving the world of Harry Potter will, if unchecked, lead our children down this same path of destruction.
I was compelled to read this, as I have never understood the arguments against Harry Potter. Now that I have, I have an even firmer belief in the advantages Rowlings worlds have given our children. The ability to differentiate between good and evil, right and wrong, fantasy and reality. She shows them loyalty, friendship, and love, and above all doing the right thing is not always the easy thing. It’s our job as parents to teach our children, but Rowling gives them examples on their terms, aimed at their interests and hearts. What a great starting place. We should thank her not only for getting them reading but for that.
The very first page of the actual book opens with the quote “Any time the dark side of the supernatural world is presented as harmless or even imaginary, there is the danger that children will become curious and find too late that witchcraft is neither harmless nor imaginary.” Lindy Beam-Focus on the Family.
Because this book is supposed to represent the moral Christian community, it seems a bit silly that they actually believe that reading the Harry Potter series is going to turn our children into practicing, and somehow evil, witches and wizards. They can’t actually believe the world Rowling has created is real. Can they?
The book was written after the publication of Goblet of Fire. The first few chapters of the book address each installment of the series. Each is dissected and references to occult, Wicca, and paganism beliefs are brought to our attention. The distinction between magi”c” and magi”ck” are explored. “C” is merely sleight of hand used by stage performers and perfectly acceptable. “CK” is actually the manipulation of forces and energies and is definitely not acceptable. This manipulation can actually be attributed to Satan. WHAT?
After each of the first four volumes is deconstructed and analyzed, Abanese goes on to explain the differences between good Christian literature (Lewis, Tolkien, Carroll, etc.) and Rowling’s paganistic, and evil writings. Rowling’s wizards are human, whereas Tolkien’s wizards are not human at all. Tolkien’s represent good and evil “angels” or demons. Lewis’ good and evil are allegories for Christian beliefs, and their power is derived from the “One”, or God, and the “Other”, or Satan. THIS is the difference? Despite an entire chapter devoted to this idea, I can’t understand the distinction. They are both fantasy worlds conceived in the author’s imagination. The fact that two of the authors’ were practicing Christians, and one merely believes in God, makes no difference.
Abanese then goes on to lay the blame of 17-year-old Sean Sellers’ death sentence for three murders, on a love of Dungeons&Dragons, which led to his Satan worshipping. Abanese admits Sellers was abandoned as a child, physically, mentally, and sexually abused, but still attributes his “fall from Grace” to occult influences and compares the dangers of Harry Potter to this situation. “Be warned, lest you be damned” or some such nonsense. This seems to me to be a blatant search for blame other than circumstances. Abanese states Sellers turned again, and again to Christian leaders for help and was turned away. I find it hard to believe a game led to his murderous actions, or that loving the world of Harry Potter will, if unchecked, lead our children down this same path of destruction.
I was compelled to read this, as I have never understood the arguments against Harry Potter. Now that I have, I have an even firmer belief in the advantages Rowlings worlds have given our children. The ability to differentiate between good and evil, right and wrong, fantasy and reality. She shows them loyalty, friendship, and love, and above all doing the right thing is not always the easy thing. It’s our job as parents to teach our children, but Rowling gives them examples on their terms, aimed at their interests and hearts. What a great starting place. We should thank her not only for getting them reading but for that.
funny
informative
slow-paced
I don't think Harry Potter is evil (I'm a Christian, and I think the books are wonderful), but I do understand why some people do not want to allow their children to read the books, so I picked this book up, just to see the other side of the situation. I don't feel like it was well-written at all (I feel like it was written the way I wrote papers in school...trust me, mine weren't that great, as partially evidenced by the above pretty-sure-it's-a-run-on sentence), and I think a lot of it was because he kept saying the same things over and over again. While I do appreciate some of his points (things about revenge, etc.), I don't feel like the author understands children at all. He attacks Rowling for allowing the kids to disobey their teachers and the rules set in place, but (and I'm not saying it's okay to break rules and engage in other such behavior) he doesn't seem to understand that these characters are kids. I know some of the adults break rules, but the author mostly attacks Harry and the others simply for being pre-teens/teenagers. Also, except for the Harry Potter novel, the Narnia novels, the Lord of the Rings novels, and the Bible, most of his research appears to have been done online; I don't mind a bit of online research, but I don't feel like getting all your research from newspaper articles and interviews (for a book, anyway) is really the best scholarly approach.
