www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Ten Arguments Against Harry Potter

Here's a site I just came across:

http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php

The author of the site is Orthodox, too.

Dave

Thanks, Dave, for that link.

An interesting article there entitled:

Harry for Catholics? [hogwartsprofessor.com]

Hello all
I have mixed feelings about HP. One of my children seems to sense a real Satanic presence when he exposes himself to the books and movies. For him, maybe there is real danger there that he needs to be cautious of and he has discerned it and generally stays away. My teenagers, 15 and 17, enjoy the humor, the repartee between the characters and their relationships more than anything else. It doesn't seem harmful for them. Many things are like this in the spiritual life-a huge tempation for one person is almost meaningless or at least harmless for another.
For another perspective, look at this article: http://www.christianitytoday.com//ct/2005/128/52.0.html
I believe the author of the article is Orthodox. He sees symbols of Christ in many of the images Rowling uses.
When I first read HP I thought that he fit neatly into the genre of British children's fantasy literature and was a good read. Over time Harry kind of made me weary, but I'm raising teenagers, so that could have something to do with it! :rolleyes:
Blessings
Michele

Dear Doulos you said:

". One of my children seems to sense a real Satanic presence when he exposes himself to the books and movies. For him, maybe there is real danger there that he needs to be cautious of and he has discerned it and generally stays away."

I say:

That child could be spiritually closer to God and is being 'attacked' in some way... which only goes to prove that there is something a little off in those books.

Now my personal feelings are that if the books, (and poorly written one's at that), did not have some evil 'intent' within them, then would the author be (or so I believe) so successful that she is in all probability the richest woman in England. But then that is my opinion.

As for children being influenced, I wouldn't worry to much over the younger one's. They have not reached an age of reason and still look towards their authority figures.

My concern are the one's that are eleven, twelve and thirteen, whose minds are bombarded with sex from morning until night. In my day and age at fourteen, (the age of experiment), we tried smoking. Today one can't even imagine what is going on.

As one RCC priest said, they are living in a different universe than us.

Zenovia

Well whatever is happening I guess she is well rewarded for her efforts. :p

ROWLING MAKES $36 MILLION IN A DAY

HARRY POTTER

HARRY POTTER author JK ROWLING has added another $36 million (GBP20 million) to her fortune - only 24 hours after the sixth book of the boy wizard series went on sale.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE hit the shelves at one minute past midnight on Saturday (16JUL05) to queues of ecstatic fans, and has already sold two million copies by closing time today (17JUL05).
http://www3.contactmusic.com/news/index15.htm

Randy and I seldom disagree, this will be one of those rare occasions. As an avid reader of fantasy literature, mythology, folklore, and fairy tales, and classical sci-fi, all of which are, to my mind, constituent subsets of a common genre, I think one can only label the Harry books as inferior literature if one chooses to consider them in the realm of reading for adults.

It's important to remember that the intended audience is children and most children are not going to read the unread classics (at least not those of these particular genres) to which Randy refers - for the simple reason that most of those were written for an adult audience.

The average child (even many above-average children) lack the literary sophistication to apprehend and fully appreciate the likes of Lord Dunsany, HP Lovecraft, JRR Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, HG Wells, Andrew Lang, the Brothers Grimm, Thomas Bulfinch, Aesop, Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, CS Lewis, Jonathan Swift, TH White, Richard Burton

Neil - but you are such a pleasant chap to disagree with... I would suggest to anyone to read the Odyssey to your kids sometime. It is a story about a man going home, nothing more. Even if they are unable to pick it up and get every word, they will "get it", I assure you.

The problem with fantasy literature in general is the separation between a world steeped in reality vs. one which is a distortion of reality. In the case of Homer you can go to the Aegean Islands, smell the sea breeze in a sailboat, see those places Odysseus sailed to. The jagged cliffs as well as the gentle ports. It's real - and as Soloviev so wisely said the Greeks were key in the development of our religious sense in writing about the interaction between divinity and humanity, especially citing Homer in this regard.

I think the worst thing anyone can say about a piece of literature is not that it is very bad, but rather that it is mediocre. That is definitely where Rowling remains in my opinion. If one must read fantasy, go with C.S. Lewis first and then Tolkien.

I've been sitting back saying nothing so far - and to be perfectly honest I'm not sure where my thoughts fall.

However I see kids who are desperate to read these books - and until they got their hands on the first one - they could not have cared less about reading. Now they are gobbling them up.

OK some some don't like them [ children I mean ] that's OK - can you honestly say you have liked every book you have read ?

BUT if reading these books - fantasy that they are - and the kids accept that - and then move on to other types of literature - that is GOOD.

Let them get the realisation that reading is for enjoyment - it should not be a hard struggle all the time.

We read for knowledge at times and then for pure relaxation at others - sometimes we read 'heavy' stuff , sometimes we read very very light stuff. The important thing is that we READ.

My father was a headteacher of kids from 5 to 11. Many of these children would struggle with their reading skills and worried parents would come up to the School about it. When asked how they were encouraging reading at home he would find that their children were being pushed to books far too advanced for them - and so they would be turned off. His suggested remedy was - let them read comics - they have to feel they are achieving something - when the comic is finished they feel good. The have to be able to finish the book . An unfinished book in their eyes is a defeat - they have failed .

If Harry Potter [ and after all these are not thin books - 600 pages ?? ] - gets them reading - so be it . They will move on to other things when they are ready. They are succeeding . They are READING .

Anhelyna