www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Vatical Approval for Harry Potter Books

As a school librarian, I both have the Harry Potter books in my school library, and also have copies at home. I find them to be harmless fantasy, and they have encouraged kids to read who otherwise would not have done so. Many of the objections I have heard came from right-wing friends who, by the way, have also told me Russian helicopters were holding military exercises in Arizona. Some of my Bircher friends have read scathing reviews of the Potter books in a right-wing, Protestant, fundamentalist magazine. The only official challenge I have had concerning the books in my school library, came from a teacher. She wanted her students to get written permission from their parents to read the books, since they contained witchcraft. I informed the principal, who said that was ridiculous, since she had read the books herself, and didn't find anything wrong with them. Yes, the Harry Potter books do contain witchcraft, along with medieval christian symbolism, and about everything else. But they are fantasy, and I think the kids have no difficulty telling the difference between what is real, and what is not.

To pick up a sub-thread...Non dediscamus 'Cattus Petasatus'!

That's nice, dismiss critics as simpleton reactionary conspiracy types. Moe's citation also has a rather condesdcending view of the author towards those in Eastern Europe.

My opposition to the books is strictly on an intellectual basis, as if one really wants or needs fantasy one can go to C.S. Lewis or Tolkien to find allegorical relations of the stories to Christian teachings. I just don't see that in Rowling at all.

To All,

To me, Harry Potter, is the least of my worries. Have you watched prime time TV lately? Not just prime time, you can find garbage all day long; TV, movies, and on the radio too! Hollywood and the media powers that be are willing to send us to hell in a handbasket for the sake of the almighty dollar. Comedian Steve Allen started a campaign for decency on television before he passed away, but obviously it has been pretty much squelched by complacency.

Back to Harry Potter. We grew up with the same types of movies, "The Wizard of Oz",(maybe a weak example, but a valid one), is one that comes to mind. And although I share the same views about witchcraft and sorcery, etc. as expressed by many here, kids aren't stupid. They know real from make believe. If they don't, parents are the ones who need to make sure they do.

I know my kids by the time they were eight or nine years old were pretty hep to Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Do they believe in God today and know about their faith? You bet they do.

In Christ, Bill

My opposition to the books is strictly on an intellectual basis, as if one really wants or needs fantasy one can go to C.S. Lewis or Tolkien to find allegorical relations of the stories to Christian teachings. I just don't see that in Rowling at all.

I don't see that in Rowling, either. But I do know as an elementary school librarian, that Lewis and Tolkien are beyond the reading levels of most elementary school kids. Those are more for middle-schoolers.

I see nothing wrong in the Potter books. They are fiction. When the books first came out, there were so many screaming about the contents. This was perhaps a good thing. It may have made people more aware of what their children were reading!! Parents need to take the responsibility for their children's spiritual upbringing. If you child believes that Christ is their savior, I find nothing wrong in them reading the books. In Christ...Tari

About all the Harry Potter...

I belive that they are harmless middle-school reading level fantasy, of which I find boring. (no offense, but C.S. Lewis rocks in my world).

One thing that I am concerned with is the lack of education about witchcraft. I remember being little and watching Disney's SnowWhite...and getting scared, but my parents said it was OK because it was all pretend.
As time went on, I learned that castles were real, and so was royalty, and so were dwarves, AND so was witchcraft!!! So then I wondered why as Christians, we are not told about this, as it is this kind of thing the Church is in battle with. A military general would think you are nuts if you went into battle without even knowing the basics of your enemy, so why is it that Christians are only taught about GOD and Love, but NEVER about demons or death??? I think when it comes to kids, those who research or even dabble in witchcraft, could be the onset of curiosity gone wrong.

Christians as a general rule in the US, have gotten lax, and forget that the entire world isn't this nice general shade of Christianity,(becoming evident in our schools quickly) and the there are pagans out there and worse. It as if we have almost forgotten about Evanglization,but we seem to remember Prostilizing.

To paraphrase C.S. Lewis " When the Apostles went forth to spread the GoodNews, people knew that they were fallen, and they found a cure in Christ. In the modern age, everything is deemed alright, and a Christian's job is harder, having to first diagnose, then prescribe the cure."

That's nice, dismiss critics as simpleton reactionary conspiracy types. Moe's citation also has a rather condesdcending view of the author towards those in Eastern Europe.

Well, I can't believe anyone would ever think that Eastern Europeans are hypersensitive It is not my intent to dismiss anyone. This is simply the only group from whom I have heard objections to the Harry Potter books. My Bircher friends read about the "evils" of Harry Potter in some magazine they subscribe to. I have never seen the magazine, but am convinced my friends have often have difficulty separating their politics from views expressed by Protestant fundamentalists. My friends are Catholic, by the way. I don't have a problem with my friends' politics, but they often express views that are Protestant, not Catholic. As a personal note, I do think the Devil and demons are real. But I find it absurd that any human can mutter a few incantations and produce magic. God has supernatural powers, but people don't.