If u wanna read the bible,thats your problem.Dont try and get us to hate HP,just because the bible says "witchcraft is wrong".Pfft.Pathetic.
Ill read what I want,when i want and how i want.And please dont tell us what Harry Potter is about,as we all know,we're not stupid.

Well, I am a Wiccan and trust me, Harry Potter does not push kids toward witchcraft! It is a fantasy world that is nothing close to Wicca (witchcraft). P.S I'm not religiously prejeduced, so please don't be towards me! Thank you!

Quite honestly, CS Lewis wrote about witches, and magic, and other things of the sort, and yet he is considered a great Christian writer! I think that people automatically assume that because Harry Potter has magic, then it must be evil. It almost seems to be a closed minded approach to the novels. I am a Christian, and I recognize the novels as what they really are, FICTION. They are not evil, nor do they promote evil. Not too dissimilar from the CS Lewis novels. If anyone is unfamiliar with CS Lewis, he wrote the The Chronicles of Narnia series.

I don't think Kayla was trying to preach to us; there is nothing wrong with being Christian and reading Harry Potter. Insulting someone by saying their belief is 'pathetic' isn't exactly the correct way to go about things.

I think this is the impass that this thread was made for; fanatical Christians disagreeing, and non Christians all for it, and then those in between. I have had discussion upon discussion with Christians who don't agree with the books and that's fine; if they want to judge a book by the cover then they are missing an opportunity to enjoy a fine piece of literature that I'm sure will be considered classic in years to come. However, I have the HUGE problem in those that say it is 'bad' or should 'be banned' based ONLY on that cover, and not bothering to open the book and read it.

I also have the problem with nonChristians who feel that ALL Christians are being narrow minded about it. People are quite entitled to be Chrisitan AND enjoy Harry Potter.

*shrug* Sorry if this is defensive.

I am personally totally annoyed with people telling me that Harry Potter is EVIL because of the fact that there is a little word called MAGIC in it!!! I used to go to a small (really tiny!) Christian school. Here we were not allowed to bring ANY Harry Potter merchandise. The teachers there would give us lectures on why we couldnt read HP or any other "fantasy" type novels. On top of that, if you didnt believe EXACTLY what they did, you minus well clear out your locker because you were dirt to them. I cant stand people who teach to "Love everyone and treat them the way you would like to be treated" but if you are just a tad different, you're just not good enough. But yeah, I endured this torture until about the seventh grade. I dont think that your school or anyone (except maybe your parents) should control what you read or watch or what you believe because that's your personal life and belief. I am personally a Christian but some far out completely CLOSE minded fool telling me that HP is WITCHCRAFT when they havent even read the BOOKS or watched any movies makes me SOOOO mad! Thank goodness i am finally out of there and in a NORMAL school where i can do as i please. I'm really sorry for anyone back at ODCS or anyone going to any other religious oppressed school! GOOD LUCK!!!

the_mischievous_1--I am glad you survived! I too, experienced entirely too much "psuedo-Christianity" in my youth--perhaps one reason I ended up a Buddhist.

But I don't think those people are real Christians. True Christianity is much, much more than hiding behind scriptures. It is not a faith of judgment, but of redemption. Those who wear the mask of Christianity and use it as a means to control others are incredibly ignorant of what it means to be a true Christian! I don't think true Christians would ever condemn the HP series--there is too much of value in it.

All the best Christians I know read HP!

AMEN!!! I believe your right there. I mean they judge it before they even read it. I'm a Christian and I read Harry Potter. I don't think it's evil.

I totally agree that anything that could make a kid happy should be left alone. I consider myself a strong christian and I have learned to leave my religion out of things that I read that I know are fiction. The authors don't intent to do anything wrong by writing the books and therefore cannot be considered evil. The people who are actually attacking the authors should be the ones to take a look into their bibles (what happened to not judging people, and loving thy neighbor). It is not our job to judge the intentions of other people especially when we do not have an open access to their brains because the only one that does have that power is God. There are good messages in HP that those so called "christians should take a look at. What about Dumbledore's persistance that "love" is the most powerful kind of magic. Isn't love in a way magic? Isn't it magic that a kid who is crying stops when you show him/her some kind of love? Doesn't love for a single cause bring diferent kind of people together to do good? i.e. Hurracane Katrina? These people attacking these kinds of books are just people who have not stopped to see the real message trying to be shown by the author.

Wow I totally agree to this topic. Harry Potter is being read waay too much with some Christians. I am a Christian myself, and a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I don't really find anything wrong with reading and watching Harry Potter, as long as I don't start ACTUALLY believing there are wizards and trying to conjure stuff and yeah.
I think the VTM has a section about Christians and Harry Potter, right? It's somewhere in this site, I read it before!

OHHH! This is sooo ridiculous! Harry Potter is not, I repeat * get's loudspeaker out* not evil and does not encourage children into Witchcraft! The magic in these books is completeley different to the witchcraft that is forbidden in the Bible. It is fantasy, the magic in the Harry Potter books does not excist in any shape or form. The closest thing to real life magic that is forbidden in the Bible is Divination and that subject is shunned as ' impresise' the whole way through the books.

The closest Harry Potter does to getting kids into Witchraft is having them pick up random sticks from the ground and start waving it around, or have them throw messy ingredients into a pot and make a mess of the kitchen. Annoying, and unhygenic maybe, but saying that they are going against God's word? Now that is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure if someone went into a Wicca meeting and started shouting expelliaramus they'd get laughed back out.

As a Christian myself, I was dissapointed at first when I read that Harry Potter was 'evil' as I thought I would have to leave the harmless and fictional world behind. But after a quick search around I soon discovered that it was a completley different kind of magic that is forbidden. And obviously other Christian's share my view that Harry Potter is nothing more than fantasy, considering I went to see the fourth movie at the Cinema as a sunday school outing.

If there is one thing I don't understand, it's why people are making such a big deal over Harry Potter, when magic has been a key figure in children's books for decades. From Fairy Godmothers with magic wands to Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings, wizards have been performing spells in fairy tales forever, but as soon as Harry Potter comes along he's slammed and brandished as 'evil'. Is there is a reason that HP is being picked on this way? Is it because he is so popular, therefor making a lasting impression in society, in the way of teaching kids good against evil? There are many good morals in the HP books, and maybe these people who are slamming down on them should actually read the books before accusing them of anything.

Despite what some people pretend see in Harry Potter books, I'm certainly not going to let it spoil my enjoyment of being able to escape into a magical but purely fictional world while at the same time being able to be a Christian without having to hide this fact. I believe that Harry Potter is for anyone, no matter what their religion, who loves the child in themselves and who loves the idea of the Magical place JK created.

I love that paragraph! And I do think you hit the nail on the head when you asked "Is it because it is so popular?" I do think that's why it is singled out so vehemently, but--the reason is subversive.

I suspect the preachers who rally people to protest against HP do it because it is popular--everyone has heard of this series. Unlike LOTR or Narnia, it's happening right now. And they use the series to rally people. When they rally people, they get more people into the church, and more people in the church means more money for them. The Christians who do this tend to be the 'fire and brimstone' type, and those who preach to that crowd depend on the ignorance of their members! They don't want them to read the books because people might reach the conclusion that it's all a tempest in a teacup and the series is quite lovely.

I read an blog recently that even pointed out that JK used two Bible passages in HPDH! Gotta love this church!

Every one has some woderful posts here, a lot I agree with and a lot had me thinking.. (Good thoughts I promise) But now let me throw out my opinon too.. *grabs the dreaded soap box*

So being a potter fan my first instinct is to call out some colorful phrases and throw a few things at people for being so ignorant. But just as I am, they are perfectly entitled to their opnions and beliefs..

When I first started reading this series I did it because I was bored and had nothing else to do.. And I fell in love with the series. I was lucky enough to have the first 5 books to read all the way thru. I thought it was a lovely series. Full of fantasy and imagination! Never once did O man I need to run out now and start practicing magic! Ok granted I was already in my mid twenties. But still you get the point..

I come from a religious background. I grew up as a catholic. Had the bible shoved down my throat, had the 10 commandments pounded into my head. The usual business.. (ha ha) But of course all that created in my was fear of religion. Hatred of a religion that showed me nothing but be saintly so you can get into heaven or you are going straight to .. well.. hades.. (to keep it PG)

Now getting back to the Potter books, I remember one holiday at my family's for Christmas I think it was, Every year me and my cousins and brothers and sisters catch a holiday flick. So we were all debating on what too see.. Ages range from adult to my children (6 years old at the time) Well we were looking and I saw the harry potter movie was in theaters.. Thinking that would be a perfect movie for all of us to see I suggested that and my cousin said my mom won't let us watch that because it contains devil worship. I started to laugh thinking that he was messing around, then I noticed him and his sister were dead serious.So I went to my aunt to confirm this. And she told me she forbade her children from reading the books and seeing the movies because they practiced witchcraft and devil worshipping.. I almost laughed in her face. But as she was still my aunt I just told her you got to be kidding me! Have you read the books seen any of the movies? Or course she hadn't so me and her proceeded to have a debate on the "evils of harry potter."

Of course now I see the narrow mindedness of my aunt on how she was convinced that it was shrouded in evil. This is a perfect "don't judge a book by it's cover." Figuratively and literally.

I think some one pointed this out earlier too... But C'mon.. All the classics, Cinderella.. She had a fairy godmother with a magic wand.. Does that make it evil.. Personally I think it does but only because Cinderella was too darn whiney.. but that's a whole other issue.. Okay snow white step-mother was a wicked witch.. Aladdin.. C'mon a genie that performs magic!! Sign me up! Lord of the Rings, The Little Mermaid. I could go on and on.. These movies are called FANTASY and IMAGINATION! These books got people to read who never really read before. My now 8 year old daughter loves these stories! We are in the middle of reading the half blood prince.


Personally I don't see anything wrong with the harry potter series. Just people's fear of the unknown. Unfortantely this will never change people will always throw in their religion that this is bad, your bad, if you have green hair with purple spots, black lipstick, wear combat boots, and sing mary has a little lamb you worship the devil, c'mon people! That's just ignorance.. I've known a few witches in my time, and ya know in the words of miss luna lovegood... They were just as sane as I was..

I support his belifes but I disagree with him talking about HP being evil. I think its a wonderfull book and encourages people to use their imagination , I dont know anybody who has ran out and tried to accio something lol.

I am a Christian, and at the church I go to, the Father told us one Christmas that (and I quote) there is nothing wrong with the world of Harry Potter, and that kids and adults can read them. I think it's just the really high-strung Christians who believe they're evil.

Of course, I was reading them before my priest "allowed" us, but that's kind of off topic.

i think everyone knows that the hp books aren't real. everyone knows that J.K.R. thought them up on a train from manchester to london, but you still like to beleive that there might be an element of truth in them and that's why i think they've gone down so well.

as for it being witchcraft, it is but as a christian i guess i'm meant to believe it's a bad thing but at hogwarts it's practised for good not evil, and it is used to get rid of everyone bad, so i think it's okay to read hp however religious you are because of the cause of the use of magic.



has anyone else noticed that everyone says witchcraft is a bad thing-but they don't mention wizardry as if that's a good thing? or is that just me?

Alex, you've touched upon a very interesting thing! Yes, witchcraft has a negative connotation in English (and other languages too, I might add), while wizardry definitely doesn't have that. In fact, if someone's a wizard with something, it means he or she is really good at it! I think it's still a remnant of Medieval witch burning. I absolutely LOVE the first chapter of PoA where she has Harry read about that from a wizarding point of view!



I would rather, personally of course, say magic isn't a problem because it's fictional, rather than using the 'end justifies the means' argument. That's just me, though, you're welcome to differ from me!

Christians believe anything supernatural (in the real world) that doesn't glorify God is evil. That's just a thing that comes with believing God to be the only good power - you either believe it or you don't.

However, I just find it ridiculous to extend that to fictional stories! That's completely missing the point of fiction, and it really speaks of a stone dead imagination. These books aren't inciting children to kill, hate or hurt anyone else! In fact, there are some clear Christian themes in the books. DH even contains two Bible verses. Surely, someone who was out to convert masses of kids to paganism would remember to take out the Bible verses from the final book, right? (JK Rowling must be kicking herself right now. How that could have slipped in without her noticing...)

I am a Christian and my parents also believe HP books are bad. That's too bad :S But I agree with the author. When you can see it's all fantasy and nothing can be real, it's ok to read the books. Unfortunately my parents are still against it, so I read the books in secret, but I think people shouldn't see the books as possibly real. When you don't do that, their just books and very much fun to read.

First, I am actually very pleased to see a thread about this, and I have it bookmarked on my computer. Indeed, it is an excellent thing to have children and teenagers today to express themselves through books with everything going on around. This not being only the war in Iraq with America and then terrorism everywhere. This also being the big boom with cell phones, myspace, etc. Kids need something to bring their imaginations to life.

On the part of whether or not to believe what is happening in the books, I urge you to read II Chronicles 33:6, and Galatians 5:17-21. It tells of the consequences of acting with witchcraft. If you do not want to see what the results are, then do not go and look it up. It won't please you - I can guarantee that. I agree that children do need to believe in something, but I'd think that most people would want the children of the world to believe in the truth. (I am not trying to slash opinions, but merely making a point). I understand that there are some that are athiest, but, for those that do believe in God, I would stand by that and understand the make-believe. It is for pure fun and imagination - not for worship and to be made a god of.

Now then, I do not, personally, believe that the world of Hogwarts is true. I do, however, believe that there are people out there who claim themselves to be witches and wizards. The Bible speaks of it; therefore there must be some truth behind it. I am, as I hope you've guessed, a christian as well.

Pressing on, I think that the youth of the world need to realize the reality surrounding them. Joanne Rowling is a brilliant storyteller, and, I will be sure that my kid's read her amazing books. She is quite inspiring, and opens up an entire new world to the child's eye. And I believe that there will never be any greater story than Harry Potter.

But, as I've said before, I believe it to be pure, well made fiction, and nothing more.

I'm quite glad that you opened this thread. It makes the readers on Veritaserum forums think outside of the box. Please, send your replies if you have them, because I'd love to see what others think about this.

[quote name='Dumbledore'sArmyMan' date='Apr 26 2007, 09:48 AM' post='377974']
[quote name='HaRoHe' post='311805' date='Jan 27 2007, 02:22 PM']
If u wanna read the bible,thats your problem.Dont try and get us to hate HP,just because the bible says "witchcraft is wrong".Pfft.Pathetic.
Ill read what I want,when i want and how i want.And please dont tell us what Harry Potter is about,as we all know,we're not stupid.
[/quote]

I didn't check the name of who wrote this, but, the forums aren't a place to strike what people think. Reading the Bible is not someone's problem. It's what they stand by. I myself take a bit of offense from this comment, but, it slides.

I agree that this isn't a place to slash Harry Potter either. I count myself as a devoted Christian, but, I recognize the differences between fiction and reality.

All that said - whether you believe it or not, there are people that believe, stone cold, in the Bible. Simple insults won't change that.

I think that whatever people read into the books, they are just stories.
Whether they are being read into farther than J.K. wrote them, I don't know. Whether or not she had the intention of writing based on a religion or set of values, kids and adults will learn from what is written. The charachters in the books have become heroes for many little kids. When they see Ron stand up for Harry, subconsciously, they will fix that in their brain. They will copy that in their lives. What we put in, is what comes out. When we see good conquering evil, loyalty, and bravery in stories, that comes out in our lives.
I think that just not reading the books because it says "witch" or "wizard "in them means that you will miss an excelent story, and excelent values that show up in the charachters. It is a story, and the people and world aren't real, but what they do, in the most basic sense of human actions, is, and deserves to be told. People learn better when they read what they like, I believe that positive things are there to be learned in these books, and this is a great way to learn them, regardless of religious belief.

So, I think whoever says hp is evil or what ever really needs to not look at the surface of the story with all the magic and spells and stuff (which actually have virtually nothing to do with witchcraft and/or devil worship) and look at the real story. It's a story of good beating evil!!! hellooooooo!! The whole thing is about love conquering all!! It also teaches the irony of humanity and the value of dependable frienships and courage to do the right thing and stand for what you know is good, even when your choice is unpopular.Everyone who keeps children from reading it needs to actually read it themselves before judging it. How can a person be against something they know nothing about?? All children deserve to go into a world that's different from ours and expand their imagination... because thats what it is fantasy, imagination, a fairy tale... aka. not real!!! Hogwarts, and all those spells and everything came out of Jo R.'s head!! (Although, in my heart of hearts, I hope to the point of believing that it's all real... oh, boy i just made a fool of myself) Everyone needs a place to get out of this terrible world we live in and believe in something imaginary just because it's something to believe in. And Harry Potter, being a wonderful piece of literature, is a perfect way to do just that. People are just so narrow-minded! They can't see past their own selfish jealosy of someone else's successfulness!! I think Ms. Rowling is a brilliant writer and deserves so much

okay, i'm forced to stop in the hight of my tangent for dinner...

oh, and Vontsje (and everyone else in your predicament) i'm so sorry your parents can't see what a great story hp is.

Why are all these people so suspicious of the hp series? there is nothing wrong with it. Im Christian myself but its not that i actually beleive harry potter is real. we read it for entertainment, not for trying to practice or learn sorcery. i agree with all of you by the way. The story of harry potter is about love conqurering evil. i think that should be enough for the harry potter haters.

I'm not Christian,but I dont see any sense in that.Children and all of us should have a world of fantasy because reality is not so nice and magic.I don't see any harm if they even try to practice magic-nothing would happen cause it is not real.And Santa is also a wizard-isn't he?
and noebody is acusing him of beeing against the God.!

It makes sense with all the reasons and stuff, but I think it still is being read into too much. I mean- there are so many fantasy stories out there that involve magic, it's crazy! I think it just doesn't make sense to try and complain about every book that includes magic, it's just totally pointless. I fell bad for the people who's parents or friends don't like HP... so very sad. HP is simply great, and it's written to make people happy, not create a whole Christian controversy! There are just so many things out there that make it pointless to say HP is not god for Christians. I have absolutely no problem with it, it rocks.

Yes, people are entitled to there opinion and i believe that these comments are insane. Kids and adults should be able to believe in what ever they like accepting their actions, responsibilities and the consequences occurring. I know there are people out in the world who are obsessed into magic and evil arts and I believe they have been falsely led into. Rowling never intended Harry Potter to make children and adults to believe in wizards and dark magic they're great novels which we just love to read. I myself have made a wand and sometimes play around with it cursing spells. It's all in the name of fun

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and can believe in whatever they want but, JKR did not write her book with the intention of urging children and people of all ages to practice witchcraft. The books are written to relate to the characters and their struggles, and even though they live in a magical world, it does not imply anywhere that people should begin practicing witchcraft. The books are clearly fantasy, there is no question about it, and there are millions of books and stories that deal with magic. I think that because the books are popular, and a lot of children probably play HP games and pretend to cast spells, causes concern for religious beliefs. But, I believe that people are reading too much into the books, they are meant to exemplify morals and to relate to the characters throughout their life.

I agree with JuliaDee. I am a devout Christian and have no problem with with the witchcraft aspect. To be honest, I don't think that many Christians do. My Dad is a minister and even takes my HP books into church for his sermon to demonstrate 'modern day heroes'. It is just some people kicking up a huge fuss.

Yeah this is kind of like what some muslims say, too. But i have NO problem at all with reading HP books.

Mod Edit: Please note that one lioner and short posta re not allowed. Check your inbox soon for Owls waiting. Thanks

Well, I have to say that when HP first came out in the US and I heard all the backlash from Christian leaders that I admire, I too was skeptical. That and the fact that my very liberal in-laws LOVED the books just solidified my "beliefs" that the HP series was evil. It wasn't until my sister, a much stronger Christian than myself, started reading the series and LOVED it, that I decided I'd better re-think my "beliefs".

My "beliefs" were based on what everyone else was saying and not on any real effort on my part to find out if it was true or not. This is the root of most of the problems in this world. We all tend to take what the newspapers, tv, magazines, celebrities have to say as the "gospel truth" without taking the time to find out for ourselves if what is being said/written is, in fact, true or just a biased opinion that has been skewed to fit someone's agenda.

That being said, I now LOVE the HP series. I took the time to read the books (and even read the 1st 3 out loud to my then 7-year old son), and have re-read the series 3 times. Each time I find something new. In reality, there are so many books out there that have Biblical or Christian symbolism that if you were to ban them all we'd have very little worth reading! How many of you had to do High School or College literature essays comparing and contrasting the book's imagery/symbolism with the Bible?!

As a parent trying to bring my children up with good moral/Christian values, I like the fact that I can use the HP series to make a connection with life lessons/Biblical lessons. They can really relate to the kids and events in the HP series much more than they can relate to some of the Bible stories ! It's much more relative. and if I can draw a parallel between the Bible story and HP, then they just might "get it"!

As for worrying about kids thinking the HP-universe is real... what's wrong with dreaming?! I often wish I could be at Hogwarts or the Burrow instead of where I am, or that Accio would really work (especially after looking everywhere for the remote!). The world of Harry Potter is a wonderful place and has much that it can teach all of us!

Well, as I'm sure you can tell from my name, I am a Christian. 100%, completely detoved Christian. Yet I am also utterly obsessed with Harry Potter, as most people on this site are! Most of my Christian friends, and my church pastors, think that Harry Potter is evil because it promotes witchcraft, but in my opinion, this couldn't be furrther from the truth. As the title of this thread says, people, especially many Christian leaders, are reading into the purposes of the plot far too much. Harry Potter is a fantasy series, just as LoTR, and loads of other movies and books are. Yet are these series being banned from libraries and schools? Of course not! From what I've researched and read about the writing of the Harry Potter series, JKR did not mean for these books to be taken as reality, and that she understands the truth as well as any of us. If you look closely, you'd find what many people have, that the Harry Potter series has quite a few parallels to the Christian faith, and gives the readers many lessons that they can learn about life. So in my opinion, people need to begin to see Harry Potter as it really is; a fantasically written series by an amazing author, and is an absolute joy to read.
Ali_Jesus_Freak, signing off for now! xoxox

Are you kiddin me?What does religion have anything in common with HP?You should be able to read the books no matter if you're christian or muslim or hindu or whatever...and if your parents don't let you read it.... become buddhist,they're cool with HP

wow, religion really does limit the mind's potential in every aspect unnecessarily.

My brother used to have a friend that was forbidden to read Harry Potter, because it was apparently "the work of the devil"

Which is pretty much the most irritating thing i've ever heard. Harry Potter is fantasy, promoted and written to entertain and love! Harry Potter books are universal, and pretty much a social commentary on the way society is today in relations to all the prejudice and stuff. JK Rowling is pretty much a genius.

I can't believe that Christians are extremely worried about their children suddenly trying witchcraft because of a world famous best-selling novel! Wow.

Ridiculus!

oops wait...

I go to a private school and my principal bans watching Harry Potter. I don't listen to her. She's an old hag. But she was telling us that Harry Potter is full of witchcraft and if you watch those you're breaking one of the Ten Commandments about "worshipping other Gods". It doesn't even make any sense, but she told us not to watch it. Still, on the last day of school, I brought GoF dvd and we watched it.

I for myself believe that HP is slightly real, and would encourage others to share this view. Do not discourage people from their beliefs. x

The reason I began reading the books was to prove a point in my senior thesis (wow, I'm aging myself. That was 2002 already...) that Harry Potter is bad for children. However, once I delved into the first book, I couldn't stop reading. My thesis was reversed and I argued why it is good for children. There are many hidden themes that teach children about autonomy, friendship, loyalty, good vs. evil, etc. It utilizes the imagination of today's youth, something that had been slowly disappearing due to television, video games, etcetera, and brought a renewed interest in reading. It is interesting to hear the arguments of those who wish to ban the Harry Potter series after it has done so much good the world over.

I really never understood the mindset.



First, you would have to believe that there is such a thing as magic. Not to be mistaken for illusion.



Then you would have to believe that in a world with magic, the magical people are evil, but for some reason, they haven't over powered the people that aren't powerful.



Magic doesn't exist and this is a fictional story not a how to book.



Every time I tried to explain, without exception, the this series focuses on love and shows what hate does, I have been waved off until the OotP.



It is only when the "fight" between good and evil is on the rise some have come around.



That has been my personal experience.

Years ago my religion professor used to tell us not to read or watch the Harry Potter movies and books, saying that HP is the work of the devil and that we'll be going to hell if we don't listen to him... That was a load of rubbish, just because no one was paying attention to his classes he decided to dedicate an hour by talking us about how bad is to read and to actually like/love Harry Potter. Of course we were all revolted by that and didn't listen to him. How pathetic can someone be?!

The title of this topic is a little bit off.
I don´t think the Christians who complain about Harry Potter being Satanistic have ever even read the books at all and just condem them for thinking that they are.

Personally I am an atheist myself but I´m fine with Christianianity.
But people like this give religion of any kind a bad name.

I'm a christian and I love the books. So much that I write fanfiction. Those christians are just trying to find something to keep people from reading the books.

I laugh with some of my co-workers on this very subject. All of whom, including myself are christians.

I think it's so ridiculous that people think the Harry Potter books are evil! I honestly don't get it. Well, yes I do; I agree with MrBubbles. The people that think they're satanic have never read them. They think that because the books are about a magical world with witches and wizards that it's teaching kids all about witchcraft; something they really know nothing about.

I could perhaps understand if the books were telling kids to go find their parents' brooms and jump off a cliff with it because you'll be able to fly! Or if it was telling them to go find a stick of wood and if you say these words just right, you'll make things happen.

I don't see what's so wrong with telling kids that love is stronger than hate, and to feel remorse when you do wrong. What's so bad about teaching children to fight and overcome evil?

I was reading something just the other day about how HP is still amongst the most banned books, and that there are still people out there book-burning and the such like. Honestly. After all this time.

I'm quite horrified to think that there are teachers out there who use their positions to preach their own bigotry and narrow-minded idiocy to future generations, some of whom will actually believe what they're being told and will be our future politicians, doctors, teachers etc. Scary.

Ooh, don't get me started...

I'm a Christian and my entire family is too, however, I'm a Harry Potter fan and I see nothing wrong with reading Harry Potter books or watching the films.

First off, I don't want people to get the wrong idea about Christians, because it seem that people have had the wrong idea about us for a loooooooong time. One should not say that "Christians think Harry Potter is of the devil," you should say "SOME Christians...." Not all of us are paranoid about being brainwashed by books. It's just hype. You know all the hype about how great Harry Potter is, the hype we've been hearing/seeing for years now? Well, this would be the opposite. Some Christians buy into that negative hype and think that because it's about witchcraft it must be evil. See, that's in line with superstition, if you ask me. There's no proof that you'll be brainwashed into practicing evil magic just by watching the movies or reading the books. It's just what some people have heard their entire lives, or for generations, that witches are evil and worship Satan.

As to the reasons the negative hype focuses on Harry Potter, I think I can supply my thoughts on that. I think it's because, unlike Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter is about witchcraft, which is historically equated to evil. There's that plus the rate of sudden popularity and the level of popularity the series achieved that worries people into thinking there could be supernatural intervention. I would know, my parents thought that way when Harry Potter was first becoming a ridiculously popular international sensation. They thought that because they were told so by the televangelists they watched. That worried me slightly because they just believed it without really thinking about it, as they're otherwise very intelligent people, my parents. However, when I started watching and liking the TV show "Charmed," they jumped my case telling me that show was inspired by evil because it was about witches. I told them that it wasn't evil, it was just a television show, but they wouldn't have it. They didn't want me brainwashed into the occult. But when I got into Harry Potter, I decided to keep that to myself to avoid any more... disagreements, if you will.

My point is, most Christians do not think Harry Potter's evil, that's just the radicals. There are radicals of ALL groups of people, whether it's a religious group, a racial group, a sports group, a fandom group, etcetera. Somebody in every group has radical beliefs and expresses them as if they're the gospel truth. These people's ramblings should be taken with a grain of salt. But like I said before, don't think that all Christians think Harry Potter's "of the devil," just know there are plenty of us in Potter fandom that are Christians and don't have such radical views.