Dear Friends,
We know that many Children are involving in reading the HARRY POTTER book lately, and just recently in Toronto the largest book read in the world ever and when also in the Guinness book of records was held, the author in whose honor was no other person but ... Read on please, 20,000 people attended the book read, mainly children!!!
How many parents out there really know about the author before they let the children
read the book ?
How many of us understand where the author tries to bring us or what have she has to teach us?
Has ever occur to us what the impact will become out of those readers which mostly are children in the next 5, 10, and 15 years or more?
In the New York Times reported that some commenter said by reading Harry Potter, not possible will make children to grow up to be satanic worshipper and even killers. "The books have a serious tone of death, hate, lack of respect and sheer evil!" a protester, Elizabeth Mounce, from Colombia said. Indeed the book has written too much subject of violence as well as the occultisms which is definitely against the words of God in the Bible. Linda Beam, a culture research also said that beside violence, Harry Potter is not suitable for children and too heavy even for the teenagers.
Harry Potter is the creation of a former UK English teacher who promotes witchcraft and satanism. Harry is a 13-year-old 'wizard'. Her creation openly blasphemes Jesus and God and promotes sorcery, seeking revenge upon anyone who upsets them by giving you example (even the sources with authors and titles!) of spells, rituals, and demonic powers. It is the doorway for children to enter the Dark Side of evil. Many of the parents in this case have not reviewed the material.
The name seems harmless enough ... Harry Potter. But that is where it all ends. Let us see a few quotes from some of the influenced readers themselves, "The Harry Potter books are cool, because they teach you all about magic and how you can use it to control people and get revenge on your enemies," said Hartland, at Wichita, 10-year-old Craig Newell, a recent convert to the New Satanic Order Of The Black Circle. " I want to learn the Curious Curse, to make my smuggle science Teacher suffer for giving me a D" (a 'smuggle' is an unbeliever of magic).
How about the really young and innocent impressionable mind of a 6-year-old Jessica Lehman of Easley, South Carolina has to say when asked about her favorite character, " Hermione is my favorite, because she's smart and has a kitty. Jesus died because He was weak and stupid," she said.
And here is dear Ashley, a 9 year old, and the typical average age reader of Harry Potter. "I used to believe in what they taught us at Sunday School but the Harry Potter books showed me that magic is real, something I can learn and use right now, and that the Bible is nothing but boring lies," said Ashley, conjuring up an ancient spell to summon Cerebus, the three-headed hound of hell.
If not, how about a quote from High Priest of Satanism, "Harry is an absolute god send to our cause. An organization like ours thrives on new blood - no pun intended - and we've had more applicants than we can handle lately. And, of course, practically all of them are virgins, which is gravy." Said High Priest Egan of the First Of Satan in Salem, MA. (Since 1995, open applicants to satan worship have increased from around 100,000 to now … 14 millions children and young adults)
"It makes me physically ill, people," said Roger Lynn, from The City Literary Institute Registered Office - London. Roger Lynn also said " I think I can offer you an explanation of why this is happening. Children have been bombarded with action, adventure, thrills and scares to the point Hollywood can produce nothing new to give them the next 'high'. Parents have neglected to see what their children are reading and doing, and simply seem satisfied that 'Little Johnny is interested in reading'. And educators and the NEA are PUSHING this crap with NO WARNING as to the effects or the contents."
Lets find out something to let us make up our own mind.
First the URL to read as a background. http://theonion.com/onion3625/harry_potter.html
(Harry Potter books Spark Rise In Satanism Among Children) and finally, a quote from the author herself, Joanne K. Rowling, describing the objections of Christian reviews to her writings.
" I think it's absolute rubbish to protest children's books on the grounds that they are luring children to Satan," Rowling told a London Times reporter in a July 17 interview.
" People should be praising them for that! These books guide children to understand that the weak, idiotic Son Of God is a living hoax who will be humiliated when the rain of fire
comes … while we, his faithful servants, laugh and cavort in victory." she said.
The hope of Roger Lynn is that we will see fit to become involved in getting the word out about this garbage. He also said that the author of Harry Potter has now published FOUR BOOKS in less than 2 years of this 'encyclopedia of Satanism' where she is surely going to write more.
Together, Roger Lynn asks all Christians to please pray for this lost woman's soul.
Pray also for the Holy Spirit to work in the young minds of those who are reading this garbage that they may be delivered from its harm.
Lastly, pray for all parents to grow closer to their children, and that a bond of sharing thoughts and spiritual intimacy will grow between them.
In service to the Lord, His honor and glory, Roger Lynn has discovered and written it from
The city Literary Institute Registered Office at 16 Stukeley Street, London WC2B 5LJ.
Registered in England # 2471686 and Registered Charity # 803007.
To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever, AMEN.
Please forward to every pastor, teacher, and parent you know.
God Bless
By Rev. Peter Eng
The latest Harry Potter title is the 'fastest-selling book in history'. Children love books about Harry Potter a boy orphaned at the age of one and raised by his uncle's family who tormented. His parents were killed by Lord Voldemort but he escaped with a lightning mark scar on his forehead. He was gifted with special powers from birth and went to Hogwarts, a school of wizards to sharpen his skill. Harry Potter started as an eleven year old in the first book and has grown to a fourteen year old in the fourth book.
The books are full of special terms like 'muggles' referring to non-magical people or 'floo powder' a means of transportation by means of chimneys. It successfully creates a different world of make belief in which children and some adults take immense delight.
There is general consensus that the books are well written. But I found them to be only somewhat above average.
Some Christians are concerned that the world of make-belief is harmful to children. This is probably not a valid concern. There are many make belief-worlds of yester-year that have not received such criticism. I recount by childhood favorite superhero 'Superman' and my favorite character 'Tarzan'. In my teens, it was Sherlock Holmes written by avowed atheist A. C. Doyle. For others it is sci-fi, romance, sleuth, etc… All fiction is fantasy and the debate on the validity of novels (which were new when the first appeared, hence the name) is over and the creation of fantasy world it not a worthy point of objection.
In terms of the dangers in transposing fiction to reality, D&D is a lot more dangerous that Harry Potter. The ability to persuade the reader that the make-belief world is real testifies to the author's ability and the reader's own choice to suspend reality. It is no different from people going to London to look for the address of Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street.
There is a danger of polarization of thought. Many responses are posted on the Internet which vilify fundamentalist Christians who do not approve of Harry Potter. But what is interesting is that apart from name calling, there is no argument against those who warn of the dangers associated with Harry Potter. Though I think some of these dangers are not well grounded, concerned Christians have at least done their part in saying why they think the stories in Harry Potter are unhealthy. Objectors to Harry Potter objectors have not given any rational reply.
There is a danger to guard against in the Christian community, that is, the danger of assuming that the more conservative we are the better. There is need for us to know the dangers but not to overstate them. This is what we shall do in examining the merits of Harry Potter.
One social concern is the way Rowling portrayed grown-ups in her books. There is a general but distinct bias against parents. While it is perfectly legitimate to make a child the hero of the plot, there is no legitimation in undermining the worth of parents. In the BBC news Sunday, October 17, 1999 Rowling said, "I see children as innately good unless they've been very damaged. That's where I'm coming from." She also admitted that parents are portrayed as evil, and it was planned that way, especially Harry's adopted parents.
There are realities worth considering. There are adoptive parents who behave like Harry's adoptive parents. While such a portrait may hurt the sensibilities of some, there can be truth in it. Of course, there can be other attendant problems like children making wrong identifications of the bad parents to their own parents, biological or adoptive. It will not be long before we see this problem cropping up.
Having lived in Scotland for several years, I can understand where she is coming from. There are many single mothers on welfare. Parenting in Scotland is fast becoming a lost art. The fact that Rowling herself is a single parent and before her success, was one of these myriad single mothers on welfare in Scotland may have contributed to her perspective of parenting. A perspective more true where she came from than where her books are read.
Her portrait of parents should be a point of caution rather than an overreaction, since there can be truth in her characterization.
Harry Potter is meant for children 8-13. There is meaning to this. These books are dark. Evil is portrayed in full view. There is a human fascination with evil and gore. Devilish toys, gel that look like mucus or worse, are all the stock of selling to kids. Rowling is not new in employing such images to excite interest. They belong to the realm that frighten. The appeal is like that of horror movies. Harry Potter, like horror movies, takes the readers into a dark world of death, violence, graphic descriptions of injury and generally evil of all sorts. It is an adult level of evil in a children's world. Why should that not be fascinating to children? In terms of the level of darkness, I think it is just a tad brighter that the occult account of "The Third Eye" (a one time talk of the town, dealing with Tibetan Buddhism).
Newsweek (July 17 2000, p. 50) asked, "Your daughter is now 6. Have you started reading the books to her yet?" Rowling: "I had told her, 'Not until you are 7,' because I think a bright 6-year-old can definitely manage it in terms of language, but in terms of themes, things get increasingly scary and dark, and some 6-year-olds are going to be disturbed by that. So for my own daughter, I said, 'We're going to wait till you are 7.' But then, she went to school, and she got completely mobbed . These older children were talking to her endlessly about Quidditch [a game invented in the books] and stuff, and she didn't have a clue, and I thought it was unfair to keep her excluded from that, so we started reading them."
The author's recommended age is 8 and above, on the basis of the darkness of the book. There is currently no social mechanism that stratifies acceptable violence or darkness in a book. When the books are made into movies (inevitable), if the descriptions are realistically produced, there is a fair chance Harry Potter may get an R rating. For example an almost headless person whose head is attached to the body only by a silver of skin.
There is no dispute that the content is dark. The question which arises is where parents want to take their children. In as much as I will not shield my children from all things dark and horrifying, I also discourage a fascination with darkness. Nightmares and dark dreams are often the result of dark input. A Christian axiom is to subdue dark passions.
I had not finished the first chapter when I saw the problems related to witchcraft. Is this fantasy, no different from Wizard of Oz or Tales of Narnia? The danger lies in that much of what the books describe are TRUE occult practices and perspectives.
The idea of gifting, or being predestined for occult leadership as in the case of Harry is a dominant concept in the occult. This creates two classes of people, the 'in' and the 'out' to whom Rowling gives the uncomplimentary name of 'muggles'. People in witchcraft have the same worldview. Practitioners of the occult live in two worlds as do the people in the books. Accordingly, 'muggles' are stupid, mean, cruel, and self-serving. Wizardry is delightful and good, and these magic people can be self-sacrificing.
Children love the occult in these books and wish to be part of it. It has the effect creating an appetite for the occult by portraying the occult as powerful and good. Though the occult can be used for evil, the way around such evil is by good occult.
People who underestimate the influence of such appetite-cultivating stories should simply ask how they have been influenced by police, soldiers, and other heroes on the screen. These stories are no better or worse than Harry Potter in that readers identification with characters is a sign of successful story telling. The problem with Harry Potter is that the appetite these books cultivate is for the occult.
The idea of a school of wizardry is just a restatement of the genuine school of witchcraft that really exists.
The casting of spells is a real practice in witchcraft. This is as commonly portrayed in the book as in real life. In real life, spells are means of conjuring demons to do one's bidding. Spells have limited efficacy because demons are by nature not subservient spirits and spells cannot hurt Christians. Their elevated central role in these books make them desirable, unlike say, 'The sorcerer's apprentice'.
Others have observed and I tend to agree, that there are too many similarities to real life witchcraft in Harry Potter for this to be mere coincidence. It is a world of spiritism, palmistry, rites, magic powders and potions, different means of divination, etc…
Harry Potter fan clubs and quizzes invariably involve testing one's knowledge on witchcraft. It is fair to say that more children are now learning about witchcraft through Harry Potter than at any other time in the history of mankind.
The reality of witchcraft can easily be checked against the Wiccans in the USA who are registered as a tax exempt organization. Wiccan is an old English word from which the practitioner is called a 'witch' whether the person is a man or a woman.
As a person familiar with witchcraft, I am not at all entertained by what I read in Harry Potter. It is too close to reality, but the truths of witchcraft have been perverted to make them attractive.
If a child has not read Harry Potter, I will recommend that parents treat this a something worth careful deliberation. It is not a spiritually neutral book, but one replete with real life witchcraft practices (called wizardry).
Censorship is not advisable. Parents should explain to their children the worldview of Harry Potter and warn them about the real practices of witchcraft found in Harry Potter.
Trying to censor Harry Potter is like trying to censor the Internet, or trying to stop drugs from entering a community. It is far more important that the dangers are recognized and dealt with in a spirit of prayer and dependency on God. We love our children but we cannot be their shield. We want to defend their hearts and minds, but they must be make their own choices and thereby acquire skills in godly living.
Harry Potter is a hairy phenomenon which we must handle with wisdom. Let this be a means to test and strengthen our young than to make this a battle ground for curious children.
Rev Peter Eng is the senior pastor at Changi Bethany Church (Presbyterian), situated close to Singapore's well-regarded Changi International Airport. He is also doing his Ph.D. part time, under the supervision of Dr. Howard Marshall, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, doing much of his research in Tuebingen, Germany.
His theological training: Master of Theology (1986), Master of Divinity ( 1985), both from Grace Theological Seminary, USA and Bachelor of Theology (1979). His training is in the traditional disciplines of Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Theology, Homiletics, etc... with a strong emphasis on understanding and applying biblical truths to present day concerns.
His ministry involves pastoring, preaching, teaching, writing, and more recently ministry through the Internet, which will be announced when the site is ready (target launch, Christmas 2000). His church background is evangelical and reformed, but he firmly believes in embracing the fellowship of all evangelicals.
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