Harry Potter Witchcraft

My girls (age 6 & 7) play lots of imaginative games. Sometimes they pretend to have magic powers, e.g., make people invisible, scare away monsters. This doesn\'t bother me. When I was their age, I pretended I could use the \\"force\\" to move things (a la \\"Star Wars\\"). Since this kind of kid magic seems perfectly normal to me, the magic of Harry Potter doesn\'t bother me.

I still look for Narnia in closets. My kids watch a bunch of weird cartoons that I never saw when I was growing up (they\'re watching \\"Totoro\\" right now) but they never play pretend about spirits or ghosts. Their make-believe world consists of unknown languages, being babies and/or adults, and occasionally superheros. Nobody\'s ever really good at being the supervillian, so that one never lasts too long.

I think the fact that the author herself stated that she researched actual spells and other things, lend to the fact that they are not something you should read or have your kids read. Why not read about actual stories of the Saints, which in my opinion are infinitely more entertaining, not to mention more enlightening, than any so called \\"fictional\\" story you can read..

You can listen to JK Rowlings interview where she admits research of actual spells here.. http://wamu.org/programs/dr/99/10/20.php#13962

Petros, Thanks for the link. I really enjoyed listening to the interview, but I do think you have taken her words out of context. What she actually said was that when she was asked how much of the \'\'magic\\" in her books was real, she replied that about one-third of it was based on actual mythology and British folklore and the rest was completely made up. She also stated that, of coarse, none of it was real. I believe she was talking about things like dragons and the sorcerer\'s stone. Also for the record she stated that she does not believe in real magic or witchcraft of any kind( not that she needs me to defend her nor do I think that this will make any difference to some of you). She said she believes in the kind of magic that happens when you read a good book, \'\'metaphorical magic\\". This is the kind of magic I experience when I read her books. I get drawn in, I fall in love with the characters, imperfect as they may be, I experience every emotion known to man and it forces me to look at things from other peoples perspective. The lives of the saints are great(although you can\'t tell me they are free from violence), but to limit your literary experiences to just that... I just don\'t understand this kind of lifestyle I guess. As for me, I know I can\'t cut myself or my children off from the world completely. I don\'t think that\'s the kind of life God has planned out for us, although it may be the right thing for some of you, but even if it was what I wanted for myself I would never put those kinds of restrictions on my children. They will have to find their own way in life. If I try to push my way onto them they\'ll just end up pushing it right back. And please don\'t misunderstand me and think that we are neglecting our children\'s spiritual teaching. Anyway, my point was that I just try to look at everything through the lens of Christ and in that way I am able to hold onto the good in things and throw away the rest.

Great interview. I\'ve augmented my opinion: JK Rowling, yes a marketing genius, but also a very good writer. I think aspiring writers should take heed: write what appeals to you and if the audience is there, go for that cha-ching. Turn the negative publicity around, work the market. (And give generously to your local church and favorite Orthodox online community when you make the big time.)

Well, these books are about and do promote witchcraft. Witchcraft, as we all know, is evil. Thus, these books do indeed promote evil. The fact that the author says \\"Nu uhh..\\" and Orthodox Christians believe her is stupefying. The enemy of our souls is also the father of lies. (Hey an apple is just an apple isn\'t it? Whats wrong with an apple?) Here is a book about the enemies arcane craft. That occult is nothing more than a diabolical mockery of our Christian Faith and it\'s filled with symbolism, sure. We must not ever forget that these occult practices are of the enemy and not of Christ even if the author draws Christian Symbolisms into her writings... even if the author pronounces Christs name in the books... even if the author brilliantly quotes Scripture... it\'s all a lie.

Apples?

I was making a reference to the apple in the Garden of Eden.

Merissa, I appreciate your reply. But even 1/3 of 1/3 of 1/3 is to much for comfort, for me anyway. You must also remember, anything to do with witchcraft and black magic is considered \\"myth\\" and \\"folklore\\" to the secular world. We as Orthodox know this is not the case. The power that the evil one can give a person is very real. And for me, even if everything is made up, and not even based on anything, the fact that it imitates something forbidden in Scripture is enough for us to stay away. Also, I never suggested that we only read the lives of the Saints, I was merely suggesting if you or a child wanted to read something that seems like fantasy (but was real) the lives of the Saints would be a much better choice in my opinion. The secular world consider the miracles that occur in the Church \\"myth\\" and \\"folklore\\" as well....

The apple, along with everything in the garden, was good. It was what was done with it that was wrong. But that\'s another topic for a different thread. Or not. Is anyone else tired of this topic?

John your post disappeared one me hehe... You\'re correct. The apple in and of itself is just an apple. However, God forbid eating \\"that\\" fruit for a reason. Its just make believe... its not really witchcraft.. it\'s Chrostological.. etc.. etc.. These arguments remind me of satan tempting Eve in the Garden to eat this \\"good food\\" thus fooling her to believe that she surely wouldn\'t die. It\'s all to similar, these books are just fantasy, there can be no real harm in reading them, they\'re interesting and pleasing, they might even be good etc...

Sorry about the post disappearing. I hit the delete button by mistake. I don\'t think the apple was just an apple. I think it was information. Knowledge of good and evil. They weren\'t supposed to eat it because it wasn\'t meant to be food - or else maybe it wasn\'t food for them YET.

I\'d rather not speculate about it. A no is a no. Looking at this apple and postulating that it is indeed good food and couldn\'t possibly be harmful opened the door to death and sin. I think much the same in regards to occult books. Why look into them and read them then postulate that perhaps they are good or at least that they\'re not harmful? A no is a no for a very good reason.

Think of it in another sense...take the great movie \\"Ostrob\\"...the movie, plot, character\'s, etc. are made up, and are not real...but the concept of them are..people who do not know Orthodoxy will not even begin to understand that movie, and shrug it off as fantasy...same with the Harry Potter\'s...people who do not know true witchcraft will shrug it off as fantasy, but people who have seen it first hand will say otherwise. And there are quite a few ex-occultists who are now Christian that claim the movie is not fantasy..same as we can say \\"Ostrob\\" is not fantasy.