IM a Christian nad the POpe said HP was ok.. i am the same way.. I mean i see no harm in it.. it's not like they are telling you to try to do the magic

R.I.P JP2

From a Christain stand point Wicca is bad, period, no ifs ands or buts about it. Witchcraft is devil worship and if he feels that it is his calling to alert people about it, then fine. You don't have to believe it, but admit that its out there. People will disagree with you this is a free country and people can say what they want, and if people want to believe it is their choice. You can say what you want, but people will argue with you too. When he is comparing witchcraft and the possibility that a fantasy book will lead children astray down the path he sees as a sure way to ****, then he has every right to express his opinion. Get used to it. Harry Potter is not about other religions, and its not about Wicca, but Wicca does involve witchcraft, and the only people I've known to think that its ok is other Wiccans, even people with no religion say its bad, because of witchcraft. The only reason he brings up Wicca is because of the witchcraft. If buddists practiced it, they'd be in that book too.

As for Wicca being a religion is somewhat debateable. We studied world religions in class, and Wicca was not a topic, buddism, muslim, christian, Zao, etc were all in it. Us in the US are very liberal at handing out rights of religion and declaring this or that a religion. Atheism is a religion, as in, no beliefs, nothing, is a "religion" Just cos the Supreme Court deems something a religion doesn't mean the rest of the world does.




Tao:
C.S. Lewis was not a "devout atheist" He's written many Christian books and papers. Maybe he was to begin with, but not always. I suggest you take a look at his other stuff before declaring his belief system.

Lol I have to write a report about the Witchcraft craze in the 16th and 17th centuries. . . It kinds of reminds me of that!! teehee I wish people would stop comparing Harry Potter to the devil. . . Honestly, Harry Potter is just a fiction/fantasy book! We're not trying to convert anyone into worshipping the devil!! *the nerve*

If I'm not mistaken, the thing about C.S. Lewis being an atheist came from the LoTR: TTT E.E. where they talk about he and Tolkien being friends and both being on the extreme opposites of the religious aspect. Now if he changed or didn't change I don't know, but at some point he was.

That said, again, I must stress that people learn about religions before spouting off about them. "Witchcraft" isn't Harry Potter. It isn't spells and sacrafices with goats (not that HP is that, but just saying)... they're prayers, but prayers to gods of different stuff. That's something that people need to understand about the wiccan religion before they condem it. This is why HP is being spat on by these extreme-religious people, because they don't take the time to understand.

Please note that there are a growing number of neopagans in the world (not just Wiccans) who believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with witchcraft.



And so what if the rest of the world doesn't believe that Wicca or the other pagan belief systems are actual religions? If you truly believe God lives on the tip of your pencil and no one else every believes it, should you abandon that belief?



Religion shouldn't be a popularity contest. Just because one person believes something that everyone else thinks is untrue, stupid, or evil, it doesn't make that person's belief less valid and if they want to call their beliefs a religion, who are you to tell them that it's not a real religion?



In regards to the book, I won't say I'm in anyway surprised that yet another one of these things have come out. They are a dime a dozen. One more self righteous idiot putting down witchcraft, without even knowing what it's really about, and Harry Potter, which (surprisingly to some) actually has nothing to do with any sort of real witchcraft. These people need to get a life and actually write something worth while. Think of all those trees they've killed.

hmm..sounds intresting

Well...I'm coming from a Christian viewpoint and...not all of us are closed minded. I'm into Harry Potter (not to the extreme) but I don't practice witchcraft or believe it to be real. You can't stereotype all Christians. And every Christian has like their black and white areas.

C.S. Lewis must have changed his mind because he wrote a book (sorry I can not for the life of me remember what it's called) about how the Devil speaks to people to get to them. And it's from a Christian viewpoint because he calls "God" the enemy. Just a little side note.

hahaha they are all idiots. Its make believe and kids can tell the differnce. Just because they are adolesent dosent mean their stupid?!

Tao, you took the words right out of my head! I'm sick of all the narrow minded people trying to fortune in on the HP franchise, just because they think it's wrong. I wonder if this man has read the books before. After all, how can you condemn it if you havent read it? Seems pretty redundant to me.

its not as if we are all gonna wanna join a cult or sumin just bcos we read hp

The Bible is a work of fiction just like Harry Potter, it was just written to long ago to prove otherwise.

What does witchcraft have to do with just "read for enjoyment?" Jeez.

Darn right. Religion is religion, not about popularity contest. I'm a christian, but my beliefs is to respect other religions, not putting'em down.

wow....so very interesting!

Ok I am a christian and my firends are too. We sit around and talk about HP all the time, if there is nothing to do at church someone will start up on HP, about what we think will happen next and stuff. We read Fan Fiction all the time but we are true to our chruch. The preacher's wife and kids LOVE Hp! We all know the difference and were to draw the line and this guy is just trying to start somthing again. Not all Christians are against it..Most of us love it. If these kids don't know the difference between fantsy and real life then they should be taught first. Rowling's fans are not stupid they know the difference...I take offense to what this guy is saying!

Religon and politics are the same, most people are so set in THEIR way and closed minded that they will fight and die for them and it all accomplishes nothing. the way I see it is if you don't agree with it, don't listen to it, and leave me alone with it. Nothing annoys me more than people preaching to deaf ears. just wasting oxygen!

Everyone has a right to their opinion, but no one should have the right to be ignorant. If you're gonna preach that HP is evil, at least read it! The only reason kids read HP is because of great writing and a world that anything and everything can happen. When you burn a HP book, all it shows is ignorance and the fear of change!
Alex

PS I'm Christian, Methodist in fact, and worrying about HP being a "How-To-Become-A-Wizard" book is the farthest thing from my mind. I'm pretty open minded, but even if i wasn't, you don't have to be that open-minded to enjoy HP.

Sorry i had to go to work but what TAO and SAMANTHALEE1983 and ALOHAMORA posted right after me was exactly what I was thinking and trying to lead to. you are geniuses and thankyou for posting that when I had to take off!