Your Comments
From Anon: It must be wonderful to feel like you have the answer to everything.
To feel like you have a grasp of the Allmighty that eluded the greatest sages of all times.
To not experience the doubt that gnaws at even the most spiritually advances men and
women.
To never have to wrestle with angels like our Forefathers.
I wish I could be so smug and bland and unquestioning about my faith.
I wish I could fire back glib responses to children who are desperately seeking guidance
about God.
I wish I love myself so much that I believed that I was "God's special cheerleader."
But then I realize that those "wishes" are sinful.
I realize that my struggle to love God is mine alone.
I realize that I do not whore my love for God by parading it around in public like a
harlot.
Only when my Trust in God is like Isaiah's will I ever commit a word in public declaming
it.
I guard my relationship with God in my heart. Fiercely. Jealously.
I am scared that if I put it out in the world it will be corrupted by my weakness to
please others, to derive self-satisfaction and worldly pleasure from it.
So I hide it, like the faint glowing light of a candle which will blow out at the first
gust of wind.
Your web-site is a mockery of the values you supposedly profess!
An invitation for evil-doers to mock God.
A shame for all those who see it.
From Jeff Wallace: My youngest son, Doug who is 24, shared something with me the other day that I thought was very profound and true. He had an interesting thought on the recent debate about abortion vs capital punishment. It seemed to me that the innocent unborn children are to today's society what Jesus was to the Jewish crowd right before his crucifixion, and those criminals that society wants to spare from the death penalty are like Barabbas. Just wanted to share it with you.------God Bless
From Mercutio: I'm a High School Student and in my school I am taking a Journalism Class and we put out a monthly school paper. Each student must write an article each month regardless of whether it goes in the paper or not, and I am currently writing an article concerning Harry Potter and whether it promotes Witchcraft/satanism etc. or not. So of course i read all four books and I went searching online for various sides of the story. And in during my research one of the first articles I came across was yours on your site.
I myself am catholic, i attend church regularly, and my family and I also attend an extra prayer group with many others that offers weekly meetings, various retreats and teachings. But that isn't the reason why I am writing, after reading your article I am wondering how you interpret the various witchcrafts. I have many friends that actually are wiccan and out of my own curiosity i researched it, for my article.
I don't understand how you accuse one book of so much. I read the book, and normally when one reads a book, they read it for plot, characters, etc. No one really searches for what you have in your article.
And I have conducted a thorough interview of many people (from elementary to my school) and not many of them believe that it supports witchcraft it any way what so ever. As in your article you put:
Ten-year-old Gioia Bishop said it well, "I was eager to get to Hogwarts first because I like what they learned there and I want to be a witch." I really doubt that she truly understood what she was saying. A lot of younger kids are like that, they don't actually understand what they're saying, it's like when i was little and i said I wanted to be superman or something.
I myself thought that the book was very good, and I have actually been exposed to various forms of witchcraft and I have been unable to locate anything in that book that actually refers to GOD or denounces HIM in any way. It makes no reference to actual witchcraft and is not really related to it except that the book is about witches and wizards.
... I find no religous qualms in this book and I don't understand why you are reading so deeply into this book making extra interpretations and accusing this book of very immoral things that the average kid doesn't see in a book like this. All i saw when i read it was a kid that went to an imaginary school and triumphed over evil and had a plot that kept me hooked on the books.
Most of the obvious differences between Harry Potter's world of witchcraft and the real world of witches and neo-pagan are superficial. Real witches rarely wear black capes or pointed hats. Nor do they ride broomstics or follow magic maps or communicate with talking pictures. Since contemporary witches look and act like everyone else, many Harry Potter fans simply dismiss the books as pure fantasy.
The similarities are subtle and far more dangerous: Harry Potter's world view, the use of spells and magic, the possibility of communicating with the dead, the invisible forces that carry out the summons or wishes of those who use the occult formulas... all these beliefs and practices are as real today as they were in pagan cultures throughout history. Please read Halloween 2000 - Starring Harry Potter and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
From Ken Ashe: Its fiction. Fiction. Story telling. Grow up people, please! And as for this quote:
"1. Chuck Colson praised Harry and his friends for their "courage, loyalty, and a willingness to sacrifice... for one anothereven at the risk of their lives." Those qualities can be found in almost any culture. But, according to the Bible, a brave person is no more free to pursue paganism than a coward. Harry's occult skills -- witchcraft, sorcery, casting spells, spiritism, interpreting omens and "calling up the dead" fit into a category God tells us not even to discuss. 'For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord....'" (Eph. 5:10-12, Deut. 18:9-12)
Why is it that you, and Chuck, stop short of living by the entire Old Testament? You only quote it when it is convenient for your, modern day, current Christian interpretation. Let me know the next time you sacrifice a 'kid of the goats', I would like to be there. Or next time you stone your non-virgin daughter to death after being returned by her husband (only two chapters further in Deut from what you quote above).
As for the Ephesian passage, back up a couple of verses and look at vs. 8 "for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light". So, under your interpretation, the Ephesians, all of them, were Wizards and practiced the 'dark arts'. They were not, they were Jews! To the Jew first, then the Greeks. Stop reinterpreting scripture to suit your current day, trendy, all in the name of attracting money contributions, Christianity ! This is bumper sticker theology and is unbecoming of the faith!
From a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, washed in his blood, and written as a saved, Bible believing, Christian. I am so sick and tired of trendy, condemnation, of something like the Harry Potter series. The witchcraft of the Old Testament is as far from the Halloween version as Hitler is to Candy Corn.
You ask some good questions, Ken. The answer is that the Levitical laws of the Old Testament were fulfilled through Jesus Christ when He was crucified. His death as the perfect Lamb of God served as the propitiation needed to redeem all who would believe in Him. No need to sacrifice a goat or lamb or anything else when Jesus Himself met all the conditions for us. That's what the book of Hebrews (in the New Testament) is all about.
On the other hand, the moral laws of the Old Testament are as applicable today as ever. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6: 17-20,
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
We are responsible for knowing and following those guidelines -- not by our own strength, but by His life in us. In other words, as we study His Word (Old and New Testament), know His guidelines, and depend on His life rather than our own, He enables us to follow Him and demonstrate His life.
"Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music." George Carlin
I have never heard of George Carlin, but I suppose his statement could apply to either side in this debate. Many view Christians like me as insane today. Remember Jesus said,
"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ... If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.... because they do not know Him who sent Me." (John 15:19-21)
From Xenia Eggen: I am a school teacher and an Orthodox Christian - Russian - one of the most strict - if you know anything about the Russian Church Abroad.
Ready [reading?] all of the Potter books has been a great joy for me and my children. They are sweet, funny and delightful. I am sorry your life lacks color. We will pray for you. Anything against Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz? How about Cinderella. In Christ,
Berit's letter to Ms Eggen: Thank you, Sandy, for taking time to write us. Would you like me to post your comment? Many would agree with you.
Second letter from Xenia Eggen: Yes, please print. My comments will, indeed appeal to literate individuals that have gone beyond "Chicken Little". Your sister in Christ,
I may be wrong, Xenia, but you sound a bit sarcastic to me. Would you prayerfully re-read your notes, then compare your words with the message in Galatians 6:22? It describes the sweetness of the life of Jesus in the believer:
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."
From
Canem Cave:
Hello. I have some questions regarding your article "Harry Potter and D&D
- Like Two
Peas in a Pod?" I would appreciate a response. However, I realize that I
probably won't get one - critical thinking is not most people's strong point.
General Questions:
Berit’s answers: 1. No, but I have read several books and manuals that show the D&D world, define the rules and describe the characters. I know more than enough to be able to discern how this conflicts with the Biblical world view. I don’t need to “experience” evil in order to recognize evil. The belief that experiential knowledge of evil is necessary to understand it is a deception straight from Satan who wants to desensitize to and trap God’s people in what God calls evil.
2. Of course, I have read the Harry Potter books. Didn’t you notice the quotations from them? Perhaps the most revealing are in the last book.
3. God doesn’t have to mention D&D or Harry Potter to show us the beliefs and practices they promote clash with His Word. Witchcraft, wizardry, magic, sorcery and spell-casting all fit into the list of forbidden practices outlined in Deuteromy 18:9-12. (See Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.)
4-6. Both "pretending" to be a witch or wizard and "reading about" a witch or wizard involves the imagination. If the imagined wizard and witch are as appealing as Harry and Hermione, children tend to identify with the pagan characters and their practices. Children imagine themselves part of that particular occult world, become familiar with it, become comfortable in it, and – in the process – are desensitized to the forbidden realms of the occult. Here are some of God’s warnings against the timeless practice of imagining evil:
“I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.” Job 21:27
"...the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth...” Genesis 8:21
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed..." Psalm 2:1-2
"They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.” Psalm 38:12
“Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil...." Proverbs 12:20
“Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me." Hosea 7:15
“And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD. Zech 8:17
“He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.” Luke 1:51
More
questions from Canem Cave: Some
thoughts to think about. Does reading about something mean it's true?
Here's some questions along those lines - If you read about A, does that
mean you do A?
If
you read/talk/think about witches, does that mean you believe in witches? That you are
a witch?
If
you read/talk/think about Satan, does that mean you believe Satan
exists? That you worship Satan?
If
you read/talk/think about murder, does that mean you commit murder?
If
you read/talk/think about crime, does that mean you commit crimes?
The more you read and think about witches, the more familiar they become. If you keep focusing on witchcraft, you become increasingly desensitized to it. The effect of talking about witchcraft usually depends on the views of the other person. For example, when you talk with a witch about witchcraft, you are far more likely to start believing in it than if you discuss this subject with me.
Specific Article Questions:Why did Amazon also list Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition Player's Handbook as best-seller #6? Could it be that this product was best-seller #6 BECAUSE it sold well? Why else would Amazon list it as #6?
