I have read all seven of the Harry Potter books (by J.K. Rowling), and deem them excellent books, praiseworthy of high recommendation. On top of that, I own all seven of them. But not until yesterday have I actually watched even one of the movies.Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone: an excellent movie. I was not bored a moment of it. There was some slight language, some rude insults (coming from Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle [mostly] directed against Harry, Hermoine or Ron [sometimes vice versa...these three were bitter enemies through all seven books and undoubtedly the films too]), some violence (Voldemort's face was on the back of Professor Quirrel's bald head, and the camera caught all that so it might be disturbing to those of younger age, but it wasn't all that bad...I was expecting worse, even prepared to shut my eyes...ya know, you can never be to careful :D), but that's to be expected from movies such as this one. Those were the negatives, now for the positives: There was humor, definitely; a lot of delightful characters, and the actors and actresses chosen to protray them did excellent; it was action-packed; there was no crude romance at all (or romance for that matter), it's nice, Hermoine, Ron, and Harry were all so young and innocent...of course later books/movies have romance. Overall, I believe this movie was definitely worth my time.
I haven't watched all of Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets, but so far it's been even BETTER then the Sorcerer's Stone in many ways...so much more spookier *shudder* it's awesome.
I just was wondering...what do you guys think about Harry Potter? Please feel free to share your opinion. I know tons of Christians are totally against it because of all the magic in it, but I personally feel like it is no problem whatsoever. I read so many books with magic in them (the Ink Series, the Inheritance Cycle, Lord of the Rings, Narnia [well sort of], etc.), and yet these books do not get criticized like Harry Potter does...I'm not trying to impress myself as a totally HP defender; I love the books, think they're great; but I'm not going to defend them from the world of Blogger Christians who don't like them. So please, comment away, love to see who likes them, who doesn't! :) (I'll have a poll too...haven't had one of those for a while :D)
So yeah! Today was cool, I went to church (love my church), then went to my friend's house all day, while my dad and brother played golf with the dad and 13 year-old boy. We went to this pool all afternoon which was cool.
Later,
Posts
13 replies:
I think the reason some people are so against it may be because of the "spells" that aren't in some other fantasy books that are popular. That said, I'm a Harry Potter fan, both books and movies. I don't own any yet though, my parents aren't huge on them, though my mom likes the movies.
So yeah, I don't have a problem with them. :)
JT
Well, now, you picked a very controversial subject... I, myself, love HP and I've read all the books and seen up to the recent movies [when you get to the 6th film, I'd love to know what you thought of how they did it! :)]. I've read a few books about the two sides of HP fans and persecutors as well as books about the Christianity in HP and I find I agree with what other authors found.
If you look at the symbolism behind the plot and the names of the characters as well as take note that all spells are LATIN and have nothing to do with wyca.. or whatever the witch craft thing is, then you can see the Christianity in the books. [I mean.. come on, a SNAKE for the bad symbol? A Griffin, which is often seen as a Christ symbol as well as a Phoenix, for the good guys? It goes on and on...]
Just check out How Harry Cast His Spell for more details.
That's my little blurb about it.... :P
~Books
I'm with ya sister!I really like Harry Potter! Though if I had read it when I was younger I would have been like half the kids in America(crazed by Harry Potter).
I read the first... five Harry Potter books. And stopped. I was too disturbed by that fifth book to continue, and I could tell that the books were getting darker in theme.
I did enjoy many things about the HP series, but this is why I stopped:
Yes, LotR and Narnia have "magic" but it is a very different kind of magic. Narnia, obviously, is not the same. And in LotR, the "magic" ring is evil- the non-magic, good hobbit wishes to destroy it. I think of Gandalf's magic more like wonders or miracles that a messenger of God (Eru in the books) would do. Same with the Elves. And the whole series takes place in another realm, not ever meant to be "realistic"
Harry Potter has a very different kind of magic. It is described as coming from inside the wizards/witches, not a wonder worked by an Almighty God through his powerless creatures. And the series takes place (supposedly) in our world, making magic almost a normal, believable thing, when in reality such things are very wrong. Witchcraft is never a good thing.
I agree that Rowling is an excellent writer. Her characters are engaging, the plot is well spun, and the dialogue is good. But I came to realize that her worldview is not in line with mine, so I quit reading her books.
Besides, I've found a wealth of awesome fantasy written by godly men and women-- such as The Door Within, Ted Dekker's Lost Books, Dragons in Our Midst, Binding of the Blade, and many more. I've almost completely lost interest in the HP series.
So, here's my take: "magic" is only good if it is performed by God, and then it really isn't magic at all! It is his supreme power to speak things into existence, to heal a sick body, to call a dead man out of a tomb, to feed five thousand with a few loaves of bread, to die and rise again, to give eternal life. I enjoy books that represent this "real magic" much more than the dark and gloomy tales of a kid with a scar on his forehead.
Sorry about the long comment! (And please understand that I'm saying this with respect and a smile- I love talking about books)
Hello Bekah!
I'm glad you liked the Harry Potter movie! I have to say, I am a fan. I do like the books, however, I am NOT in any way obsessed.
Personally (and I suppose obviously, since I've read them!) I don't have an issue with Harry Potter and Twilight (I'm throwing that in there too). I would like to repeat that I am NOT obsessed. I think they are well-written, well plotted books. I understand why some Christians have a problem with it. In my mind, I know without a doubt that it is pretend, just as I know that Lord of the Rings and Eragon are pretend. I know there is no Hogwarts, and there are no "vegetarian vampires." I have no problem in my mind separating reality from fiction. I believe the problem comes when you start obsessing and believing that it's real. Of course, I would LOVE for Middle Earth to be real, but I know it's not.
I think I've rambled quite enough. Sorry!
I love Harry Potter. Love, love, love. One of my all time fave book series. I've read them three times. I've seen all the movies (the ones on DVD so far) more times than I can count. I'm a fan. HUGE FAN.
As for magic--the magic warned against in the Bible is sorcery, which was defined a bit differently back then than it is today. What was called sorcery back then would better be called occultism today, or divination (which of course is made fun of in HP). Palm reading , fortune telling, calling on evil spirits...those are strictly prohibited by the Bible.
The magic in HP, however, is completely mythical. It's not real, not possible. It's an innate ability to affect the physical world--making things fly, popping from one spot to another. It's pure fantasy. Just for fun. The key is to keep these ideas separate and recognize the difference between reality and make believe.
Yeah, Harry Potter is awesome. I'm not done with the entire series yet (I'm on Order of the Phoenix) but so far it's probably one of (or the) best series I've EVER read. I think they're totally good books and the content is fine.
Jake
Cool! I like HP!
The movies get better when they get older so they use more complex magic and have more dangerous adventures.
I tagged you!
Yep, it was awesome. Chamber of Secrets was FREAKY though...I just saw a trailer on The Prisoner of Azkaban...that's looks even scarier...Dementors stopping and boarding a train? *shudder*
I think the reason that allot of Christians have a problem with it is be cause of the magic/witchcraft. I haven't read any of the books, or seen any of the movies, so I don't really know much about them, but it does look like the magic in it is allot darker than in LOTR and Narnia.
Just some thoughts!
Emily
I see nothing wrong with HP. The magic in not like the witchcraft spoken of in the Bible. In the Bible, any power to do witchcraft comes from an association with demons. In HP, magic is a talent you're born with, like singing, art, athletics, writing, etc. No matter what talent you're born with, you have to choose whether you will use it for good or for evil. If your talent is music, will you use your talent to make good music, or bad? Voldemort and the Death Eaters chose to use their talent primarily for evil. Harry & co. chose to use it primarily for good.
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