> The movie and its supporting music puts a positive face on witchcraft by
> making a distinction between white magic and the black arts, a distinction
> that the Bible never makes. In fact, the Bible associates all forms of
> sorcery with the Prince of Darkness...Young people who watch the movie
> will identify emotionally with the heros and heroines and want to be just
> like them and, in the process, the positive exposure to occult practices
> will desensitize them to the dangers and maybe entice them to
> experimentation.

> Not only does Harry Potter not have anything at all to do with God but it
> promotes such acts as divination, necromancy, incantations and other
> occultic practices, and such behaviour like lying, cheating, stealing and
> other bad behaviours that kids will imitate as Harry Potter is a hero
> amongst their generation. Harry Potter seemed to have a hypnotic feel to
> it as if it was drawing you into something more than just a movie. If I
> offend anyone with my next statement then tough but it's the truth... the
> Word tells us that in the last days many will be led astray, even the
> elect (Christians), and even goes on to tell us that Satan comes as an
> angel of light. Harry Potter is such an angel, showing courage, friendship
> and the battle of 'good vs evil' but in the end it's all worldly. Where
> has discernment gone in the body of Christ? Where have morals gone also?
> Bottom line: This film is [not of God]

I'm sorry, but you're in for it now....

Calling Harry Potter witchcraft is not right. True, the school's name is "Hogwarts School of WITCHCRAFT and wizardry," but if you take in the context of the whole name, it becomes the feminine term to the use of magic, like wizardry is the masculine term. Doubtless, if it didn't have the word "witchcraft" in it, HP would not cause as near as much controversy as it is right now. I have read several books on real witchcraft/magic (I use "magic" loosely) written by credible Christian authors, and if you compare what they say about witchcraft to the magic in Harry Potter, or just about any book in the fantasy genre for that matter, it's not the same. Real witchcraft tends to deal a lot with manipulating demons, and performing a lot of rituals, whereas in HP and other fantasy books, the magic used is more about saying some weird word to do something that would not be physically possible in our own world. Because fantasy worlds AREN'T in our world! Fantasy worlds tend to leave out God and Satan, and instead make their own forces of good and evil, which isn't necessarily wrong (even Tolkien's works didn't really have anything to do with God). I think undue emphasis is placed on the word "witchcraft."

You have read the books, haven't you? The magic in them is basically the same as you see in the fantasy stories/fairy tales that have been around for hundreds of years. It's not that much different from Disney either. Some is taken from common myths and folk tales, like Halloween. You have people in long cloaks and pointy hats riding on broomsticks, like we've always associated with "witches." The truth is that real witchcraft is far different from what I have just described. I don't think I have to explain the physics of gravity, or why people don't just float around all day here on Earth, because it's obvious that it's impossible. That's why it's called FANTASY. Because it's NOT REAL. So what it comes down to is that it's just someone's imagination. I don't think J.K. Rowling based her own breed of magic on the real world's witchcraft, but rather on the age-old myths, legends, and fairy tales we've all grown up with. Why, if you say that HP is bad, are you not ragging on all books in the fantasy genre then? Why not condemn The Lord of the Rings, or The Chronicles of Narnia while you're at it?

To young and old readers alike, it's just escapism. I will appreciate forever my little brother, who persuaded me to read HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone. There have been so many times when I wish I could go off to another place contrary to our own reality, like Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, like Harry Potter. It's fun for me to see how someone can use the imagination that God game him/her. If all books had to relate only to reality, to God, then it would get boring very fast. If parents would just raise their children to discern the line between fact and fiction, to know when to say "that would be cool if it existed, but it doesn't" then there wouldn't be any problem with the books at all. Harry Potter doesn't "influence" people, it's bad parenting, and crappy living situations.

Yes, Harry Potter does have friendship, courage, good vs. evil, just like so many other books. When you say "worldly," you mean "non-Christian" which entails that you don't like the book because the author is not Christian. Unless there is some record of Ms. Rowling saying that she is not a Christian, I don't think you can say that she is "worldly." If you're calling the work "worldly," you should remember that many Christian authors have written books that don't necessarily have anything to do with God. Is this bad? NO! Nice use of a Bible verse. The Bible also says that none will know when the last days will be, that Christ will come like a thief in the night. Therefore, you can't prove that those days are upon us, or that Christians are being deceived and being led astray by reading Harry Potter. Here's a Bible verse of my own that I'd like to share: "I didn't come to condemn the world, but to save it."

I think that the same can be said of the movie, seeing to what great pains were taken to faithfully reproduce the book in almost every aspect. Regardless of how enjoyable it was for people (I myself loved it), the point is that the movie, like the book, has nothing to do with witchcraft of our world. It's an entirely different concept, that for some unfortunate reason is called to some degree by the same name. I call it simply magic. Fantasy.

ALSO!!!! To imply that film music can be somehow connected to the movie, outside having a supporting role on adding different emotions, is ABSOLUTELY WRONG! How many times have I been made fun of because I have the soundtrack to a stupid movie, or one that just wasn't on that particular person's list of best movies? Too many! Many times people have looked through my soundtrack collection and said "Oooh! I like that movie!" etc. You are obviously someone who doesn't know CRAP about music! A film shares little in common with the movie it was composed for, and to suggest otherwise is naive and immature. A movie should not reflect in any way on the soundtrack. To say that John Williams' excellent score (from one who is not a Williams fan, maybe that's why...I just like it more than most of his others) is in some way supporting witchcraft is even more outrageous than saying the movie/books support it!

Throughout history, a person's personal interpretation of their theology's beliefs have caused major persecution, inhibiting progress in many ways. For hundreds of years, most people in the world believed that the Earth was the center of the universe, mainly because they took the Catholic Church's misguided information for granted, and never thought it out themselves, or did any research in the matter, with an open mind. What I see here is the same forceful condemnation directed towards Harry Potter with no real facts, that the Inquisition was known for. What's really sad it that so many people will listen to outspoken people like you, and never read the book and think about it themselves, before they blindly buy in to your narrow-minded crap.

-a different Joe, trying to catch his breath