This reminds me of a workplace conversation a few years ago. One guy was telling me about his weekend, and how at his Pentecostal church, there was a woman who had ‘gotten the spirit’ and started speaking in tongues, rolling around the pews, etc. He was thoroughly impressed by it, telling me that she had really been touched by God. Another co-worker, a Southern Baptist, was quite upset, because she thought that sort of thing was a sign of demonic possession.
My lapsed Catholic viewpoint, that the episode was a combination of high emotion and attention whoring, was not even entertained.
In the name of Jesus begone you foul demon out of BrainGlutton and in the name of Jesus may BrainGlutton be healed. (said purely for effect and example, not intended as a insult or spiritual assessment, but if it works you can thank me 
)
So it is not just prayer the believe is to use, but the same sort of magic that the witches use, but must be done in the name of Jesus - the believer commands it by the name he/she is given. We also see biblical examples of some sort of using earth to heal, such as wash in the river and mud rubbed in the eyes that last one used by Jesus. But many will not call it ‘magic’ when BrainGlutton gets healed, just the work of the Holy Spirit.
Speaking as a Catholic Republican…
I’ve read all seven of the Harry Potter books, enjoyed six of them immensely, and never saw anything in any of them that I’d have a problem letting my 11 year old son read.
There is a certain strain of fundamentalist Christian that sees any depiction of the supernatural as evil or morally problematic, or as a way of glorifying black magic. Those people would object to the Harry Potter series even if I assured them that nothing improper or immoral was going on at Hogwart’s.
Other fundamentalists have undoubtedly read or heard all kinds of false rumors about the stories, and imagine they contain things that aren’t really there.
Then they have their work cut out for them. Every elementary-school library in America is just full of stories about wizards and witches and elves and goblins and dragons and hobbits and so on.
Speaking as a Christian and a huge Harry Potter freak, I suspect much of the objection is not that it’s real, but that it advocates for something bad. Seeking to do magic is bad (in their view) whether magic works or not. It is sort of similar to feminists objecting to porn in which women are objectified. Or even fairy tales with passive heroines.
The same objections are raised to Hallowe’en.
Regards,
Shodan
Honestly - as a person who was raised apatheist and whose only religious affiliation has been Pagan (now lapsed)…
I honestly don’t understand the difference between a prayer and a spell. Especially the sort of prayer where you have to say specific words - Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, etc - to get a specific result.
Lapsed Catholic Husband is somewhat shocked by this, but he hasn’t been able to explain it in any way that makes the distinction meaningful to me, either.
A prayer is a request for God to perform magic. Saying a spell allows you to use the magic yourself.
I probably should note that this is a very much a minority viewpoint even among evangelical Christians, many of whom are very much fans of Harry Potter. And the ones who do think Harry Potter is of the devil very often think the same of Tolkien and CS Lewis consider the former was a Catholic and the latter an Anglican with High Church tendencies.
That’s pretty much exactly why HP, D&D, and most variations on fantasy role-playing are considered evil by certain religions: it inspires hope for and belief in peoples’ ability to use non-divine magical power to solve their problems. It doesn’t help any that the HP stories take place in what looks to some to be the real world, rather than Middle Earth.
If one were to pray for, say, a huge wooden club to hover in mid-air above a troll’s head, would you expect it to work?
That’s pretty much it.
Was there a reason given though? Because of the content? because I could see that they wanted kids to read something else.
Crazy guy: “He worked for 12 years and released his story in the 13th year.”
Reality: written 1937 - 1949, published 1954,
I’m sure the rest of the journalism is equally accurate. Also, the Fellowship film was released 99 days after 9/11!!! Add an extra 9, rotate them, and what do you get? 666!
Which one didn’t you like?
Indeed. It’s the good ole lesson from the Adam & Eve story - trying to usurp the power of God for yourself and your own purposes.
FWIW, I think the anti-HP strain of crazy evangelicals is ridiculous. I even knew a few of them - their fundy church though had tons of HP fans. Heck, HP was a Christ allegory (though that only becomes super clear in the 7th book, by which point the crazy fundies had already given it up)!
Out of curiosity, which one didn’t you care for?
The difference is that a spell works. If magic works and anyone who is trained to perform a spell can produce the desired result then that spell has to compel God. You can not compel God, and the attempt is blasphemy. A prayer’s basis is a request, not a compulsion.
Except for the parts about George and Fred Weasley’s practical jokes, I wasn’t crazy about*** Order of the Phoenix***, the fifth one.
Duh, because one fictitious text might become more popular than their fictitious text. Bible fanboys in essence, only you replace words like ‘lame’ with ‘evil’. I knew a happy clappy type at school who railed on Harry for years, until she grew up and just let things be.
Actual magic being performed out of the books, though? That is kinda nuts.
The funny thing is, that’s a relatively recent development historically speaking - end of the Renaissance/early Modern or thereabouts. But in the so-called Dark Ages & Middle Ages, both Churches (Catholic and Orthodox) reckoned that belief in witchcraft of any kind was silly superstition and/or heresy of the worst sort since only God could do miracles. In fact, Charlemagne edicted a law that flat out forbade belief in sorcery altogether.
How do these people feel about Penn & Teller, or is it only fictional stories about magic that are real tools of the devil?
Well, since they’re both outspoken (well, PENN is outspoken- Teller just nods in agreement) atheists, fundamentalists wouldn’t like them.
But most stage magicians never pretend they’re doing anything supernatural. Penn and Teller often SHOW people exactly how they do their tricks. So, they wouldn’t be seen as promoting dark arts, since it’s obviously all just a show.
“Abracadabra, insha’Allah!”
It’s not common in mainstream America. After all, Harry Potter is as mainstream as it gets. It is common with some evangelical Christians here in the United States though. They believe that Harry Potter, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, etc., etc. will tempt children into becoming involved with the occult and turned away from God. Back in the 1990s the Goosebumps series of books were popular and I can remember some religious types railing against it for similar reasons.