# Harry Potter-A Satanic Series? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 12, 2001, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949 "2001-11-12T17:41:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ssj\_man2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ssj\_man2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssj_man2k)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/61 "2001-11-17T08:08:31Z")
This is kinda funny cuz my boss (a hardcore christian) mentioned this today. She said “i can’t profess my religion is public schools, but they let kids see movies about witchcraft?” I thought that was funny cuz you have to be an idiot to think anything in Harry Potter is how people really practice witchcraft. I think it’s even funnier that preachers tell people that it is real AND they beleive it LOL. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/62 "2001-11-17T15:09:32Z")
> [@](#): > > They’ve never defined what Satanism is, except that something “bad” and it goes against Christian belief nor shown any solid evidence that it even exists. No. They have defined Satanism. You simply reject their definition, (as do I). Their definition is that _anything_ that appears to have a magical or spiritual effect that does not come from their view of God _is_ from Satan. I find that definition extremely limited and limiting and I do not believe that the Scriptures they quote support their interpretation. Noting that I disagree, however, is different than claiming that they “never defined” their position. ---
**Author:** ![HairyPotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@HairyPotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HairyPotter)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/63 "2001-11-17T15:55:22Z")
I certainly hope there is a Satanic element to the “Harry Potter” series. I believe it is terribly unfair not to allocate equal time for Satan. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/64 "2001-11-18T00:09:14Z")
\*\*tomndebb wrote: No. They have defined Satanism. You simply reject their definition, (as do I). Their definition is that anything that appears to have a magical or spiritual effect that does not come from their view of God is from Satan. I find that definition extremely limited and limiting and I do not believe that the Scriptures they quote support their interpretation. Noting that I disagree, however, is different than claiming that they “never defined” their position.\*\* I _do_ see your point, but think that it conceeds too much of the arguement to the Fundamentalists, by allowing them to “capture” the debate with such a vague definition as to allow anything no mentioned in the Bible to be _satanic_. From that viewpoint, differential calculus could be argued as being satanic since it’s not mentioned in the Bible, yet clearly gives you “powers” (of understanding) and “abilities” (to accurately describe some aspects of the physical universe). You have to undergo a period of intense training and understand books of arcane lore to grasp it. I’m not willing to let them “win” the debate by being able to define the terms so loosely. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/65 "2001-11-18T00:26:15Z")
**ssj:** _This is kinda funny cuz my boss (a hardcore christian) mentioned this today. She said “i can’t profess my religion is public schools, but they let kids see movies about witchcraft?”_ I hope you reminded her that of course, she **can** profess her religion in public schools, every day if that’s what she likes. She just can’t expect the school to provide any kind of official **sponsorship** for her profession of her religion, such as an official school prayer. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/66 "2001-11-18T02:35:41Z")
> [@](#): > > but think that it conceeds too much of the arguement to the Fundamentalists, by allowing them to “capture” the debate I think we’re looking at different perspectives. My point regarding whether they have defined their objection is an attempt to _understand_ their perspective within the context of the OPs “Why?” At no time do I concede that their belief is correct. If someone of that belief were to try to have Rowling’s books removed from my local library or the libraries at my kids’ schools, I would eagerly point out what I perceived to be the _errors_ of their position. As I noted, I do not agree with their position, their general beliefs, or their particular interpretation of Scripture on this subject. If we are seeking to discover their motivation, I am willing to put forth their position. If we are looking to prevent their censorship, I will raise all the appropriate objections to it. ---
**Author:** ![Eosine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/67e7ee/32.png) [@Eosine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eosine)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/67 "2001-11-18T03:36:54Z")
I am totally with Brea here. How the heck do you quote here? Well, this will have to do: “As a matter of fact, there was no reference to Deity at all that I can recall. Unless you count the love of a game called Quidditch a religion.” That answered my point, satan is not mentioned ANYWHERE. The kids do not jump around naked shouting “heil Satan”. It is ridiculous!!! Devil worship?? Magic is not about that at all. It is the made up reason that christians used to kill any woman or man who did not convert to christianity. The people with the old religions did not even know about ‘satan’. How can someone worship something they know nothing about? It would be like someone coming up and telling me that by not eating a chicken heart when I cook a chicken means I am worshipping the devil of waste or something dumb. This drives me crazy, I want to scream at all the freaks who point fingers yelling devil worship at anything they don’t know about. AGHGHGHGHGH!!! How the heck do i find the ‘smilies’ here?? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/68 "2001-11-18T03:57:58Z")
**Eosine** , scroll to the top of this screen and look for the blue Question Mark next to the hypertext [faq](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/index.php?action=faq), then click it. It discusses smileys and other spiffy items. In the section on using HTML (which we do not), there is an additional link to [vB codes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/index.php?action=bbcode) that explains **bolding** , underscore, _italics_, > [@](#): > > quoting, and other mysteries of vB code. ---
**Author:** ![Anubis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Anubis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anubis)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/69 "2001-11-18T19:48:57Z")
Dumbasses. They’re all dumbasses. [This site](http://www.pawcreek.org/Harry%20Potter.htm) calls Harry Potter “The book that is preparing children for the arrival of the Antichrist”. [This place](http://www.refugebaptist.org/viewall.cfm?category_id=32),has headlines, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone: Why it is truly satanic”. And Another on why HP is satanic. DUMBASSES. What they need to do is just not read the damn books if they’re so witch-crafty. Leave our kids’ imaginations alone. They’re just jealous that they couldn’t come up with an idea for a book like that. ---
**Author:** ![Anubis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Anubis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anubis)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/70 "2001-11-18T19:55:18Z")
Hey, I don’t suppose that someone would want to send a message to [Pastor@RefugeBaptist.Org](mailto:Pastor@RefugeBaptist.Org) (he’s one of the anti-harry potter people) and show him this thread and [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=99488). I would do it, but I would rather not have my e-mail showered with “You devil worshipers! You will go to Hell!!” kind of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/71 "2001-11-18T20:04:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anubis \* > \*\*They’re just jealous that they couldn’t come up with an idea for a book like that. \*\* Piece of cake… "The figure entered the carpenter shop, covered in a hair coat, with a great unkempt beard. Jesus was frightened, and Joseph and Mary were almost huddled in the corner. ‘Jesus! Yer God!’ the hairy apparition bellowed." Heck, replace the Hedwig with the dove, Ron Weasley with Simon Peter, Hermione with Mary Magdalene… let’s see…maybe Voldemort with Satan, of course. Snape would be the High Priest (Ananias?) and…hmmm…can’t think of a Dumblebore figure… Well, that’s close anyway. 😃 jayjay ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/72 "2001-11-19T22:03:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > Yeah, the general attitude towards all that “magic stuff” is, “Don’t even _think_ about stuff like Ouija boards and tarot cards, let alone _touch_ them or _look_ at them, 'cause Satan can use that _thought_ to lure you away down the Road to Hell. He’ll make you _curious_ about it, and you’ll start doing _research_, and the next thing you know, you’ll be performing Black Masses…” Yeah, and next thing they’ll go after is the Narnian Chronicles written by C. S. Lewis , an icon of a fundamentalist group I once associated with, and these guys were fundamental fundamentalist Christians. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/73 "2001-11-19T22:09:15Z")
You mean like [Into the depths of SATAN in C. S. Lewis’ _The Chronicles of Narnia_](http://www.balaams-ass.com/journal/homemake/narnia.htm)? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/74 "2001-11-20T00:06:06Z")
weird ---
**Author:** ![ssj\_man2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ssj\_man2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssj_man2k)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/75 "2001-11-20T07:23:57Z")
LMFAO. Omg that was so funny. I can’t beleive there are people who actually think like that. Potions=drugs lol. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_The\_Bold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/41988e/32.png) [@Dale\_The\_Bold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_The_Bold)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/76 "2001-11-21T05:48:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brea \* > \*\*Speaking of Church… just what kind of evil magic turns perfectly good wine into somebody’s blood anyway? Doesn’t that make Christians cannibals? \*\* Actually, Jesus turned _water_ into perfectly good wine. That makes Christians prone to alcoholism, not cannibalism. The last supper was clearly supposed to be “in remembrance” not a literal miraculous changing of wine to blood and bread to flesh. Be careful not to think of anti-Harry-Potterism as a “Christian” thing. I am a Christian who has not read the books, but I want to see the movie mostly for the special effects (on video, I’m cheap). Most of my friends are Christians and have read the books and don’t see a problem with them. In fact, it seems that most Christians are annoyed at the people who make Christianity look like a bunch of fuddy-duddies who turn their nose up at anything remotely imaginative. Interestingly, I think the Left Behind books cause far more spiritual issues than Harry Potter ever could. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2001, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/77 "2001-11-21T19:40:00Z")
I believe **Brea** was referring to communion. Many Catholics believe that the wafer and wine really do turn into the body and blood of Christ in their mouths. (Ewwwwwww!) ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/78 "2001-11-22T00:25:50Z")
But only in essence – the physical particulars remain the same. Don’t ask me to explain it. 😛 Oh, and a thumbs-up to the rest of **Dale’s** post. (Incidentally, you should see the movie, **Dale** – it’s wonderful. But that’s a topic for another thread.) ---
**Author:** ![jkusters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@jkusters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkusters)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/79 "2001-11-22T00:42:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ssj\_man2k \* > **This is kinda funny cuz my boss (a hardcore christian) mentioned this today. She said "i can’t profess my religion is public schools, but they let kids see movies about witchcraft?"** You know what I find funny about this quote is the fact that they also let kids see movies about Christianity (but those movies bomb at the box office). She does, however, have a severe case of mixed apples and oranges. JOhn. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949/80 "2001-11-22T06:17:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Katisha \* > But only in essence – the physical particulars remain the same. > > Don’t ask me to explain it. 😛 Mind if I try? The two (philosophical) terms to bear in mind here are “substance” and “accident.” “Substance” is what something _is_; “accident” is what it _appears to be_. Ordinarily, the two are the same–something that appears to be made of wood is actually made of wood. But during the consecration, the bread and wine, while retaining the physical characteristics of bread and wine, become the body and blood of Christ. Hence the term, “transubstantiation.” And it’s one of the central mysteries/miracles of the RCC. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-a-satanic-series/92949.md?page=5)