# Harry Potter is EVIL! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 25, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-is-evil/184297 "2003-06-25T14:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-is-evil/184297/101 "2003-06-30T16:49:33Z")
Of course the spells don’t work without a wand. It’s the wands that have the power, the spells just direct that power. Getting hold of a wand is the hard part. You don’t see too many phoenix feathers around any more. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-is-evil/184297/102 "2003-06-30T23:12:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\* Getting hold of a wand is the hard part. \*\* In your case, eh? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-is-evil/184297/103 "2003-07-01T01:57:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*I dunno: if they don’t actually work then the warnings seem particularly shrill and pointless. Not all witchcraft is wishing nasty things on people: some of it is curing warts. And does this mean that the Bible thinks thall shalt not suffer to live a person who performs rituals that don’t work? \*\* IIRC the original text is actually refering to specific group of priestesses. “Thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to live.” since they sacrificed children by poisoning them. Translations extended from the specific to the general. > [@](#): > > [B} > If it’s all about bad thoughts and wishes, why not simply condemn bad thoughts and wishes? Why does it become worlds more dangerous when it involves burning incense? \*\* Because you’ve gone from thinking bad thoughts to actively seeking to cause harm. More, bad thoughts _are_ condemned. You’re not supposed to covet your neighbor’s wife or things. If you try to steal those things or commit adultery with his wife, whether or not you succeed is irrelevant. You’ve gone from bad thoughts to actively trying to do wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-is-evil/184297/104 "2003-07-01T04:55:40Z")
> [@](#): > > You’ve gone from bad thoughts to actively trying to do wrong. but is trying to cure a wart by waving a magic wand a bad thought, and wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-is-evil/184297/105 "2003-07-01T05:00:52Z")
> [@](#): > > If one believes that only God is to be trusted, worshiped and followed, then relying on other means of supernatural activity would be wrong. I’m sorry, but this apologism is complete poppycock. If I want to wax my car, am I defying god by using a shammy instead of praying? If magic exists, then how is it different, in terms of not relying on God, from using a shammy? What does “supernatural” add to the discussion? To a caveman or camel herder, a shammy/spraybottle would seem just as supernatural as a magic wand. > [@](#): > > The perception is that the books present a reliance on magic or other forms of supernatural power as a positive good. Then why aren’t people protesting NASCAR, which seems to promote the use of cars to drive fast as a positive good? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-is-evil/184297/106 "2003-07-01T05:13:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*but is trying to cure a wart by waving a magic wand a bad thought, and wrong? \*\* A bad thought? No. Wrong? It depends. Magic is one of the practices that are prohibited. It’s not wrong for Freyr or Kung Foo Lola. It is wrong for me. It’s not wrong for them to eat bacon cheeseburgers. It is wrong for me. There’s a big list of ‘You are my people. You don’t do these things. Other people can. You can’t’ ``` No rounding the corners of your head, no yoking an ox and a bull, no fortune tellers or wands. ``` [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-is-evil/184297.md?page=5)