# Is Harry Potter EVIL? Check your Bible! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2002, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159 "2002-04-06T08:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/1 "2002-04-06T08:37:29Z")
In another thread a very good satire was posted, supposedly showing that Star Wars was a tool of the Devil. It was a joke, of course, but [this](http://www.7times.org/newsletter/Harry%20Potter.htm) is not. Mr. A says: “This is EVIL. This is FORBIDDEN by the Eternal Creator God. This is WITCHCRAFT! Do not go near it, and do not allow your children to go near it! Avoid it like you would an office or building in which ANTHRAX has been detected!” I don’t suppose he means the rock group, but he’d probably feel the same way about them. So what do **you** think? Is Harry Potter evil? Is J. K. Rowling in league with Satan? Or is Garner Ted in league with Jerry Falwell and others of his ilk? ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/2 "2002-04-06T10:50:12Z")
I think Harry Potter sucks. ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/3 "2002-04-06T12:32:20Z")
Yes, I confess it! I have led scores - nay, hundreds! - of children to our Dark Master by encouraging them to read Harry Potter! I have revelled in the corruption of innocence! Because I have read the books, I know how to do _real_ magic! I have bolstered my power with the blood of innocents (and goats, mustn’t forget the goats) and I now stand poised to challenge God Himself! Because of Harry Potter I have become evil and will now, with my magic and thorough evilness, overthrow God and rule the universe, with JK Rowling at my left hand! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/4 "2002-04-06T12:36:14Z")
The Vatican sure doesn’t think so, since it’s naming a patron saint of wizardry! [CITE!](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=5502142) > [@](#): > > Thanks to Pope John Paul II, Harry will soon have a patron saint to turn to when spells threaten to go horribly wrong. The Pope is planning to name Saint Don Bosco, a 19th-century Italian priest with a passion for magic, as the patron saint of conjurers, magicians and wizards. The idea is from Father Silvio Mantelli, a bespectacled priest and magician who boasts the stage name Mago Sales and has devoured all of J K Rowlings Harry Potter books. He likes to celebrate mass wearing a clown’s plastic red nose. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/5 "2002-04-06T13:36:12Z")
If Harry Potter really led kids to witchcraft, and witchcraft really worked the way these, ahem, concerned citizens think it does, we’d have an epidemic of gym teachers turning into newts. ---
**Author:** ![stofsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@stofsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stofsky)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/6 "2002-04-06T15:40:45Z")
> [@](#): > > "And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. > [@](#): > > There is much to be read between the lines. Obviously, Jesus was a boy of great character; a young lad upon whom His parents could rely. That they did not even look for him until having traveled a full day’s journey shows they trusted his self-reliance completely. Or shows that they were bad parents. Gee, the way spin works makes my head…well…spin. And what’s with all the (sic) in the letter–a couple of these look pretty grammatically correct to me. I admit that using the plural “them” to refer to “person” is questionable, though it’s acceptable, but here’s the siced (sicked?) section: > [@](#): > > It is a persons’ imagination and sense of creativity that enable them (sic) to solve problems and create new ideas in all occupations, from parenthood to professional fields such as medicine, construction, and leadership (sic) In addition to creativity and imagination, reading out loud helps to teach children grammar skills, vocabulary, and writing skills (the use of similies [sic] and imagery, etc.). Methinks we have a nut on the loose. ---
**Author:** ![Calliope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Calliope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calliope)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/7 "2002-04-06T15:45:35Z")
My question to anyone who asks me if I truly let my child read those “tomes of Satan” is whether or not they watched and enjoyed the Wizard of Oz. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/8 "2002-04-06T15:52:44Z")
> [@](#): > > And what’s with all the (sic) in the letter–a couple of these look pretty grammatically correct to me. “Similes” is misspelled, and including “leadership” in a list of professional fields seems rather odd. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/9 "2002-04-06T15:53:52Z")
Why stop there, Calliope? Wizard of Oz, Adventures of King Arthur, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Then there’s Shakespeare: MacBeth and Midsummer Night’s Dream, for instance. Then there’s opera: Wagner’s Ring cycle is a clear no-no (not only witchcraft, but pagan gods) … and once we get into pagan gods, we’ve got the dangers of the Iliad and Odyssey to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/10 "2002-04-06T16:26:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*… and once we get into pagan gods, we’ve got the dangers of the Iliad and Odyssey to worry about. \*\* Dante had a special (not so blisteringly hot) circle of Hell – the 1st one, I believe – for all the great pagan poets and philosophers; so Homer isn’t such a bad guy. Poor ol’ Odysseus didn’t get off so easily though, landing plop in the 8th circle. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/11 "2002-04-06T19:08:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*Then there’s Shakespeare: MacBeth and Midsummer Night’s Dream, for instance. > \*\* Remember that church in New Mexico that had a Harry Potter book burning, right around Christmas time? They burned Shakespeare plays, too. This _really_ pissed me off. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@The\_Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tim)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/12 "2002-04-06T19:23:38Z")
[This](http://www.theescapist.com/random.htm) guy decided to test whether or not Harry Potter and D&D can teach you magic. It’s hysterical fun and disproves rabid loonies. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/13 "2002-04-06T20:17:19Z")
Of course Harry Potter is evil; it says so right in the Good Book - Leviticus 13:9, “And thou shalt read no novels yea nor enjoy any tales that do tell of children from England who do partake of improbably magic, [sup]10[/sup]and thou shalt burn all evidence of he with the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, yea for he is of Satan. [sup]11[/sup]And let not they children develop an imagination, lest they someday learn to think for themselves.” Oh, wait. That’s _not_ in the Bible. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![jonp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@jonp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonp)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/14 "2002-04-07T04:28:19Z")
You may want to take a look at this Onion parody on the subject of Harry Potter and Satanism: [http://www.3d-artgallery.com/chronic/00/harry\_potter.html](http://www.3d-artgallery.com/chronic/00/harry_potter.html) Sad to say, the parody was presented as fact in an e-mail that circulated in conservative Christian circles. Here’s the link from an urban legends web site: [http://www.snopes.com/humor/iftrue/potter.htm](http://www.snopes.com/humor/iftrue/potter.htm) ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/15 "2002-04-07T05:33:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peepthis \* > \*\* > Dante had a special (not so blisteringly hot) circle of Hell – the 1st one, I believe – for all the great pagan poets and philosophers; so Homer isn’t such a bad guy. \*\* Not even. I believe Dante put the (rightious) pagans just outside of Hell. The first circle is for those driven by lust (which I checked on, since I want to know what I have to look foward to). But somehow, I don’t think Mr. Armstong has much regard for …or knowledge of…the works of Dante. I don’t think he’d ahve any problem putting Rowling, Homer AND Dante in hell if he could (and it does kind of sound like he thinks he can.) ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/16 "2002-04-07T05:51:16Z")
What goes on in the 1st circle? ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/17 "2002-04-07T08:03:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by betenoir \* > \*\*But somehow, I don’t think Mr. Armstong has much regard for …or knowledge of…the works of Dante. I don’t think he’d ahve any problem putting Rowling, Homer AND Dante in hell if he could (and it does kind of sound like he thinks he can.) \*\* Actually, a point of doctrine with Armstrong is that people don’t “go to Hell” in the sense that most professing Christians believe they do. They are simply cast into the lake of fire, there to be consumed once and for all. There is no eternal damnation for them because, Armstrong believes that people do not _have_ an immortal soul, rather that each can achieve immortality with God _on Earth_ if he/she measures up. No eternal punishment. Either eternal reward on Earth, or eternal death. He wouldn’t consign anyone to hell. The point of the OP was that some organizations (probably more than we imagine) take seriously the “threat” of anything fantastic. They see the Devil in Harry Potter, and anything else that speaks of wizardry and witchcraft, no matter in how fantastical a way. I don’t agree with them on that, or much of anything, which is why I never joined that church voluntarily (that church being the Radio Church of God/Worldwide Church of God, and GTA’s offshoot Church of God International, which, I understand has undergone yet another transformation fairly recently). My parents were members of the old Radio Church until I was about thirteen, by which time they, and I, had seen enough. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/18 "2002-04-07T20:06:28Z")
> [@](#): > > The Vatican sure doesn’t think so, since it’s naming a patron saint of wizardry! Oh, that’s great! Jack Chick is going to have a field day with that one! It should come in very handy in debates with my father, though, who calls himself a Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2002, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/19 "2002-04-07T20:47:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by betenoir \* > \*\*Not even. I believe Dante put the (rightious) pagans just outside of Hell. The first circle is for those driven by lust (which I checked on, since I want to know what I have to look foward to). \*\* Not quite, **betenoir**. Lust is the _2nd Circle_. Dante’s _1st circle_ of Hell was in fact Limbo, where you find “all the blameless but unbaptized; old testament patriarchs rescued by Christ; great pagan poets and philosophers comfortable but separate forever from God.” ([Cite](http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/eng251/dante.html), if you want a quick outline of all the circles). As Dante describes it in the 4th Canto, “'Tis not enough, because they had not baptism/Which is the portal of the Faith thou holdest”. Which is why there you’ll find Moses hangin’ out with Homer, Ovid, and Saladin. But there’s no real suffering going on there (except that they’re not in tight with the Big Guy) so it’s not such a bad place, since Dante makes a point of noting that darkness didn’t appear until he left the 1st circle. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159/20 "2002-04-08T04:01:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peepthis \* > \*\* > Which is why there you’ll find Moses hangin’ out with Homer, Ovid, and Saladin. But there’s no real suffering going on there (except that they’re not in tight with the Big Guy) so it’s not such a bad place, since Dante makes a point of noting that darkness didn’t appear until he left the 1st circle. \*\* Nah, Moses and all the other “righteous Jews” from the old testament were taken to heaven by Jesus when he died: > [@](#): > > "Through the shrunk hells there came a Great One, crowned > And garmented with conquest. Of the dead, > He rescued from us him who earliest died, > Abel, and our first parent. Here He found, > Abraham, obedient to the Voice he heard; > And Moses, first who wrote the Sacred Word; > Isaac, and Israel and his sons, and she, > Rachel, for whom he travailed; and David, king; > And many beside unnumbered, whom he led > Triumphant from the dark abodes, to be > Among the blest for ever. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-harry-potter-evil-check-your-bible/102159.md?page=2)