Harry Potter fans are excited for the latest story in the franchise, Harry Potter & the Cursed Child.
The book’s release this week coincided with the theatrical version opening on the British stage.
I must say that as a father and former reading teacher, it always pleases me to see people excited about reading. A celebration of literature is so rare in this day of social media, video games and microwave-minute attention spans.
Kids and adults excited about reading brings a smile to this dad’s face. But as in previous Potter releases, the fictional work is not without critics. And a great deal of the concern comes from some in the Christian community.
We took to the CBN News facebook page to see what Christians think about the craze.
Our poll found that 90 percent of responders felt that Christians should not be joining in the Harry Potter fanfare. Ten percent think it’s okay.
One poll participant, David-Linda Harrison, wrote, “Witches, warlocks, and magic…asking for trouble…our pastor says when you expose yourself to these things you invite demons into your life.”
Kevin Willis II had a different response:
“I love how most of the commentators are over 50. This is a pretty bias poll since most older people hate and fear anything they don’t understand. They said that Rock and Roll was inviting demons into churches, but look where we are now,” he wrote.
Christian author Richard Abanes recently spoke to CBN.com about his book Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings: What You Need to Know About Fantasy Books and Movies.
Abanes had this to say:
“One of the easiest ways to know whether a fantasy book or film has real world magic in it is to just ask a simple question: Can my child find information in a library or bookstore that will enable them to replicate what they are seeing in the film or the book?” he said.
“If you go to The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings what you see in story magic and imagination, it is not real. You can’t replicate it. But if you go to something like Harry Potter, you can find references to astrology, clairvoyance, and numerology,” he explained. “It takes seconds to go into a bookstore or library and get books on that and start investigating it, researching it and doing it.
“In fact, that’s why real Wiccans, real witches and real occultists are using the popularity of Harry Potter to lure kids toward real world occultism,” he added. “They actually have advertisements for their own books that use Harry Potter as their appeal.”
Some Christians say Harry Potter is an open door the the occult. Others think it is merely a fantasy book and film series that encourages children to read.
What do you think? {eoa}
Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.
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