5 August 2001

The anti-Harry Potter idiots are at it again..
*sigh*
and even the defense can't get their facts straight in some cases... jeez.

I think people should just be happy that their kids are reading!!!!! They can formulate opinions and ideas from life as well as books, but books are important!!!

Anyway, here is the article

Video demonizes 'Harry Potter' -
Books teach kids to access witchcraft, minister says

By Breuse Hickman
FLORIDA TODAY

Does reading the Harry Potter books turn kids onto witchcraft?

Yes, according to a controversial, locally produced video entitled "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged - Making Evil Look Innocent."

The one-hour video will be shown in at least 15 Brevard County churches starting Sunday, further perpetuating a controversy that has brewed worldwide since the best-selling book series was launched in 1998.

"For the first time in literary history, kids are learning about children accessing the power of witchcraft," said Robert S. McGee, an associate pastor at Merritt Island's First Baptist Church, who helped create the video. The video was produced by Story-Teller www.story- teller.com and distributed by the Christian company Jeremiah Films. McGee specifically contends the books are a gateway to Wicca, a Neopagan religion.

Since author J.K. Rowling published the first of her four Harry Potter books in 1998, conservative Christians worldwide have been outspoken with their objections. In England, the books were banished from one school because Harry's magical powers go against the teachings of the Bible. Parents in Oregon have asked that the books be banned because they promote hatred and rebellion.

The series tops the list of books "most challenged" in the nation's schools and libraries, according to the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom. The number of challenges to ban the books reported in 2000 was 646, triple that of 1999.

McGee said he helped make the video - available for $20 at http://www.therealpotter.com - because he was amazed so many parents, even Christians, dismiss the books' contents as pure fantasy.

"The books are an accurate presentation of witchcraft, spirit possession and spells," said McGee, author of "The Search for Significance" ($14.99; W. Publishing Group), about personal self- worth based on the love of Jesus Christ. "These children read these books over and over, and what happens when they go to sleep at night? They dream. They dream about casting spells."

Some people are concerned the video will cast the beloved books in a false light, or worse, be used to stop kids from reading them.

"What worries me is that people who don't question sources will take this (video) at face value," said Cynthia Ridolf, Central Brevard Library youth services librarian, who has led Harry Potter reading clubs at the library. She recently watched the video. "They (video makers) take the books' examples out of context. It assumes that kids don't have a grasp of fantasy vs. reality. That is just not true."

Librarians, booksellers and parents worldwide have praised the Harry Potter books for encouraging children to read. Last year, Christianity Today magazine recommended parents read the series with their children.

Lynette Barnes, magazine coordinator at Barnes & Noble on Merritt Island, credits the books for improving her 13-year-old son Nathaniel's reading skills.

"He's read them all and has moved on to J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings.' " she said. "The Potter books caught his attention and kindled his interest in reading."

Crystal Emmons, 12, has read the first three Harry Potter books 12 times each. "It's fun, because every time you read them you find something you missed," said Crystal, who attends Jackson Middle School. "I like the adventure, and the stories are fun."

An instant hit
Rowling's fantasy series turned into an international phenomenon almost immediately. Now, almost 40 million Harry Potters books are in print, available in 40 languages and found in 124 countries, according to USA Today.

The first film based on the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," directed by Chris Columbus, is scheduled to open in November. Additionally, a "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" video game is due in fall.

Although many have challenged the books in the nation's schools and libraries, no one has done so yet in Brevard County, said Sara Stern, spokeswoman for Brevard Public Schools.

"The books are on (schools') accelerated reading list, but it is not mandatory reading," she said.

Harry Potter is introduced to readers as an orphan living with Relatives who despise him. On his 11th birthday, he learns he has magical abilities. When he was a baby, his parents were killed trying to fight an evil wizard, but Harry escaped with only a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The series follows his adventures as he advances through Hogwart's School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

McGee and other pastors who will show the video said they don't want to ban the book. Rather, they want to raise awareness about its negative themes.

"Fantasy is one thing, but Harry Potter books cross the line. It's a form of spiritism really," said Ray Goolsby, associate pastor at Merritt Island's East Coast Christian Center, which will show the video at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Some of the video's claims about the Harry Potter series:
Symbols and spells in the books are similar to those found in the Wiccan religion. Broom sticks and pointed hats are phallic symbols within the Wicca religion. The lightning bolt on Harry Potter's head is one half of the Nazi swastika.
The Bible sites references to Potter's messages: "The Goddess was worshipped as a Potter," (Zechariah 11:13). The books teach that witchcraft is for children. Those who practice witchcraft are compulsively into drug use, sexual activity and other destructive conduct. The concept of right vs. wrong does not exist in the worlds of Harry Potter or the Wicca religion.

As an example, the video cites the following passage from the first book:
"See what I have become," the face said, "mere shadow and vapor. I have form only when I can share another's body. But there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds. Unicorn blood has strengthened me these past weeks."

One of the most outspoken commentators in the video is Caryl Matrisciana, described as a "cult and occult researcher." She also is co-founder of Jeremiah Films, the video's distribution company (www.jeremiahfilms.com). Matrisciana has attacked Mormonism and New Age philosophies in Christian books she either has written or co- written, according to the video's Web site.

Wiccans disagree
Chris Jones of Satellite Beach, a self-described high priestess in the Wiccan religion, said the claims in the video are "laughable."

"This book is not accurate to what we do," said Jones, who believes the video confuses imaginative witchcraft, as in the Harry Potter books, with an unrelated form of witchcraft, in this case Wicca. "What I think is that half the kids in the country are illiterate and these books are helping them to read. I don't know who could possibly take it seriously."

Not all Christians are anti-Potter. Last year, an editorial in Christianity Today magazine recommended parents read the books to their kids: "The literary witchcraft of the Harry Potter series has almost no resemblance to the I-am-God mumbo jumbo of Wiccan circles."

McGee is worried kids seeking information about Harry Potter online will end up exploring Wicca Web sites. He claims Wiccans have infiltrated his church's youth group meetings trying to recruit Christian kids.

Jones disputes this.
"We don't accept anyone into Wicca until they are 18," she said. "Besides, you can't hold us or a book responsible for young people going to the bookstore or seeking information online. It's a free country, and we all have free minds."

Jones said Christian attacks against Wicca date to 1484, "when Pope Innocent VIII made goddess worship an offense punishable by death."
"That's when the burning of witches began. The pope finally realized it was unseemly to murder people. However, the church of Rome was allowed to rewrite our history, which is like the Nazis writing the history of the Jews. We've been trying to dispel those myths every since."

Psychiatrists like Harry
In June, members of the American Psychiatric Association analyzed the contents of Harry Potter books. Their conclusion: Harry is a wonderful wizard.

The novels' orphaned hero makes mistakes, but he comes through in the end, the report said. Harry not only survives an abusive childhood but comes out with hope and the ability to love intact.

"He is adventuresome, tolerant of a lot of negativism directed his way, yet is not aggressive, arrogant or clinically depressed," said Dr. Leah J. Dickstein, a psychiatrist and former elementary school teacher, during the APA's meeting in New Orleans.

Jeffrey Lauffer of Merritt Island agrees.
"I think the books teach wonderful family values," said Lauffer, 50, who works as an orbiter test conductor at Kennedy Space Center and has two grown children. "What a great way for parents to bond with their kids. If kids go off and try black magic, I'm sure they were inclined to do that from the beginning."

After visiting the video maker's Web site, Lauffer took issue with the categorical nature of the video.
"They (video makers) obviously see everything in terms black or white," he said. "But that's not the way the world works, and you have to be capable of rational thought to see which shades of gray are bad and good."

Brandy Brown, 13, of Rockledge said she has read the books several times.
"Some of my Christian friends say it's evil, but I don't think it is," said Brandy, who attends Kennedy Middle School. "I think people should just read it if they want to. If they don't like it, maybe they can try reading something else instead."