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Jason Pitzl-Waters on Aug 4th 2005 at 5:20 pm Neopaganism

Potter Potter Potter!

Man am I ever sick of Harry Potter articles. I wish I could go a day without some Christian “expert” talking about the “dangers” of my family of faiths. Here is the latest “expert” on how Harry Potter is leading children to evil Paganism.

“Most alarmingly, Witchcraft/Wicca, which was given legal religious recognition by the Supreme Court in 1986, has IRS tax exemption status and Wiccan chaplains in the military is now promoted as so-called “fantasy” literature and its contents, which accurately portray the values and elements of the religion of witchcraft are permitted to be read aloud in classrooms across America. Worse yet, at a time when Bible reading on campus, the posting of the Ten Commandments in academic corridors or praying at school functions have been expelled from the classroom, 101 Basic Witchcraft is permitted through the reading aloud of the Harry Potter books by teachers in the classroom. Would a book based on Judeo Christian values and Biblical concepts, such as Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind Series which was also along with Harry top of the NY best sellers list, be permitted such expose in classrooms across the nation? And would school buses be allowed to transport thousands of school children to the movie theatres to see Mel Gibson’s Bible based “The Passion of Christ” movie the way thousands of students were bused to see Harry Potter’s land of wizards and muggles movie? I don’t think so! So why is certain religious indoctrination allowed unquestioned into the classrooms yet another banned?” – Caryl Matrisciana, producer of the video, Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged. Making Evil Look innocent

Why is Harry Potter read in classrooms and not Left Behind? It MUST be an occult conspiracy! It couldn’t be that the Harry Potter inspires children to enjoy reading, and is (generally speaking) a decently fun read, while Left Behind is turgid, poorly-written apocalypse porn that manages to mangle the gospels and the message of Christ beyond all recognition. Why field trips to Potter films and not The Passion of The Christ? Oh I don’t know, maybe parents would object to children seeing a man tortured, flayed and beaten for two hours while they ramble on in Aramaic or Latin. I can see how a forteen-year-old would be all for that.

Religious indoctrination? There is no resemblance of the RELIGION of Wicca to the fairy-tale witchcraft and wizardry of the Harry Potter books. Potter doesn’t celebrate Pagan holidays, he doesn’t worship any pre-Christian dieties, his magic bears no resemblance to the ritual magic that takes place in a Wiccan circle. Yet these seeming “experts” who keep telling us about all the “real” Witches and Pagans they know can’t even admit the lack of a one-to-one match between a fantasy involving magic and a living, breathing, evolving faith.

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7 responses so far

  • contribUUtor

    Yeah, I wonder if the experts would consider “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” a show that indoctrinates people to christianity. The show has crucifixes, talked about hell, etc. Must be a fairly accurate portayal of christian faith right?

  • Chas S. Clifton

    Jason, you poor, simple idealist, don’t you realize that even though the book doesn’t say it’s about Wicca, that even reading . . . even THINKING . . . the word witchcraft opens you up to DEMONIC INFLUENCE?!Had you going, didn’t I? ;-) By the way, I don’t think that there are any Wiccan chaplains, contrary to what that one person wrote. The Chaplain Corps merely acknowledges that Wiccan military personnel exist . . . and so they are invaded by demons, yada yada yada.Chas

  • Daven

    Hey, if they want to read Wiccan fantasy that actually DOES “teach” how to practice Wicca, at least to some, in the classrooms, they should be reading “To Ride a Silver Broomstick” or “Teen Wicca”.At least their fears would be somewhat justified.Oh, wait… $RW doesn’t teach Wicca either. Hmmmm….

  • Rubicon

    ^oh that last comment about $RW had me laughing so hard I almost shot tea out of my nose. It’s_so_true. :D

  • Morgaine

    “Apocalypse porn” – hee.

  • Lisa

    http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb261778.htmWell, maybe because of “press releases” like this from Ed Hubbard of Witch School that say “Harry Potter has many components that are similar to Wicca, but really is a work of fiction.” Um, which components might those be?

  • fausto

    Over in the Christian section of Beliefnet there’s a thread with over 800 posts on this topic.The more thoughtful participants are challenging the demon-phobic ones to explain why A Christmas Carol and Lord of the Rings and the Narnia books are good Christian children’s lit, but Harry Potter is evil, when they all similarly rely on ghosts and/or magic to illustrate the conflict between good and evil.So far, the demon-fearers haven’t been able to provide an answer, but they still hate Harry Potter.