For those Harry Potter lovers - Did you know ??

Re-read the article. You should be able to infer that the director and whoever else was involved with the script was not aware of the issue.

Re-read my post. I'm not talking about speculation meant to demean or tarnish without any proof. I'm saying some people can find homosexuality wherever they want to. The only evidence for this speculation of Dumbledore is that he had "no close relationship with women and a mysterious, troubled past". If this had proven conclusively that the character was gay, the audience wouldn't have "gasped" when it was revealed.

 

Exactly and none of my grandkids have read them and will not if I have anything to say about it (which I don't). Thank God for Godly parents!

 

Which is exactly why this whole deal sucks: it's a method of subversion.

 

Have not read all replies.
Man, this is tops on all the boards!

Truly, it makes no diff to me. Nothing
in the books allude to his sexuality,
nothing is ever really stated one way
or the other.

Still a fun read, a nice 'escape'.
But then, I'm an adult, and so less
bothered/influenced by things like this.

Gay characters, whether open or not,
in fiction don't bother me. They exist
in the real world, and trying to 'stamp
them out' by ignoring/banning books
with them in it is silly.

Of course, I'd also say that these books
should only be read by children old
enough to understand a story from
reality, and be grounded enough in
their faith not to be bothered.
Perhaps reading it along with a
parent, to explain the 'rights and wrongs'
of various situations, is the way to go.

I was raised understanding that there are
no degrees of sin, that they are all the same.
So, then, would/do you ban books that have
stealing/lying/cheating in them?
Any hint of premarital sex or lust, drunkeness,
doubting of the faith?
If so, what do you/r kids read?

I second another poster, not sure from where,
that the pre-occupation of Christians with
homosexuality is both weird and creepy.

 

What has always amazed me about the HP issue is this:

I don't know any Christians that are in reality, dumb enough to think that witchcraft is something that is okay for them to be entertaining themselves with. I do, however, know a plenty of em' that, despite their knowledge of this and a clear instruction book on the issue, continually and fervently thumb their noses at God and his word in a blatant act of presumptuous sin. In so doing, they tie bandanas around their eyes and will defend there beloved HP books and continue marching blinfolded down the road saying, "I just can't see anything wrong with HP."

 

Really? You know Christians who practice witchcraft?

 

Be more specific. Right now you appear to be contradicting yourself.

 

updated previous post,,,

 

I believe we all agree practicing witchcraft is sin.

Yet what we have here is a children's fantasy book with fictional stories regarding the use of witchcraft by fictional characters. So we could say it is not real. It's just fantasy.

The problem is in real life homosexuality is real, and so is witchcraft. We can create fantasy around witchcraft, and somehow tell ourselves we are removed enough from this sin to not actually be committing the sin ourselves. We are only reading about a fictional story where the fictional characters are committing the sin.

Ok then.

Yet now it has been taken one step further.

The author of these children's fantasy books publicly stated that a character(s )is gay, after alluding to this in her books. Some children picked up on it, others did not. If you didn't get her drift the first time, she is going to ensure you do by going public.
Sadly, she does this knowing full well her consumers, her target market, are mainly under age minors. So now the characters have been "sexualized" in a manner in which children are not ready for. And worse, it is a "sexualized' manner opposed to Christian teachings.

We also have an author, who now has the audacity to publicly poo poo a portion of her own consumer base. Some believers purchased her books, and this is how they are treated. What a slap in the face

I own a business, and we don't treat our customers this way. I would hope no one would advocate treating their customers in this manner.


Now here is another aspect of it-

If reading about witchcraft in a fantasy sense is ok, then is it too far of a strech to assume it's ok for Christians ton read about adultery in a fantasy sense?
Both are sins yet we aren't actually committing these ourselves. We are only gaining the reading enjoyment out of them. These fictional characters in a fantasy world. Consider the romance novels which get into intimate details of sex acts committed by fictional characters.

As a Christian, if watching a new Harry Potter film is ok then it should be ok for us to go see Brokeback Mtn (A homosexual R Rated film) correct?

Again, we are not actually committing these sinful acts ourselves. We are only gaining the enjoyment of watching them on screen or reading about them.

Thoughts anyone?

 

Which is what I assumed you were saying.

"I just don't see anything wrong" is not what I've said about Harry Potter. I understand why some parents forbid their kids to read the books. I'm not sure what I think of the books anymore now that J.K.'s brought Dumbledore out of the closet, but I enjoyed reading all of them and I think there are both good and bad ideas within. As far as good ones: there's fraternity, selflessness, trust, hope, a clear demonstration of good versus evil, and others. There is justice.

I think most people dislike HP because it involves magic; however, Rowling is not promoting the practice of magic, merely placing a great story into a fantastical context.

You must, likewise, be completely against the Lord if the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and all other fantastical works. And to think, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were avid Christians, buddies even, but because both used magic in their stories, we should crucify them and their fans?

The point is you can take a secular work and draw good things from it. I read Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead two years ago (for those who don't know, her books spout her "objectivism" philosophy which is anti-religious) and drew good ideas from it.

And did anyone catch the Corinthians reference in HP7?...

 

I'm only responding to the latter half:

We read books to get different things from them. You've compared reading a novel involving magic to a novel involving intimate sex. The issue I take with that is that I read a fantasy (as in the genre) book to get a sense of adventure, good versus evil, and other universally understood fantastical elements. People read sex novels to vicariously experience sex. Now which of those two is sinful? They are surely not the same.

I think we should ask ourselves, "What is the point of this writing?" Is J.R.R. Tolkien supporting the use of sorcery in the Lord of the Rings? Is C.S. Lewis in Narnia? Or are they using a fantastical setting to teach a moral? Are they just giving us a great story of adventure, love, and justice? (Obviously Rowling is supporting homosexuality, but is she doing the same for sorcery?)

I'm not defending the use of magic, and neither do I think authors like those I listed above are. But a sex novelist is promoting something direct and undeniable--lust. Magic is a part of the story that helps a character achieve and end. Sex is, likewise, a means to an end (if not the end itself); however, the feelings involved in sex are the focus.

 

I see the author of Harry Potter deliberately pushing the buttons of Christians with her inclusion of a gay character.

Then I see a bunch of self-righteous Christians bashing any other Christian who reads Harry Potter books.

I'm not sure who is worse.

 

They are not the same in a worldly sense, I agree. Both homosexuality and witchcraft are practices which are sinful to God.

Yes, I understand. It is different.

First of all, anyone who promotes homosexuality linking it to innocent children's books is someone I wouldn't trust with a 10 foot poll. Is she doing the same for sorcery? It wouldn't be too far fetched. I wouldn't spend my hard earned dollars to promote homosexuality onto my innocent child. Or any other child for that matter. We can't expect something moral coming from a book which she herself is promoting as immoral.

Sorry guys, but are we really all on the same page here as BROTHERS?

You all see how absurd this is right?

 

You misunderstood me. You're right: they are both sinful. But I was saying that people reading fantasy books and people reading sex novels have different goals in mind. That's the part which is different, and as such, the focus of my post.

Had I known one of my favorite characters was going to be homosexual (especially in the manner the author has let us know), I doubt I'd have bought HP.

 

????

I think I understand. Yes, there are different goals in mind when reading a sex novel than a Harry Potter novel. This is thinking in a worldly sense.

In a biblical sense, both acts are sinful, as is fantasizing about these sins.

 

The author's attitude and "subversion" (to quote another poster) only confirm the decision that I made long ago that neither I nor my children will read these books or watch these movies. It's kind of like my pastor counseled me concerning alcohol once (not to open that can of worms here, but...). See, I don't drink much. I haven't had a drink since probably last New Year's, but I asked my pastor his thoughts about it one day. He told me he has never found any specific prohibition against having an occasional drink in the Bible, but if it is not drawing me closer to God, do I really need to do it? I see the HP books the same way; even if you don't see anything wrong with so-called "fantasy" witchcraft, is it drawing you closer to God? If not, then you probably need to just leave it alone. Just like my having an occasional drink could possibly lead my kids to think it's okay to drink if they see me doing it (and one of them has an alcoholic father, which could lead to serious ramifications for him), if my kids see me reading HP or if I allow them to do so, they may not have the same ability to discern fact from fiction and stay on the right path that I do. Therefore, I don't need to allow it.