Pokemon and Harry Potter

Actually, I don't allow any witchcraft, no matter how "tame" it may be in my home; not even Disney or certain fairy tales.

Witchcraft is a sin according to the Word of God. Deut. 18:9-14, Ex. 22-18, I Sam. 15:23, Gal. 5:20, Nah. 3:4, Michah 5:12, II Kings 9:22.

God takes the sin of witchcraft very serously, and that is why Baptists do.

 

The stuff they teach in there is real. Ask a witch. No, not me.
The magic spells, the words, the symbolism. These books aren't just playing. Even if it was fake, do you think it's ok to let your kids go around pretending they're demons? Not even just for fun? A warlock is a male witch. That's what Harry Potter is. You can now purchase all sorts of wonderful Potter merchandise, including magic stones and peepstones.
And what child WOULDN'T want to hear a wonderful story like how a wicked stepmother takes her kids into the woods, abandons them, and they escape being eaten by a witch by cooking her in an oven? Sounds like sweet dreams to me! I wouldn't read that to myself at bedtime!
Gina

 

I like what a father did with his daughter where it came to Harry Potter's books. They don't agree with the books so the father and the kid are reading the books together along with the bible at their side and together they discover where and why the books are wrong and dangerous. I think this is a very wise idea, because the father isn't just saying no but he is saying lets find out for ourselves but lets have Jesus be our guide in understanding why its wrong.

I personally don't agree with Harry Potter or Pokemon, but I have no problems with Disney. They make great movies and toys and if they do stuff we don't agree with we simply don't get it.

Dar

 

Hmmmm... thats like crawling into a dumpster in order to teach your child what garbage is

There is no reason to show your child what evil is. We should be teaching them the truth. It is enough to tell them it is an abomination, and that is why we won't be reading, or viewing, or whatever. Sure, take them to the Scriptures and show them, but don't plunge them into the dumster!

 

About Disney, I didn't mean to imply no Disney is good. I just meant that there are some Disney movies that are fairy tales that are extrememly violent and full of witchcraft.

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are 2 such movies. Think about it- an evil stepmother who plots to have your heart cut out after a hunter hunts you down. When that doesn't work, the mother casts a spell on an apple, turns herself into an old hag and poisons you to death. For revenge, you have her pushed off of a cliff by cute little forest animals, and everyone cheers as you live happily ever after. Doesn't exactly fall into any of the categories of Phil. 4:8 Whatsoever things are pure...

 

Actually his doing that, IMO, may have been a good thing. If he took just one book, and id it solely to explain what was wrong. You can't possibly tell your children every little thing wrong with the world, but you can help them recognize what is evil and why so they can learn to pick it out for themselves. In the same way that I plan on teaching my children about every type of religion, what they believe, and why they're Biblically wrong.
Gina

 

I'd be really careful about teaching your children about other religeons. There is another good word picture that will help me to explain.

When a teller in a bank is being trained, they are never given counterfit $ in order to train them what real $ is like and what it is not like. Knowing the Truth, or what the real thing is, helps one to recognize error.

The Apostle Paul mentions some errors very briefly in his epistles to the early church. Mostly, he spent his time writing to them about what it was they were supposed to believe. He made it very clear that they should be studying sound doctrine, and that heresy should be avoided. Study to shew thyself approved... rightly divide the Word of Truth...

First, you must know what you believe, so that you will know how to spot and answer falsehood. Coming at it from an angle of showing our children what is wrong can be dangerous and likely very confusing and double standard. Be certain they are grounded in doctrine first.

 

Exactly. And knowing what you believe becomes very difficult around 16 and older. There are religions that start out on true doctrines, and not until you get into them do you hear anything different, and by then it may be too late.
The way I look at it is a little different. We are in a war of good and evil. Any good soldier will not go out to war prepared only by knowing he is right and the enemy is wrong. He will study the enemy, know where he is and what he is doing, why, and different strategies to fight him. Only when you get into the mind of an enemy can you have the best advantage, and everyone knows the first thing you do in a war is to get as many people on your side as possible. That will be hard to do if you simply say "you're wrong, I'm right, join me." You must be able to show them why you're right AND why they're wrong.
Gina

 

Gina, A big thank you, I don't think I could've explained it any better I've been in the situation where I knew something was wrong, but to know and explain why it was wrong was a totally different thing. Yes I agree that you must be careful about diving into other religons, but I also deeply believe that if you pray before you do so and ask God for wisdom and guidence as well as discernment that your mission will not become an attack of the enemy but will be done with insite into God's truth vs. the enemy. Gina, I think it is a great idea for you to do this with your kids and give them the full look into what and why they believe what they do and so they can be stronger in thier faith.

Joy, I apologize for coming across defensive about disney. I was just making the comment that we have no problems with them thats all.

I had some JW's come to my door and they left some materials with me, now normally I would have thrown them out in the trash but God pressed upon my heart to read the papers but before I did so, I had my bible right next to me and I prayed before I opened myself up to the false teachings. I prayed that God would let the false teaching pop out at me and that it would be so clear to me where they were wrong according to God's word. I believe God protected my heart and mind from letting any false doctrine seep into my life.

Dar

 

I have witnessed many here stand firm against Harry Potter and witchcraft because it is in the Bible. While this it is true that witchcraft is sin and evil in the sight of the Lord so is murder, lying, coveting, fornication, violence against an enemy, etc. Do any of you object to your child watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon? There is enough violence in those to scar your child for life especially if you hold the same standard to Bugs as you do Harry Potter. Do any of you watch any movies that break any of the Bible commands? If so you are being hypocritical to make this stand against Harry Potter. If you violate the law in one single point then you have broken the whole law. Be consistent in what you stand against or else you are being a Pharisee.

 

Bugs Bunny? We don't watch anything really, but I have always liked bugs bunny. And Pooh bear. I guess I never gave bugs a second thought! I'll agree with you though. Just please, please don't tell me there's anything bad about Pooh. My world will crumble if Eyore is not in it. He's the only guy I can truly relate too!
Gina

 

That was a funny post Gina and I agree with you. I am not against Harry Potter at all. I grew up reading "Lord of the Rings" and other fantasy books and still enjoy a good fantasy every now and again. Anything we do can be made to appear evil by anyone. If the Holy Spirit don't convict me of something then I ignore a man when he tries to.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dr. Chris Connally:
...I am not against Harry Potter at all. I grew up reading "Lord of the Rings" and other fantasy books...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Chris, http://www.christianfantasy.net/sdg1.html
is a link to what I consider a thoughtful and well-done look at fantasy, Harry Potter, and other issues. From this and other links, I am not sure the main problem with Harry Potter is a use of fantasy as much as his amoral view of the world, based on what works for him, not on transcendant values.
This link should not be confused with links
such as onion.com which were originally
meant as parody and have been forwarded by
well-meaning people who believed it.

Karen

[ June 26, 2001: Message edited by: Karen ]

 

Now I know this is not a "Baptist" link but it is a very interesting view point.
How Pokemon Showed Me That Chess is Evil

 

Let's try to keep this a polite conversation and refrain from name calling. I have no problem with a difference of opinion, just trying to give mine and back it up with Scriptures, which I did. Where in Scripture can you justify witchcraft? And as for the violence and such things, our philosophy of TV viewing or book reading etc. comes from the Bible. First of all, we use the verse- I will set no wicked thing before mine eye. Then we also use Phil. 4:8, which I alluded to before.

Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true...honest...just...pure...lovely...of good report...if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.

 

There is another matter to consider here. There is a very fine line sometimes where fantasy and fact intersect. The world would have us erase this line at times in order to de-sensitize us and our children to evil. After this has been done, it is easy for Satan to come in and deceive us with evil. After all, at that point, we don't believe it is any more, because it is "fantasy", or is it?

 

Thought this was interesting and sort of funny. I found it in an "odd news" section.
A high priest of the British White Witch Council has supposably put a spell on, or wished that the film Harry Potter would do poorly until Warner Bros. admits that they made a mistake in showing Harry riding the broomstick with the bristles in back. Apparently the film claims to be an accurate portrayal of witchcraft, so this particular man is very upset. (He is one and has his own coven is what it said). The amusing part is where he said he has three broomsticks, but they're grounded because Britain's Civil Aviation Authority has denied him permission to fly.
Ok, so isn't this whole Harry Potter thing starting to sound a whole lot more like it's teaching and promoting real witchcraft than simple childhood fantasies, anyone?
And apparently doing a good job, if that was the only problem the witches have found with the movie!
Gina

 

Any thing that promotes or makes lite of witchcract is wrong. As for the pokimon, what they call evalution on the show is not the evalution that Darwin came up with. In the show if an animal gets enough experience it changes, the show doesn't say that every thing came from a bunch of chemicals.

 

I do not allow Pokemon, Harry Potter, Bugs Bunny or most Disney in my home, I discourage the T.V. in any way I can. For us Nick Jr. is """tolerable""" but the commercials are not. I find no need to have my children see evil so I can tell
Them “see how bad it is” I am training them in the ways of the Lord not the ways of Satan.
Paula