Ebony! Re: Anti-HP Site

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 8055

Hi --

Ebony wrote:

> While surfing I found a website that eloquently states the
> evangelical position against the Harry Potter novels.
>
> http://www.worthynews.com/harry-potter.html
>

I've tried 4 different times to access this piece as I'm actually the
one responsible for the Religion & HP FAQ.  It's crashed my browser each
time.  I even tried just going to worthynews.com & tracking my way
through to the HP piece.  No dice -- I got to the site without trouble &
to the feature archives without trouble but can't access the HP article
without it crashing Netscape.  Sinister plot?!!  Anyway .... Ebony,
could you cut & paste that article into a private email to me (or send
it to the list despite the fact that we prefer links rather than cut &
pasted articles for copyright reasons).  Thanks!

> One point the site brings up that I readily agreed with is that the
> books are eerily addicting... hmm... maybe it *is* a vast left-wing
> conspiracy to force bad things like multiculturalism, globalism, and
> relativism upon unsuspecting children and adults!  (shaking head)

Oh, the horrors!  <vbg>

> If you're of another religion, you *can't* appreciate how totally
> against HP most evangelical and Pentecostal ministers are.

I think that's an interesting observation.  I grew up in a conservative
city of 100,000 people -- it had no less than 100 *Baptist* churches
alone (this figure doesn't of course include the myriad of other
evangelical churches of the same basic ilk - Assembly of God, Church of
Christ, Pentecostal, etc.).  Even the less evangelical denominations
couldn't help but be somewhat affected by the views of the monolithic
power of the evangelical churches, so I was certainly affected by this
climate despite being raised Methodist.  Point is: Even though I'm
violently opposed to their positions on virtually all issues, I do have
a grasp of their basic mindset.  My husband and his family, Lutheran for
countless generations, have no idea what all the fuss is about.

Question: my mother relayed a conversation she had with one of my aunts
a few weeks ago.  My aunt was telling my mother what she could &
couldn't buy for her kids for Christmas (no Pokemon or HP but military
"shoot 'em up" software games were okay).  Apparently my aunt believes
HP is evil and sinful.  I find it interesting that she would have this
conversation with my mom, who has one daughter completely obsessed with
HP (me) and another daughter who reads HP books to her impressionable
3rd graders with nary a qualm.  Of further interest is the fact that my
aunt had already received my mass-mailing Christmas epistle in which I
related that I'd been enchanted by & subsequently obsessed with HP over
the year 2000.

Should I send my aunt a copy of the "First Things" article that Peg
references so often (which I love too btw)?  <vbg>

Penny


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]