_Harry Potter and the Bible_

[Dave Hardenbrook]

No: HPFGUIDX 17414

Well, as I'm preparing a speech on the attempts to ban
Harry, I've reluctantly picked up _Harry Potter and the
Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick_ and started to read
it.  My intention was to scrawl into the book comments by
Harry, Ron and Hermione ('a la _FB_), but I'm finding it
impossible because long before this Harry, Ron and
Hermione would have thrown the book down the toilet
( Sixty points if it goes through Myrtle's left adenoid. :) ).

Just to give you an example, he claims that Harry's
actions in the Second Task were *not* courageous
but selfish.  (*Real* Christian courage would have been
if Snape or Malfoy or someone else Harry hates had
been down there and Harry had saved *them*.)

Beyond that he sites numerous examples of Harry's
lying, rule-breaking, and coveting thy neighbor's Veela,
and how he gets "rewarded" for his immoral behavior.
Later, he launches into a tirade against Wicca, Neopaganism,
and other "occult" practices and how Western Civilization
As We Know It is threatened by J.K. Rowling's promotion
of them.  (He sites incidents in the books and selective
editing of Rowling interview quotes to demonstrate her
"heathen" status.)

One thing maybe you can help me with: He concedes that
some Christian leaders think the persecution of Harry is
silly, but he says that any "expert" on the occult would
recognize what a threat the Harry books are to the
salvation of mankind.  My suspicion is that he
is engaging in "Argument by Definition" (i.e. he
defines an "expert" on the occult as one who sees
advocacy of it in the books), but can anyone here point to
any article online by a Christian leader who speaks
intelligently about the vast gulf between occultism and
the Hogwarts universe?



                                                 -- Dave