Murder in books (was GoF Banned in Australian School)

[Amy]

No: HPFGUIDX 10615

**WARNING:  Soapbox alert!**

Heidi wrote:
>part of the article reads SOmeone from the schoo, "Christian Outreach 
>College, a private school in Queensland state, said he read one 
>chapter from the latest story about a young magician, "Harry Potter 
>and the Goblet of Fire," and was exposed to four murders."

>I guess that was chapter 1...

Of all the reasons I've heard for banning the books, this one drives 
me the most nuts.

Maybe it's just that murder has scarred my family, but this attitude 
enrages me.  What world are these people living in?  Did we or did we 
not just escape a century in which people murdered hundreds of 
millions of other people outright?  Children, and adults, need fiction 
that helps them understand what murder is and the impact it has.  JKR 
deals with violence in just the way I think is best:  she takes every 
injury, every death seriously; she shows its true and devastating 
effects, down the generations; she doesn't let it be a cartoon even 
when the characters are people we don't know (e.g. Bertha, Frank).

Those who want to deal with violence by ignoring it remind me of the 
people the Bible warns us about:  "They cry Peace, peace, when there 
is no peace."  This world is full of cruelty.  Thank you JKR and the 
many other artists who help us to face this fact and try bravely to 
change it.

Fortunately, most Christians do not embrace the head-in-the-sand 
approach to violence.

Amy Z
putting away my soapbox now and going back to the 10 digests I still 
have to catch up on