[HPforGrownups] Arguing with the clueless

[John Walton]

No: HPFGUIDX 29062

Peg Kerr wrote:

> What I'd like to know is, what arguments have any of you found
> to be helpful/useful in shooting down the theory that the books are
> Satanist--or do you find it utterly hopeless to argue with people like
> this because their heads are buried too deeply in the sand?

Generally I attempt to point out several things.

1) Witchcraft, including Wicca, an earth-based religion, is not Satanism. No
way, no shape, no how. See books such as Starhawk's "The Spiral Dance",
Margot Adler's "Drawing Down The Moon", and anything by Gerald Gardner and
Alexander Sanders, the main revivers of Wicca this century. Note that Satan
only occurs in Abraham-descended religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam).
Wiccans live by the Three-fold Rule -- your actions return to you three
times as good or bad as the original action. Satan is a negative concept.
Why would any witch desire to have negative energy rebounding on him or her?

2) Moreover, nowhere in Harry Potter is anything remotely resembling Wicca
performed. Sure, JKR is very well-researched on her mythology, but nobody in
the book is going around casting circles, wearing pentagrams or doing
anything beyond a stereotypical cartoon version of the witch, pointy hat,
broomstick, cauldron, pumpkin juice and all.

If their opinion is that anything remotely unChristian (or whatever religion
they are) is Satanic, I can't see that anything that you can say will make
them change their mind. However, if they are reasonably open-minded, you can
certainly correct some common misapprehensions.

--John, willing to hear about this offlist if anyone's apprehensive about
posting to the list.

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John Walton -- john at walton.vu
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