[HPforGrownups] Arguing with the clueless

[Penny & Bryce]

No: HPFGUIDX 29181

Hi --

Terribly sorry to be jumping in on this after it has sort of played out 
but .... I'm sure you remember when your kids were infants, right Peg? 
<g>  BTW, welcome back!  We'd love to see more of you.

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?

If your friend didn't get anything out of the Alan Jacobs article, she 
may indeed be a hopeless case.  However....

I second Steve's recommendation of "What's a Christian to do with HP?" 
by Connie Neal.  She actually very effectively uses "Christmas Carol" as 
an example of how some people can mentally file a story with 
supernatural overtones into "Christmas ....Good" in their mental file 
cabinet but file HP under "Satanic ...witchcraft....bad" in their mental 
file cabinet.  She quite rightly points out that in Christmas Carol, the 
characters are actually making contact with the dead.  But no one sees 
people protesting the renditions of Christmas Carol at playhouses across 
the land every December.  Christmas Carol is using literary devices to 
bring us messages.... just like HP.

Connie Neal also correctly points out that the "logic" used by many who 
condemn the HP books must necessarily be used to criticize other fantasy 
literature, including fantasy lit authored by overtly Christian authors 
such as CS Lewis (in order to be consistent that is).

The other thing I might do if faced with someone raising objections on 
the satanic grounds (other than asking *them* to provide *me* with 
specific textual references to satanism) is read some passages from HP 
to them.  If you read to her the conversation between Harry & Dumbledore 
in the hospital wing of SS for example, I would think the messages of 
love, sacrifice & good over evil would come through loud & clear.

Penny