[the_old_crowd] Re: Debates about HP and Witchcraft

[Mike & Susan Gray]

> I've seen it argued that it's okay to 
> purchase a newly released Harry Potter book on Shabbat 
> because the misery of going without it would ruin the oneg 
> (delight) of the holiday!

Now, *that* is cute! (In a nice way.)

In general, thanks for all your comments. 

I have a feeling that the cC belief not only on a personal God but the
personification of evil in the form of the demonic plays an important role
in creating a structure of religious beliefs within which something like the
HP books is potentially (though not necessarily) perceived as dangerous.
Other religious systems that also have a place for personal evil could
probably have similar disputes.

It seems like the place where the mass media have most often picked up on
these debates is at points where they end up touching everyone else - when
media activists want to have the books banned. At that point it turns into
an issue for everyone else too.

Baaaa,

Mike (who just, FINALLY, watched GOF last night - and thought it was GREAT.)