Tuesday, September 20, 2005
♥ 5:24 pm
another wasted day in the life of an egg... todae how sianz... chinese was the usual (boring) stuff like ying yong wen and stuff... and LA(A) was basically copyin notes and stuff... core maths was doin more ws (dat i should noe how to do but i'm dun noe... maybe it's the atmosphere) bio was doin the IB HL MCQ stuff which was ok but no gd lah... got a lot wrong...IHS was jus slacking around and stuff in the library, doin phy test papers (which somehow we still dun understand. i think i understand more on this yr's stuff den last yr... doesn't say much bout samsun's phy teachings...)tmr got HCL prelims... something that is completly unneccesary but something we mug for... gonna read the shou che tonite and try to do well for compo and ying yong wen... i think i get bout 60 should be quite happy...something i read... give ur comments..Some religious groups have attacked the books for allegedly promoting witchcraft or undermining Christianity. Most of this controversy has occurred in the parts of the United States, where religion plays a prominent role in public life. In the United Kingdom, Harry Potter's country of origin, the controversy has been negligible. Other religious figures have praised the books, and some consider the criticism so detached from the actual nature of the books that the most appropriate response to it is parody.
According to the American Library Association, the Harry Potter novels have been among the most frequently challenged in school libraries in the United States since 1998. The complaints allege that the books have occult or Satanic themes, are violent, and are anti-family.
Some highly conservative Christian groups in the United States have denounced the series for promoting witchcraft or Satanism. "It contains some powerful and valuable lessons about love and courage and the ultimate victory of good over evil," said Paul Hetrick, spokesman for Focus on the Family, a national Christian group based in Colorado Springs. "However, the positive messages are packaged in a medium — witchcraft — that is directly denounced in scripture." [6]. The official exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth, believes that the Harry Potter books can be a bad influence on some children by getting them interested in the occult (see Christian views on witchcraft).
Chick Publications produced a comic book tract called "The Nervous Witch" about two teenaged girls who get seriously involved in occult witchcraft and become demonically possessed as a direct result of reading Harry Potter books.[7]It has been argued that when Pope Benedict XVI was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith he also condemned the books in a letter expressing gratitude for the receipt of a book on the subject, stating they are "a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly." [8] (It can be noted here Pope John Paul II was reputed to like Harry Potter and also promoted it see further down.) However no evidence is provided that those "they" which are "a subtle seduction" actually refers to the Harry Potter books, nor is this at all clear from the original German text of the Cardinal's letter, which in any case shows signs of being dashed off in rather a hurry. (For example, the ungrammatical use of "dies" rather than "diese".) Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, a Vatican priest, wrote that these remarks were misinterpreted, and that the letter was likely to have been written by an assistant of the then-cardinal. [9]. Indeed, the letter appears to have been written by an underling, but was issued under the Cardinal's signature. This letter and a second that allowed publication of the first have been posted to the Internet by Gabriele Kuby, who had sent her book, Harry Potter - Good or Evil, attacking J.K. Rowling's best-selling series about the boy wizard, to the Cardinal.
However, other Christian readers have pointed out themes in the Harry Potter books which reflect values exemplified or preached by Jesus. Lily Potter sacrificed her own life to save her child (John 15:13). Harry's Muggle guardians attempt to keep him from knowing of his gifts, yet he is taken away and sent to learn to use his powers responsibly (Matt. 5:13-16). Harry comes close to death in several stories, yet is more determined than ever to fight evil. It is also said in the books that love is the strongest magic (1 Cor 13:13). Some Christian bookstores even sell the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling is on record saying she did not emphasize Christian ideals in the book because her goal was never to preach or dictate a philosophy of life, but to tell a story; besides, if she had, intelligent readers would be able to guess important plot details.
Other members of the Catholic Church gave the series their approval, saying that it is imbued with Christian morals, and that the good versus evil plot is very clear. The late Pope, Pope John Paul II, praised the books for their message about the evils of racism and genocide. Christian Congregationalist minister John Killinger also argued that rather than corrupting children's minds, the novels encourage young readers to follow the teachings of Jesus. The book The Hidden Key to Harry Potter: Understanding the Meaning, Genius, and Popularity of Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter Novels, written by John Granger, a Reader in the Orthodox Church, claims to uncover Christian themes in its analysis of the story. Granger also cites the fact that Rowling is a professed member of the presbyterian Church of Scotland
