The power of Harry Potter compels you!

[Soulstealer]

Thank "The Onion" for their article about Harry Potter and kids learning to summon demons from it. People continually point to it as a source.

How bad is your argument when your 'source' is the Onion? I do love their horoscopes

[Imogene]

How bad is your argument when your 'source' is the Onion?

I do believe that means your argument is entirely worthless, just like the points on Whose Line.
By the by, what is the supposed effect of Evanesco? Really emo music?

[FuzzyKitten99]

By the by, what is the supposed effect of Evanesco? Really emo music?

to make something vanish/disappear. Scary thing was is I didn't even have to think that deeply about it... It just came to mind that fast. I guess my little obsession with the series has paid off!

[XCashier]

By the by, what is the supposed effect of Evanesco? Really emo music?

It's the vanishing spell.

I'm a Christian, and I read Harry Potter. I enjoy the books, they're good FICTION. Funnily enough, one of my friends, who is an actual witch, disdains the series, referring to the fans as "Potheads".

If you look at the Harry Potter Lexicon and other sites, you'll see that quite a few HP fans are Christians. We enjoy a good fantasy story as much as anyone else. And we do get irritated by the holier-than-thous who denounce the series without even having read it.

[justZu]

Don't you know Rock music is rotting the... whoops, I mean don't you know Harry Potter is rotting the minds of children today?! Won't someone PLEASE think of the children!

Wait, wait...I thought video games were rotting the minds of today's children.

I guess I am well and truly doomed, being a middle aged mom who loves rock music, video games and Harry Potter. My poor poor children - who will think of them?

[ArenaBoy]

My then neighbor at the time recommended me the books and she's as Catholic as they come. The ones who hate it just don't have a life IMO and will be the type to think that rock is still bad.

[Gravekeeper]

It's a modern day scape goat, just like Dungeons and Dragons when I was young.

Was just thinking that. When I was a kid, D&D was the devil apparently. Because it had dragons, and, uh...dice. I had one friend in high school who's mother was a psychotic Jehova's Witness. D&D was the devil's work. So we tried Cyberpunk, that too was the devil's work somehow. Battletech? That too was darksided.

The only thing we were allowed to do at his place was play golf on his computer.

[MadRocketScientist]

I took my replica of Hermione's wand out of my backpack (I had just bought it), pointed it at her and said "evanesco". She freaked and started walking away.

That. Is. AWESOME!

[MadRocketScientist]

I had one friend in high school who's mother was a psychotic Jehova's Witness.

In my youth I had two friends I played AD&D (Accidental Death & Dismemberment, as we called it) with whose mom was a fanatical Evengelical. THe only way her sons could play is as Clerics of the Christian God.

WTF?

[Kara]

If you look at the Harry Potter Lexicon and other sites, you'll see that quite a few HP fans are Christians. We enjoy a good fantasy story as much as anyone else. And we do get irritated by the holier-than-thous who denounce the series without even having read it.

Nothing much to add, but I completely agree. I love the series. What I find amusing is how Lord of the Rings is acceptable because Tolkien was a Christian and somehow the death and return of Gandalf is somehow symbolic. Never mind that he was a wizard who used magic!

I may not be the best candidate to speak for the Christian community (due to living an "alternative" lifestyle), but I find nothing the least bit wrong with the series that should keep it away from children. It teaches lessons about dealing with growing up, discovering love, loss, and the realization that the ones who we feel the safest with won't always be there to protect us and that sometimes, even when every one else is against you, you need to stand up and fight for what you believe in.

The difference is that Harry has real demons to battle rather than just inner ones, and magic with which to fight them instead of shutting himself in his room, clutching a teddy bear, and crying.

[ArenaBoy]

In terms of media being considered "Devil's Work" there is a music album called Geogaddi by the Boards of Canada (Not the film group for you Canadians)

Geogaddi has a lot of purposeful references in it such as the MB (Amount space it takes on a computer) being 66.6 or the length of the album being 66:06 thus being 666. If they think Harry Potter has references to witchcraft I'd like to see those reactions when they hear Boards of Canada's Geogaddi. Shame it's a hard album to find. Just find the whole media of any kind being Devil Work interesting. Here's a wiki if one is interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geogaddi

Also, I cannot wait for the new book. I plan on staying up the entire night reading it.

[B&NGoddess]

yep, doin' the whole shabangabang at my B&N. we did have protestors show up for 6, picketing in the parking lot and such, but we were able to get rid of them after they started trying to stop cars from entering the parking lot. they were deemed a nuisance and told to leave. otherwise we haven't had any problems with zealots, although our district manager told us we couldn't do tea leaf readings this year even though that was the most popular event last time. too bad, we're doin' 'em anyway.

as for the onion being used as a source, i remember once they did an article on how congress would refuse to work unless the white house had a retractable roof/dome, and a paper in korea printed it as fact.

[Imogene]

Never mind that he was a wizard who used magic!

Ah ha! That's the common thread for Harry Potter! Characters who can use magic are good, at least, when spoken of in the present tense, usually. Those who can't (Muggles, Squibs, etc.) are EBIL! The Dursleys, Filch, usw. are seen as antagonists to Harry Potter, and, such, Muggles in real life are antagonists for Harry Potter!
Eureka! Somebody draw me a bath!

[queenbb]

my sister had a co worker who was dead set against harry potter cause of her religous beliefs, so my sister asked her if she read the books and of course she said no, so she said well this is what its about, i suggest you read them and find out for your self before you start condemming something that you have no idea what its about.

so the lady read the first book (which she borrowed from my sister) and she comes back and asks to read the rest of them and about how wrong she was to think the books were evil, and now shes a die hard fan.

its nice to know that some people will open their minds and not become sheep like the others.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Eureka! Somebody draw me a bath!

Here... enjoy (Well, I didn't draw it, but somebody did!)

Semi OT but I came across this at work the other day. My brother was always the lego nut (we still have a pirate ship in my basement that must have been down there for at least 10 years) but I want it

I didn't work the last two parties (I worked earlier in the day) but I volunteered to help at Store2 since I have several friends who will be working. Don't know if I will wear a costume. My boss made some comment about getting something for those of us who volunteer to help at a store; I don't know if he was thinking t-shirts or something like that, so I guess I will see. If all else fails, I'm sure I have an old graduation gown in the basement that can be a witch's robe in a pinch...