Vatican's Chief Exorcist Repeats Condemnation Of Harry Potter Nove

[KnightofChrist]

[quote name='Raphael' post='1331154' date='Jul 16 2007, 04:41 PM']Fr. Amorth said that Harry Potter is going to lead millions of souls into hell?[/quote]


He said the books are satanic... reading satanic books would help lead one to hell. And millions read the books...

Edited July 16, 2007 by KnightofChrist

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Paladin D' post='1331100' date='Jul 16 2007, 04:06 PM'][b]Question:[/b] Is Rowling even a Christian? I know Tolkien was Catholic, and Lewis was Methodist (was Catholic friendly).[/quote]
Rowling is a member of the Church of Scotland.

[kateri05]

[quote]Well... heres praying Fr. Amorth is wrong, and that Potter doesn't help lead millions of souls to hell.[/quote]

[quote]He said the books are satanic... reading satanic books would help lead one to hell.[/quote]

those are very different things. one is actually what he said, one is an exaggerated inference.

[KnightofChrist]

I disagree... its rather logical reading a satanic book and to enjoy that book will help lead that person to hell.

[kateri05]

you said millions. and you made it seem as those fr. amorth had said it.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

I'd like to know what Fr. Amorth's specific words are, not what he's quoted as saying, in part, from a news office or anyone else with vested interests. I think he's being misquoted by a number of people on both sides. I think this is a heated and contentious issue...something multiple people have strong feelings about and an expert as well-versed as Fr. Amorth deserves to be heard...the way he is actually speaking. A statement against certain people reading Harry Potter or certain things in HP that could be misunderstood is far different from saying that Harry Potter, in and of itself, in each and every instance it's read, is intrinsically evil.

[KnightofChrist]

Well I apologize I should have made it more clear. Fr. Amorth says the books are satanic, Satan is the hidden author of the books, therefor there satanic, millions read them, reading satanic books dont help get us into heaven they help get us into to hell.

Edited July 16, 2007 by KnightofChrist

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='KnightofChrist' post='1331176' date='Jul 16 2007, 04:54 PM']Well I apologize I should have made it more clear. Fr. Amorth says the books are satanic, Satan is the hidden author of the books, therefor there satanic, millions read them, reading satanic books dont help get us into heaven they help get us into to hell.[/quote]
Fr. Amorth said that Satan wrote the books?

It seems to me that Fr. Amorth is saying that Satan is using the books, etc. The quote from him in the original article posted on the first post of this thread cites him saying that he is speaking with regard to Harry Potter and children: "'By reading Harry Potter a [i]young child[/i] will be drawn into magic and from there it is a simple step to Satanism and the Devil,' he said."

That seems to suggest that Fr. Amorth is suggesting that those who are not mature enough to make important distinctions will read the books, be attracted to what the rest of us are not attracted to, and end up on the path to Satan. Perhaps Satan does have his hand in that...of course he does. If the books had been marketed to adults, do you think this issue would be as contentious?

I think the real issue, the context for Fr. Amorth's statements, is Harry Potter, not per se, but as a children's book. That's just my opinion.

God bless,

Micah

[toledo_jesus]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' post='1330292' date='Jul 15 2007, 11:53 PM']Harry Potter is gay.[/quote]
that's the secret ending to the last book.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

A very well-reasoned entry from Jimmy Akin's blog on this matter: [url="http://www.jimmyakin.org/2005/07/ive_been_paged.html"]http://www.jimmyakin.org/2005/07/ive_been_paged.html[/url]

[philosophette]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1331119' date='Jul 16 2007, 05:19 PM']Frankly, people should be MORE concerned about "The Golden Compass," the first of the "His Dark Materials" series to hit the big screen (slated for release in December). Now THAT is a disturbing series.[/quote]


Yeah there is some seriously bizzare things in "The Golden Compass". You can even go on the website and get your own "DAEMON" in the form of an animal, that is supposed to be like a guardian angel... which I think relates HEAVILY to the concept of the HGA - Holy Guardian Angel - in Paganism/Modern Occult. That is very dangerous.

I saw Harry Potter today. I did not think it would be a big deal and I do not know if it is because of this conversation we have all had here, but I left it feeling "weird" in a spiritual way.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='philosobrat' post='1331342' date='Jul 16 2007, 07:08 PM']Yeah there is some seriously bizzare things in "The Golden Compass". You can even go on the website and get your own "DAEMON" in the form of an animal, that is supposed to be like a guardian angel... which I think relates HEAVILY to the concept of the HGA - Holy Guardian Angel - in Paganism/Modern Occult. That is very dangerous.

I saw Harry Potter today. I did not think it would be a big deal and I do not know if it is because of this conversation we have all had here, but I left it feeling "weird" in a spiritual way.[/quote]
I felt that way after the second Pirates movie.

I think we who are more sensative to evil things (especially scrupulants, as I am), perhaps get too upset at evil (I mean that we let it bother us to the point of getting in the way of life). I hate when people use bad language, especially involving God's name, but ultimately I have to tell myself, "you know...the rest of the movie is good...it's just something I have to live with in order to get the good stuff." There's stuff I'm not comfortable with about HP...it's dark in a lot of places, but the storyline is great and I consider the darkness as part of the genre and theme used to get that plot across. The darkness isn't essential to the plot, so I don't think HP is evil in itself, I just think it has some unpleasantries that need to be carefully taken by fans who have the capability to make careful and prudent distinctions.

God bless,

Micah

[saint_wannabe]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1331119' date='Jul 16 2007, 04:19 PM'].....Admittedly, I have never witnessed an exorcism, but one horror tale about a kid who read Harry Potter and ended up possessed causes me no concern about the state of my soul -- and I've read all six books more than once. Especially since there are millions of people who have read the books and DON'T end up possessed or obsessively absorbed in witchcraft.....[/quote]

the thing is you dont know who is walking around that is possessed. the other exorcist said [b]"Demons come in droves, in great numbers, when a person becomes possessed. In his experience, the average possessed adult comes with thousands of demons, the average possessed child comes with hundreds."[/b]

[philosophette]

[quote name='Raphael' post='1331363' date='Jul 16 2007, 08:34 PM']I felt that way after the second Pirates movie.

I think we who are more sensative to evil things (especially scrupulants, as I am), perhaps get too upset at evil (I mean that we let it bother us to the point of getting in the way of life). I hate when people use bad language, especially involving God's name, but ultimately I have to tell myself, "you know...the rest of the movie is good...it's just something I have to live with in order to get the good stuff." There's stuff I'm not comfortable with about HP...it's dark in a lot of places, but the storyline is great and I consider the darkness as part of the genre and theme used to get that plot across. The darkness isn't essential to the plot, so I don't think HP is evil in itself, I just think it has some unpleasantries that need to be carefully taken by fans who have the capability to make careful and prudent distinctions.

God bless,

Micah[/quote]

I think that I am more sensitive to it and perhaps it is better for me to avoid these kinds of movies in the future, because I have been exposed to a lot of occult things through past friends.

I think the movie was great, but some of the memories it raised for me disturbed me. I think the movie is probably fine for most adults, but given my experiences I realized it was not good for me.

[philosophette]

[quote name='saint_wannabe' post='1331377' date='Jul 16 2007, 08:42 PM']the thing is you dont know who is walking around that is possessed. the other exorcist said [b]"Demons come in droves, in great numbers, when a person becomes possessed. In his experience, the average possessed adult comes with thousands of demons, the average possessed child comes with hundreds."[/b][/quote]


I agree that we have to be careful, but there is a big difference between being careful and sensationalist.

[KnightofChrist]

[quote name='Raphael' post='1331211' date='Jul 16 2007, 05:13 PM']Fr. Amorth said that Satan wrote the books?

It seems to me that Fr. Amorth is saying that Satan is using the books, etc. The quote from him in the original article posted on the first post of this thread cites him saying that he is speaking with regard to Harry Potter and children: "'By reading Harry Potter a [i]young child[/i] will be drawn into magic and from there it is a simple step to Satanism and the Devil,' he said."

That seems to suggest that Fr. Amorth is suggesting that those who are not mature enough to make important distinctions will read the books, be attracted to what the rest of us are not attracted to, and end up on the path to Satan. Perhaps Satan does have his hand in that...of course he does. If the books had been marketed to adults, do you think this issue would be as contentious?

I think the real issue, the context for Fr. Amorth's statements, is Harry Potter, not per se, but as a children's book. That's just my opinion.

God bless,

Micah[/quote]

"Behind Harry Potter [color="#8B0000"]hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil[/color]." - Fr. Amorth

Only authors sign their work... If the Devil is the author, no one young or old should read or enjoy the books...

Edited July 17, 2007 by KnightofChrist

[Laudate_Dominum]

I like Michael O'Brien's views on the Harry Potter books.

I have not read a single Harry Potter book and have no intention of doing so and for this reason my views on this specific matter are somewhat reserved. I reject Harry Potter for the simple reason that I trust Michael O'Brien's analysis but since I lack the perspective to speak of it on my own I shall refrain from doing so.

www.studiobrien.com

[KnightofChrist]

[url="http://studiobrien.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=76"]Source:[/url]

[quote]Kuby maintains that the Potter books prevent the young from developing a properly ordered sense of good and evil, and in this regard she quotes from Cardinal Ratzinger’s letter:


"Thank you very much for the instructive book. It is good that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly." (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, March 7, 2003)


In a second letter to her, May 27, 2003, he wrote that he "gladly" gives her his permission to publicize his judgement about Harry Potter.

In a handwritten personal Christmas card he sent to her in December, 2003, he said, "Thank you very much for your courageous engagement against occultism and magic.”

This discernment on the part of the man who is now Benedict XVI reveals the Holy Father's depth perception. It is consistent with many of the statements he has been making since his election to the Chair of Peter, and throughout the past 30 years.[/quote]

[toledo_jesus]

the problem with Harry Potter is that it is widely accessible to children who will read it and come away with a generally positive view of occult subject matter. Lacking proper context and adult frames of reference, they will be less guarded against the wiles of Satan should he work through such means. However, this is only a danger if parents are lazy in their duty to inform and shepherd their children through such issues.
Parents should know their children and know what is appropriate for them to read.

My take is that Harry Potter is for ages 10 and up. Sometimes, I think the books are PG-13. All that making out in the last one!

[Paladin D]

[quote name='Raphael' post='1331158' date='Jul 16 2007, 06:43 PM']Rowling is a member of the Church of Scotland.[/quote]

Roger.