Harry Potter is unsafe for Christians Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online
Yüklə 1,79 Mb.
|
- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- A very damaged little boy
- Listening to the Holy Spirit
- The role of magic in Harrys life
- Harry Potter: Pro and Con
- Against the culture of death
- Rome’s chief exorcist warns parents against Harry Potter
Harrycane: A sign of the times https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/features/harrypotter/harrycane.htm By Father Lazare de la Mere de Dieu, F.J., December 2001 Catholic Insight magazine, http://www.catholicinsight.com/ Father Lazare de la Mère de Dieu, F.J., decided that as a priest he wanted to give a conference on a literary figure. He said, "As a priest I would consider it personally irresponsible were I not willing to take a close look at the Harry Potter books, and the things currently being said about them. I certainly consider the tremendous enthusiasm which these books have generated all over the world to have reached such gargantuan proportions that this constitutes a veritable sign of the times." He calls this literary hurricane Harrycane. The following is condensed from a much larger, footnoted,
When we encounter Harry, he is an orphan who has lived ten years with the Dursley family, his very cruel uncle and aunt and their hateful son Dudley. Shortly after his eleventh birthday, he receives a letter via an owl that informs him he is in fact a famous wizard and has won a place in the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is a very wounded little boy who has a number of real character flaws, but is decidedly altruistic to the point of risking his life for others. There are few clues as to what happened to him and his parents. He has a tiny scar but he is not allowed to ask about it or his past. He is forced to live in a cubbyhole under the stairs, frequently punished, never allowed to celebrate his birthday, and given dog food as a Christmas present. The only place Harry is ever happy is when he is far away from his aunt and uncle at Hogwarts, his school for wizards.
Inside, Harry is utterly empty, often on the verge of depression. Nothing has meaning for him and nothing seems to succeed. He is a very sad and touching figure with no future, until that fateful day when the owl arrives. Harry's other faults are that he lies, cheats, steals, and likes to hurt people, with scant concern for authority. On the other hand he is quite capable of risking his life to save endangered human beings. He refuses to kill an enemy who played a major role in the murder of his parents even when he has this enemy fully in his power. Harry never gives up, no matter what happens, not even when his own life is at stake. Even though he's only eleven, his life is in danger and he must constantly face the fact that there is someone lurking out there who has it in for him; but he is brave to the point of never giving up. The fact that he is damaged is the trait which is most pronounced. The root wound is that Harry knows nothing about his parents.
He is on an obsessive search to know more about his parents and discover what happened but no one is willing to tell him. He finds out eventually that they were wizards killed by an evil dark wizard and, to his amazement, he discovers that his father did everything he could to save him, and in fact his mother died trying to save him. Henceforth, the fire of love impregnates his whole being and his love protects him. Harry's discovery of his roots is a theme that is developed more deeply in each of the four volumes. Pediatricians and psychiatrists specializing in the treatment of children have taken a close look at this fact. Comments actually given by children from all over the world, when asked why they read about Harry Potter and what attracts them, make it apparent that his appeal to children is in good part because so many of them have had a terrible experience not unlike his. The major reason for Harry's popularity is that our present society is one in which there are innumerable broken homes. Indeed one young girl likes reading Harry over and over again because she too has scars carved into parts of her body, the fruit of physical abuse. My conclusion is that children identify with the figure of Harry in good measure because there are so many children in our society who are hurting and wounded by the absence of one or both of their parents. Joanne Kathleen Rowling is very much aware of this and says it very bluntly—this little boy is a mirror of their souls. Reading about Harry lets such children understand themselves better; these books act as a catharsis, to let children come to terms as much as possible with what is missing in their lives. Listening to the Holy Spirit This is the point where we are to have the ears of our hearts open to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to us. The message of Harrycane is so forceful that a great deal of explanation is hardly necessary. Research has shown that the average child living today in North America has a higher level of anxiety than most psychiatric patients did in the 1950s. Such anxiety, these studies indicate, is directly related to the dissolution of families, the rapid increase of young parents seeking divorce, and the fact that children have limited access to really caring adults. Surely it can safely be said that the Holy Spirit in and through Harrycane is asking us to take stock of these facts. At the parish level, are we sufficiently aware of the number of children who are traumatized, who are troubled because of the absence of a parent? Do we need to strengthen our focus on the needs of the family and those of our children? Should we be more concerned about the fact that there are so few young people at Sunday Masses? As a Catholic priest, I know that few of our parishes have active youth programs or a ministry addressing young peoples' problems on the level that other denominations do. They seem to be reacting in a manner which is more realistic than ours and often very innovative. We need the courage to look at these issues and seek valid answers.
Who is Harry Potter? Harry is a wizard. He not only attends a school for wizards, but he himself has an inborn capacity to engage in magical activity. In fact, magical deeds are part of his normal every-day behaviour, and he is usually portrayed with his wand or his broomstick. Magic is the key to Harry's becoming a fulfilled person; it directs and guides him on his way to happiness, frees him and helps him to break away from the abuse he was subjected to. He finds the solution to his problems through magic. The wizards are puzzled by the very strange behaviour of those unfortunate human beings who, in fact, are non-magical people. At the Hogwarts school, courses are given for troubled wizard children, to try to explain to them why these very strange non-magical human beings have to use such clumsy contraptions as telephones and electricity. All of this takes a little getting used to, the use of magic, casting of spells, concocting of potions, the use of wands and incantations. Not having magic at your fingertips is deemed abnormal. When the author of these books is asked whether she herself believes in magic, she is always very cautious in the way she answers. She only says that the way she portrays it in her books it does not exist. So what purpose does this literary device serve? It's basically a question of power, she says. As J.K. Rowling sees it, the sad thing about unfantasized, real-life childhood is that children are usually the underdogs. They are powerless and therefore victims. This is why, in creating the figure of Harry Potter, she wanted to write about a little boy who escapes from the confines of his unhappy childhood through very powerful forces he has within himself. Is Harry a Christian? A Christian reader, as he sees Harry facing one absolutely terrifying situation after another, will often ask himself, "Is this little boy [who is, at least nominally, a baptized Christian, because he has a godfather] ever going to pray? In his desperate need will he turn to heaven seeking help? Does he feel the need for Jesus, his saviour? Will God intervene to help him?" But no, Harry is self-sufficient. As a seasoned analyst from Time magazine put it, the 'moral' of the Potter series is "believe yourself." The most important magic comes from inside each of us. One question then: has magic replaced religion and is it a substitute for the presence and strength of Jesus our saviour? As J.K. Rowling sees it, "magic is older than religion." Humans first learned to cope with problems of human existence through magical practices. It was only later on that religion replaced the original 'magical' way of living. It would seem then that the underlying philosophy of the Harry Potter series is that the time has come to return to our most ancient belief system, that of magic. The view then that magic has the status of a religion in the Potter books seems to be confirmed. The existence of God is never mentioned in these books in any way. This is all the more remarkable because the Christmas festivities occupy quite a bit of attention in all four volumes and are described in detail. The beauty of the lavishly decorated Christmas tree, the gift-giving among the children, the wonderful Christmas day banquet, are all spelled out in considerable detail. We wait until the fourth volume for a mention of carol singing at Christmas. The most famous of all carols, "Oh come, all ye faithful...", but lo and behold, no one seems able to remember the proper words of this traditional song, so one of those present improvises lyrics to this melody: quite vulgar lyrics in fact, as boys are wont to do.
Very scary practices survive in this series, at best as a marginal, imprecise memory of no practical value whatsoever. And so it would seem that, in the Potter books, magic replaces traditional mainstream religion. As Rowling puts it, "Magic is given to us to provide solutions to life's problems." She is free to express her opinions in which religious convictions are replaced by magical practices, but this does not mean that Christians are not called on to make a discernment here. It is my measured conviction that the basic spiritual climate in these books is at great variance with vital Christian beliefs. For Christians, Jesus Christ is "the way, the truth and the life," and no matter what life situations they find themselves in or how difficult the journey, how they cope with it all will be determined by the presence of Jesus in their lives, and His faithful mercy. The author refers to Harry as an 'old soul,' meaning that he is a little adult even though still a child. At fourteen, Harry is an old soul indeed because he has to carry these terrible burdens and his only consolation is a bit of magic. How very sad; he is forced to rely on no one else but himself as he moves on through life. And so I ask, who in his right mind would ever want to trade places with the little wizard, Harry Potter? Harry Potter: Pro and Con https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/features/harrypotter/proandcon.htm By Michael D. O’Brien, Catholic Insight magazine http://www.catholicinsight.com/ January-February, 2002 In our December 2001 issue, we brought Father Lazare's critique of the Harry Potter books. In this edition we conclude our presentation with several other views. -Editor David Dooley The Catholic World Report for April 2001 carried a long article by Michael O’Brien entitled "Harry Potter and the paganization of Children’s Culture." In the 19th century, he wrote, there appeared a trickle of books that redefined Christian symbols and occult themes in a favourable light. Until then, witches and sorcerers were consistently portrayed as evil; more and more material began to appear which attempted to shift the line between good and evil. The "white witch," the pet dragon, and the wise wizard became familiar figures. During the last quarter of the 20th century the trickle became a torrent—applauded by some writers who told us that this was a long overdue broadening of our horizons. In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman has described how television has reshaped our society, O’Brien writes. The volume of information fed to the mind increased while our ability to sort and
O’Brien points out that 76 million copies (today over 100 million) of the Potter books have been sold, and that they have been translated into 42 languages. They are going to be a major influence on the perceptions of the coming generation, and therefore they invite an appraisal. He does not deny that J. K. Rowling’s creation is witty, thought-provoking, and entertaining, and that it expands the child’s imagination. Further, she has introduced an electronically addicted generation to the pleasures of reading. The stories are packed with surprises which will enchant almost all readers. Nevertheless, he contends that the charming details are mixed with the repulsive at every turn. Ron casts a spell which rebounds on himself, making him vomit slimy slugs; the ghost of a little girl lives in a toilet.
Harry is a special boy, hated by evil incarnate and destined for greatness. But he blackmails his uncle, uses trickery and deception, "breaks a hundred rules," lies to get himself out of trouble, hates his enemies, and lets himself be provoked into seeking revenge against them. Lip service is paid to morality, but nowhere in the series is there any reference to a system of moral absolutes against which actions can be measured. O’Brien quotes Kimbra Gish as pointing out how the books portray in a positive light activities condemned in both the Old and the New Testament—enchanting, divination, charms, consulting with familiar spirits, "abominations" in the eyes of God which must be driven out. O’Brien concludes that the Harry Potter books are dangerous: We would not give our children fiction in which a group of "good fornicators" struggled against a set of "bad fornicators," because we know that the power of disordered sexual impulse is an abiding problem in human affairs. . . . Why, then, have we accepted a set of books which glamorize and normalize occult activity, even though it is every bit as deadly to the soul as sexual sin . . .? Is it because we have not yet awakened to the fact that occultism is in fact a clear and present danger? Chesterton review In a special issue of the Chesterton Review on "George MacDonald and the Sacramental Imagination" (February/May 2001), Father Ian Boyd included a symposium in which seven contributors gave their opinions of the Harry Potter series. They were asked to say something about the significance of the books and to decide whether or not they were products of what MacDonald called "a wise imagination." Good versus evil Sheridan Gilley put them in the context of the English public school story, and pointed out that the theme of sex is as muted as it is in older British school fiction. He also maintained that it is difficult to take the "Evangelical Protestant" complaint against the witchcraft too seriously: "Christianity is simply absent from the books . . . . But to condemn this fantasy world would surely be to damn all the vast mass of fantasy literature in which such magic is commonplace. Moreover bad or irresponsible witchcraft is condemned here, and the actual morality of the works is evangelically of the simplest sort, of good against evil." Ms. Rowling’s true enchantment is to keep the story running through a steady flow of fresh inventiveness. There is something philistine about her critics who do not see that in showing the child a new realm of the imagination she is enriching it beyond their dreams. Salutary Steven S. Tigner is equally convinced that the Potter books show "a Right Imagination." While the confrontations between good and evil are sometimes violent, he writes, Rowling has been careful never to muddy the distinction between what is pretend and what is real. He concludes that "The Harry Potter books are salutary forces advancing the divine order of things. And they are delightfully engaging." Inez Fitzgerald Storck, on the other hand, entitles her piece "J. K. Rowling: A Wounded Imagination." A wise imagination, she declares, is primarily one capable of distinguishing between good and evil, and judged by this criterion, the Potter volumes fall short. Traditional values are replaced by individualism and New Age beliefs, including the occult. Children will be overstimulated by the continual succession of gimmicks, spells, and other forms of magic. The knowledge of magic functions as a kind of gnosticism: people with magic skills tend to live apart, and carefully guard their secrets from the uninitiated. Due to their many flaws in the presentation of good and evil, the books must be seen as the product of a wounded imagination, and they will render more difficult the assimilation by children of the mind of Christ, the divine imagination. Gertrude White says that she does not know whether J. K. Rowling is a fan of Chesterton, but that if he were alive he would be a fan of hers; he would enter into the world she creates with approbation and delight. The delight would be for the imaginative details which are the heart of these stories; God, it has been remarked, is in the details, and the truth of this observation was never better illustrated than here. "Magic" is he title of a play Chesterton wrote, and he insisted all his life that the world is magic and has been given to us by a Magician. Revives reading Writing on "Harry Potter and History," Owen Dudley Edwards writes that by now children should be deep into illiteracy and books close to oblivion, but Rowling has turned the tide. The book is back, and she above all other authors has done it. Swiftian in her satire, Edwards writes, she posits realms of fantasy in whose intricacies we can wallow, while elegantly lampooning extremely terrestrial and unmagical human conduct. Her only failures are when
A major reason for the Harry Potter success is that it appeals to very old stories of a child miraculously transposed into a hidden life where his identity is withheld from neighbours. It lies deeply within Christian consciousness, and with no shade of blasphemy the Potter stories may begin there: a child whose very existence strikes at the heart of Evil, at whom Evil will move every means to strike. Also, the stories are passionately in favour of free will within a divine plan. Rowling has won her fame by building her hero on the foundations laid within great traditions. She has the ingenuity and enthusiasm for it; she also has the necessary humour. As to Harry Potter himself, Edwards says, the best may be yet to come. He is not yet a full character, though he certainly has his share of unpredictability. We know that we have more growth to see. Chesterton speaks of "the soul of a schoolboy waiting to be awakened by accident," which is what Harry discovers in himself when he first gets the call of the witchcraft school. Rowling has kept her Harry as a schoolboy, and his friends Ron and Hermione are even more convincingly well-rounded schoolchild characters. But the heat will turn as they move into adolescence, and then it will be necessary for her to remember Chesterton’s distinctions. "For among her glories is her quintessence of Chestertonism." Against the culture of death Finally, Leonie Caldecott in "Harry Potter and the Culture of Life" addresses O’Brien’s question of whether the books seriously undermine our value system. "Overall," she says, "I cannot help feeling that a writer who calls the arch-enemy of all that makes life worth living "Voldemort" can’t be a million miles away from a Pope who sums up the ills of the modern world with the term ‘culture of death.'" And it is against this culture of death that the Harry Potter books stand. "She proves how vital the imaginal world can be when it comes to putting flesh and bones on moral ideas." Chesterton speaks in an essay on "Magic and Fantasy in Fiction" of the net of St. Peter and the snare of Satan as presenting two kinds of magic in which we can become enmeshed. And he says that every deep or delicate treatment of the magical theme "will always be found to imply an indirect relation to the ancient blessing and cursing, and it is almost as vital that it should be moral as that it should not be moralizing." One of the most interesting aspects of the Harry Potter phenomenon, then, is that it should have been found worthy of serious discussion by a group of eminent critics like those who took part in the Chesterton Review symposium. Evidently there is plenty of room for argument about the books' merits and their morality.
New York, January 2, 2002 North American Coverage Downplays Priest’s Warnings In early December, Rome’s official exorcist, Fr. Gabriele Amorth, warned parents against the Harry Potter book series. The priest, who is also the president of the International Association of Exorcists, said Satan is behind the works. In an interview with the Italian ANSA news agency, Rev. Amorth said “Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil.” The exorcist, with his decades of experience in directly combating evil, explained that J.K. Rowling’s books contain innumerable positive references to magic, “the satanic art”. He noted that the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction “does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil.” In the interview which was published in papers across Europe, Rev. Amorth also criticized the disordered morality presented in Rowling’s works, noting that they suggest that rules can be contravened and lying is justified when they work to one’s benefit. Of note, the North American coverage of Rev. Amorth’s warnings about Potter significantly downplayed the warnings. The New York Times coverage by Melinda Henneberger which was carried in Canada’s National Post, the San Francisco Chronicle and on Yahoo Daily News left out most of the information in the European coverage which is quoted above. It only quoted Rev. Amorth as saying that “If children can see the movie with their parents, it’s not all bad.” The Times report also fails to mention that the movie version has significantly cleaned up Harry’s image, making it less troublesome than the books. See the coverage by the New York Times and the Italian coverage from Gazetta di Modena. Yüklə 1,79 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|