AN ORTHODOX VIEW OF HARRY POTTER

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Benjamin W. C. Waterhouse
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Post by Benjamin W. C. Waterhouse »

Juvenaly wrote:

I think when it comes to books and movies we run the risk of falling into a Roman Catholic mindset where we feel the need to make for ourselves a list of "Prohibited/Banned Books and Movies" and the viewing or reading of them is some sort of ecclesiastical crime...

Exactly, if we take Cyprian's unsober fundamental protestant mindset on board all fiction would be banned.

What about all the Orthodox Russian folk tales with their talking animals and magic pots and rings?

There is one major evil overtly anti Christian children's author today and that is Philip Pullman, someone Cyprian never ever mentions, I wonder why?

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"The Synod of Metropolitan Cyprian adheres wholly to the exact same ecclesiological and dogmatic principles as our Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia,"

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Cyprian
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Post by Cyprian »

There is one major evil overtly anti Christian children's author today and that is Philip Pullman, someone Cyprian never ever mentions, I wonder why?

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that only the latest Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, sold approximately five times as many copies in just the first two days as all the Philip Pullman books combined.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the first five Harry Potter films are fast approaching $5 billion in box office receipts.

Besides, what compels me to criticize Philip Pullman's books when you seem to be on top of it yourself? If your bishops start promoting his books as edifying material for Orthodox Christians, as they do with Harry Potter, then I will consider composing a rebuttal.

"The Synod of Metropolitan Cyprian adheres wholly to the exact same ecclesiological and dogmatic principles as our Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia,"

Precisely! That's why it has been necessary to flee ROCOR for quite a few years now, not simply since May 17th.

They've fallen under their own Anathema.

Cyprian

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Cyprian
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Post by Cyprian »

All these other fairy tales and stories are merely a diversion from the topic at hand -- Harry Potter.

Harry Potter is nothing like these other stories. Each story must be evaluated according to its own content, measured against the standards of morality delivered to us by the Church, not a relative comparison against other fantasy stories. Neither does rejection of Harry Potter have anything to do with an inclination toward Papist methods either.

Our Mother the Church has given us very clear counsel in order that we may be able to discern what is acceptable reading material and what is unacceptable. Obviously the mere mention of wizards, witches, sorcery, witchcraft, magic rituals etc. in a book is not necessarily objectionable.

After all, in the Bible is recorded the encounter of king Saul with the witch of Endor, who engaged in necromancy at his urging. Likewise there are numerous references to sorcery and witchcraft in the lives of the saints.

The objective criteria when evaluating a series of books like Harry Potter is very simple:

Do the characters engage in activity that is clearly forbidden or condemned by the Church? If so, is this activity clearly portrayed as sinful? Do the characters who engage in this forbidden activity suffer negative consequences as a result of their actions? Or are they glorified for their sinful activities?

The character of Harry Potter without a doubt engages in all sorts of evil activity which is unquestionably condemned by the Church. He and his friends engage in witchcraft, sorcery, magic, divination, astrology, alchemy, palmistry, numerology, hexes, spells, curses, etc., to name but a few.

Is Harry Potter reproved for the sinful activity he engages in by the adult authority figures in the story? Absolutely not! Rather, he is encouraged by them! The adults (as well as an assortment of monsters) are in fact his instructors and tutors in such wickedness!

Contrast this to the events described in the Bible and the lives of the saints. Sure you will find occurrences of witchcraft, sorcery, divination, and magic, etc. But always in these instances the activities are explicitly condemned as evil, and the individuals who engage in these activities inevitably suffer dire consequences as a result of their wickedness, if they do not repent.

Not so with Harry Potter. Harry Potter and his friends use magic, witchcraft and sorcery, breaking all the rules to save the day, while becoming heroes to millions of children worldwide.

Pure evil.

The Bible and the lives of the saints never make heroes out of those who willfully engage in activity condemned by the Church. They only become heroes after they cease from such evil, and with repentance turn toward Christ.

Cyprian

Last edited by Cyprian on Thu 16 August 2007 3:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Cyprian »

Apostolic Injunctions, Book VIII, Sec. IV:

"He that is guilty of sins not to be named, a sodomite, an effeminate person, a magician, an enchanter, an astrologer, a diviner, an user of magic verses, a juggler, a mountebank, one that makes amulets, a charmer, a soothsayer, a fortune-teller, an observer of palmistry; he that, when he meets you, observes defects in the eyes or feet of the birds or cats, or noises, or symbolical sounds: let these be proved for some time, for this sort of wickedness is hard to be washed away; and if they leave off those practices, let them be received;"

St. Ephraim the Syrian, Homily on Admonition and Repentance:

"Regard not spells and divinations, for that is communion with Satan."

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures:

"Also give heed neither to observations of the stars nor auguries, nor omens, nor to the fabulous divinations of the Greeks. Witchcraft, and enchantment, and the wicked practices of necromancy, admit not even to a hearing."

"The watching of birds, divination, omens, or amulets, or charms written on leaves, sorceries, or other evil arts, and all such things, are services of the devil; therefore shun them."

St. Epiphanius of Cyprus, Panarion, Book III:

A Concise, Accurate Account of the Faith of the Catholic and Apostolic Church (De Fide)

24,3 The church refrains from fellowship with any sect. It forbids fornication, adultery, licentiousness, idolatry, murder, all law-breaking, magic, sorcery, astrology, palmistry, the observation of omens, charms, and amulets, the things called phylacteries. (4) It forbids theatrical shows, hunting, horse <races>, musicians and all evil-speaking and slander, all quarreling and blasphemy, injustice, covetousness and usury. (5) It does not accept actors, but regards them as the lowest of the low. It accepts offerings from people who are not wrong-doers and law-breakers, but live righteously.

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Jean-Serge
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Post by Jean-Serge »

Cyprian wrote:

The objective criteria when evaluating a series of books like Harry Potter is very simple:

Do the characters engage in activity that is clearly forbidden or condemned by the Church? If so, is this activity clearly portrayed as sinful? Do the characters who engage in this forbidden activity suffer negative consequences as a result of their actions? Or are they glorified for their sinful activities?

The character of Harry Potter without a doubt engages in all sorts of evil activity which is unquestionably condemned by the Church. He and his friends engage in witchcraft, sorcery, magic, divination, astrology, alchemy, palmistry, numerology, hexes, spells, curses, etc., to name but a few.

Cyprian

Well Cyprian Juvenaly gave a huge number of heroes from fairy tales who engage in witchcraft and are praised for these

"Cinderella has her "Fairy-Godmother"

Sleeping Beauty has her "fairy guardians"

King Arthur had his "Merlin."

The Wizard of Oz had "Glinda the Good Witch"

Pinnochio has the "Blue Fairy" (that turns him into a "real boy")"

We could probably add many mores from all these children tales where the character of the goo witch is very often present...

Priidite, poklonimsja i pripadem ko Hristu.

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Post by Грешник »

Cyprian, the point I was trying to make is this. If we are to judge Harry Potter for his deeds then it is necessary for us to do just the same for all of the others in the same genre who do or act or say or allude to the same thing. This was my reasoning for compiling the list. People seem to think that Harry Potter is a new phenomenon, when in fact, this is nothing new, just the same trash rebirthed in a new form, easily palatable for those who might have been hard pressed to accept it, or something like it, in the past, now it is easy and more likely to be accepted.

How did this start? Well I remember vividly when Harry first came out, how did they market this? "A New Adventure in Reading." "Our kids are reading this is great!" "If it were not for these books our kids would not be so interested in reading." Bottom line the hooked kids into a "drug" that was of their liking and now the kids want to do something because it is more fun and enticing. Crack is enticing to some, does that mean that it is good to do? No, but if it were ever to become widely acceptable people would be more apt to get into it.

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