Your Letters, Oct. 29, 2,003
Bewitched
I am writing this letter to parents, grandparents, teachers and others who love our youth and want whats best for them.
When I was a young man there was a TV show called Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery. It was a comedy about a witch. It seemed harmless and funny. I learned years later that many young people became interested in witchcraft as a result of the show, and some became witches and warlocks. A man I heard speak on the dangers of witchcraft had once been a high priest of a satanic cult in San Diego. By the grace of God, two determined Marines later led him to Christianity.
Today we have several TV shows on witchcraft. We also have an even greater invitation to witchcraft in Harry Potter books and movies. To my amazement, people I talk to seem to feel that Harry Potter is not only harmless to our youth but actually promote the books and movies. I see this as tragic and Ill tell you why.
Harry Potter is witchcraft, pure and simple, cleverly packaged to attract young people and adults alike, and it is working. If you read scripture and read a Harry Potter book or see a movie you can readily see its not innocent, its witchcraft.
Here is what the Bible has to say about it. First Samuel 15:23 states that witchcraft is a sin. That should be enough for us, but lets read further. In Deuteronomy 18: 10-12, God states: There should not be found among you anyone who practices witchcraft or a soothsayer or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer or one who conjures spells or a medium or a spiritist or who calls up the dead. All of these are an abomination to the Lord. It seems pretty clear that those of us who encourage our young people to learn about witchcraft by encouraging them to read and watch Harry Potter and other books and movies about witchcraft are, as God says, an abomination to the Lord. Jesus warns in Mark 9:42, Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. Witchcraft is a huge stumbling block to our faith and the faith of our youth and God holds us as adults personally responsible to give wise council to those entrusted to our care.
For those who believe our youth have not been negatively effected by Harry Potter and other programming, books and movies on witchcraft, a recent study showed that involvement by children and adolescents in witchcraft and the occult has increased significantly since the TV shows, books and movies about witchcraft have come out.
In closing, I encourage those of you who read this to give it careful thought and pray about what action, if any, God would have you take. Thank you.
John E. Casey
St. Joseph
If you think this pissed me off, imagine how I felt when I read THIS
Church protests Harry Potter event
By Richard Haddad, Publisher
Friday, October 31, 2003
As children walked into the library Wednesday, a group outside shouted through bullhorns, telling the youngsters that they were going to hell.
Protesters from Victory Chapel greeted children outside the Payson Public Library as they entered to attend an event called “Harry Potter, a Kid’s Night Out.”
“The protesters yelled things like, God would think Harry Potter is an abomination,'” 13-year-old Breanne Standifird said.
Two other children, ages 10 and 12, said the protesters were shouting that Harry Potter is the work of the devil and that the children could be forgiven, if they would repent.
Harry Potter books feature characters like witches and wizards and have drawn criticism from some religious groups.
Library circulation clerk Pat Helmick said she thought the protesters crossed the line by yelling at the children.
“They were screaming, Don’t go in there, it’s evil. Don’t read Harry Potter.’ It was amazing and pathetic,” Helmick said. “I mean, if you don’t want your kids to read a book, then just don’t have them read it. It’s so simple. A person came in and gave me a copy of the paper they were handing the children. It had scriptures on it talking about abominations and adultery — stuff that I never got from reading Harry Potter. I mean, my goodness.”
Parents were upset about how the protesters approached the children.
“I had a friend drop my daughter off at the library,” Breanne’s mother, Lori Standifird said. “But when I heard there were protesters yelling at the children I was concerned for my daughter’s safety and drove over and saw that there were about seven protesters with signs. They had a megaphone and they were shouting things at the children. My daughter said she never felt threatened. In fact, she thought it was sad that these poor misled people didn’t have anything better to do with their time. But I was concerned because you never know what extremists are going to do. I saw the police there talking with some of the protesters.”
TBC
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