Please tell me the difference
Why is it that some Christians consider Lord of the Rings good and Harry Potter bad?
What about Bewitched? I Dream of Jeannie? Wizard of Oz?
If the issue is the use of magic, then they all have magic.
If the issue is good vs bad magic - well LOTR's has two good and bad wizards, Harry Potter has good and bad witches, Wizard of Oz has good and bad witches.
Please help me understand what exactly makes the difference between a 'Godly' book with magic and a 'Evil' book with magic.
2007-12-03 08:33:25 · 26 answers · asked by Sister blue eyes 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
that should read that LOTR has two wizards, one good and one bad
2007-12-03 08:34:13 · update #1
Well, how about the Narnia series, there is magic in them (the very fact they go through the wardrobe is magical)
2007-12-03 08:41:35 · update #2
Well, how about the Narnia series, there is magic in them (the very fact they go through the wardrobe is magical)
2007-12-03 08:41:39 · update #3
Thanks you nevergrowold. Seems as if we have the same state of heart.
2007-12-03 08:49:31 · update #4
I think it comes from the influence it has on particular age groups. Some of your examples are for older audiences that might watch or read the stories and take them for stories. Harry Potter is evil (or so they say) because it influences children in a manner that children do not dismiss as mere stories.
2007-12-03 08:39:17 · answer #1 · answered by alee522 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question. I could never figure that out myself. What about all those Goosebump Books that have to do with the supernatural? There are lots of other books out there now for young adults that are along the same lines of Harry Potter. What about those? Can't wait to hear from some of the Harry Potter haters out there their reasoning.
Don't ya just love the "there are no good witches" answer. What about GLINDA??? And, excuse me, I know some Wiccans and they are much better people, cleaner of mind and spirit, kinder, more honest, more good natured than a lot of the Christians I know that go to church every Sunday and act so pious and then come up with statements like the following:
A few years ago there was some conflict over thruway rights with Native Americans. This man I worked with said "the army didn't hand out enough small pox infected blankets in the past or we'd not be having this trouble now". What a hypocrit. These Christians are why I don't go to church anymore. I talk to God on my own.
2007-12-03 16:37:37 · answer #2 · answered by lilith663 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wizards and warlocks are not real--they are fictional. Witches, however, are very real. Some people think the terms warlock and wizard denote a male witch, but they don't. A male witch is a witch.
I Dream of Jeannie and The Wizard of Oz are old and forgotten. But some people probably do have issues with them.
Harry Potter and Bewitched (the movie, not the sitcom) are new. That's the difference. If Jeannie, Bewitched (the sitcom), and Oz were new, they'd have issues with them.
Lord of the Rings writer JRR Tolkien was a devout Christian, which is why they don't have a problem with it.
2007-12-03 16:48:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure who you're talking to, but I've never heard such religious arguments against any. Anyone that reads the books or watches the movie would see that good always triumphs over evil, but there are different hardships in each. This means it's about trials and redemption or condemnation. So, they have the same basic underlying messages, thus have only the difference of the storylines. From there, it is purely preferential as to what one considers good or bad in their own terms. I feel Harry Potter is much too childish a story for me, but LOTR has a more mature storyline, thus making it the better of the two. That has nothing to do with religion, just maturity and preference.
2007-12-03 16:42:09 · answer #4 · answered by Gray 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You may as well ask - What is fantasy? and What is real? And is there any crossover between the two?
How real is fantasy???
There is a difference between science fantasy and science fiction, in that science fiction tries to be plausible, with explanations that it is possible, etc etc in due time - but science fantasy doesn't make any such claim - it has no idea if what is presented is going to be possible or not?
You could say that time travel is always science fantasy - and is a favourite genre all in itself. The movies, stories about time travel are countless.
If you were to look for real stories about time travel - actually there are a few around. Like an English couple holidaying in France, who slipped back into the last? century - they did take photographs - but they didn't turn out...
And there are some more...
If you are asking - is magic real?
For the most part - it is not, and only lies in the imagination of those who believe. Like Alistair Crowely for example. He thought he was dealing with Black Magic - but maybe it was all in his head, and nowhere else...
Good vs Evil, in terms of magic, is always about using the 'force' for good or evil.
Lord of the Rings - got it's reputation because the author was totally immersed in his 'world' and made it believable in it's detail. Harry Potter may be considered a modern version? but it lacks the detail as in LoTR.
There are some things considered 'magical' which some people at some time, may have done?
eg. levitation, teleportation. You have it in the Bible - Jesus walking on water, and feeding a crowd of people with a few loaves. Did the Shaolin monks perform a few magical tricks themselves? etc.
2007-12-03 16:46:28 · answer #5 · answered by TruthBox 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I expect that one factor is how close the books world is to our own.
Middle Earth, Narnia and Oz are all far removed from the real world. Narnia and Oz may involve kids from our world, but the magical aspects tend to be limited to the other world.
The world of Harry Potter is considered to take place in the "shadows" of our own world and the Golden Compass takes place in an alternate version of our world. Both of these two books contain elements of the real world mixed with fantastical ones. One might say that it is easier for kids to become "confused." The Artemis Fowl books might also fit in this latter category.
2007-12-03 16:42:30 · answer #6 · answered by Donald J 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2014-09-23 22:20:24 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
LOTR has been around for years - I don't think the fundamentalist like it either, it is just that Harry is currently the hot topic. Some denominations do not celebrate Christmas because of the Pagan origins - others down play the Santa aspect and keep the more churchie aspects.
The bottom line seems to be that they just don't like fantasy - only the truth as they see it - like Johna and the whale - and Noah and his arch - to educate the youngsters.
2007-12-03 16:41:06 · answer #8 · answered by justwondering 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Im guessing and im not christian. I would say they dont care about LOTR because it takes place in a fantasy world and Harry Potter is supposed to be more like the real world
2007-12-03 16:37:29 · answer #9 · answered by tranquilized_inaz 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have no issue with any of the ones you mentioned.. I love Tolkien. I liked Harry Potter. I have no trouble with real witches. I only dislike evil..NO matter what religion. Most real "witches" I know are very loving kind and decent people.
2007-12-03 16:41:43 · answer #10 · answered by PROBLEM 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋