Hi! I saw this thread linked on another site, and I just couldn't resist! Big fan of Harry Potter, so I don't really understand the aversion to this series. I read the OP's list of rationale, and there are maybe a couple that hold water in your belief system, but they're a bit of a stretch, and the rest just don't really even make sense in the context of your argument...
First: Harry Potter has nothing to do with real Witchcraft. Not even a passing resemblance. It is fantasy, creativity, imagination and wonder - and these are the things you take from your children when you frighten them away from it, and stories like it. And while its a shame to lose out on the fun of reading, losing out on those qualities is a true shame, especially for a child.
Second: While burning books may bring you some kind of incomprehensible thrill, and while the book burnings of yore may have succeeded in permanently destroying accumulated knowledge, in this day and age of mass printing and digital storage, burning a book does no lasting damage to the knowledge base. So at least roast marshmallows on them or something, so that all those trees didn't die totally in vain, while the rest of us whip out our iPads and read some more Harry Potter.
Three: If you had actually read Harry Potter, instead of hating something before you even know what it is, you would find it rife with Christian values and metaphors. Almost annoyingly so.
Example (SPOILERS AHEAD): the entire climax of the series is predicated on a willing sacrifice of the main character's life to save everyone he loves; a sacrifice which then destroys the evil wizard's power to harm the innocent; the main character then comes back to life, because the evil wizard, in spite of his great power, did not have the power to destroy him, because he had no understanding of the power of selfless love that the main character evoked by giving his life for his friends. Direct metaphor for how Jesus willingly died to save mankind, and thereby destroy the devils power. How can you possibly complain about that? And that's just one example.
Four: I cannot count the number of Harry Potter Confessions I've read on other sites, from kids who said "My parents wouldn't let me read Harry Potter because its agaisnt our religion, but I snuck a copy from a friend at school and read it anyway." This is the era of the internet; if your kids want to read it, they will find a way to read it. And all you do by banning it, is make it look more desirable and cool; you may as well bow to the inevitable.
Five: Harry Potter is just plain entertaining! None of you would know that, since you won't allow yourselves to touch it (because it has cooties and you're not allowed to use your imaginations, I guess?) but there's a reason its so popular! Great storytelling, compelling characters that display excellent dynamic development over the course of the story, a magnificent and vivid setting, plenty of plot twists - you're missing out!
So anyway, one wonders why you need to be so afraid of a story; surely your beliefs are not so flimsy that merely reading a children's book will cause you to lose your religion. So I am mystified by the deep and abiding terror and hatred a children's tale has inspired in a group of supposedly strong and faithful adults...
Anyway, I challenge you to read the books! *dat dat daaaah!* You would see that they are nothing dangerous or subversive, just good story telling - and you can always go on hating them afterwards.
Sincerely ~ your friendly neighborhood Pagan
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