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Beware of Harry Potter!
by
Melvin Sickler Who is Harry Potter? Despite
all the publicity he got, perhaps there are some of our readers who do
not know who Harry Potter is. He is the hero of a series of books,
written by British author J.K. Rowling, for children. In fact, it is the
all-time best-seller book for children — 100 million copies have been
sold worldwide, which have been translated into 40 different languages.
Moreover, a movie was made a few months ago about the first book of the
series, and it made the top of the list at the box offices. In volume one, entitled Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Philosopher's Stone, we are
introduced to the world of sorcery and to the boy who plays the pivotal
role in the struggle between good and evil, as it is defined in the
series. The story begins with the murder of Harry's parents, a witch and
wizard, who are destroyed by another wizard named Voldemort, the chief
of all the wizards who have gone too far into the practice of the
“Dark Arts — the evil side of sorcery”. Harry is rescued by
witches and wizards who take him to a suburb of London to be raised by
his aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. Harry knows nothing about his
background. On his eleventh birthday, he begins to discover that he has some
mysterious powers. He soon meets witches and wizards who harass the
Dursleys with magic in order to obtain their permission for Harry to
attend Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. At Hogwarts castle, Harry meets the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, who
is also the unofficial chief of the “good wizards” in the world. The
wizard world coexists with the world of the Muggles (the ordinary people
who are not wizards), but it is so enchanted that ordinary humans are
blinded to its existence. Truly satanic! The only teaching Harry gets at school is making magic potions, tricks of
magic. They say good magic can be used for good, even though
supernatural powers belong only to God. In the book, Harry never prays. The only religious character is a fat
little monk. He is one of the phantoms at the college in the story. The
only time they mention a church is in the 4th volume in the scene of
satanic sacrifice. Book after book becomes more and more immoral. From
volume to volume, the adventurers of Potter become more and more
terrifying and bloody. Chapter 32 of the 4th volume is the most terrible of all. In that chapter,
there is a black wizard who kills a schoolmate of Harry Potter under his
own eyes in the cemetery. Then during a satanic ritual, he raises from
the dead Lord Voldemort, the one who killed the parents of Harry. To
do so, he throws into a big container of boiling water a kind of
monstrous child, and they add the bones of dead corpuses taken from
graves, with some of the blood of Harry Potter, all the while
pronouncing formulas that recall in a blasphemous way the words of the
Eucharistic consecration. It only makes one wonder what will come out in
the next book! Each book of this series corresponds to a school year in the life of
Harry Potter. So far, four books have been written, and there are three
more to go. To keep children obsessed with Potter
Some
will say that the Harry Potter is only a story, a fairly tale, and that
it is harmless for children to read it. But if you study it deeper, you
will see that it makes the occult look trivial, and that it is a sneaky
way of promoting the occult among children. Children know full well that
the story is make-believe. But on the subconscious level, they have
absorbed it as experience, and this experience tells them that the
mysterious forbidden is highly rewarding. Contrary to the Bible and the Church Harry learns how to throw magic spells. According to the book, there is
no difference between black and white magic; all magic is good as long
as you do it for good things. But the Bible and the Church do not agree. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 2116-2117, it states
the following: “All
forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons...
Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens
and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums
contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone. “All
practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to fame occult
powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural
power over others, are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These
practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the
intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the
intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism
often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part
warns the faithful against it.” The Potter series repeatedly portray in a positive light the very
activities that are condemned in both the Old and New Testaments in the
strongest possible terms. In Deuteronomy 18:9-12 is a passage in which
enchanting divination, charms, consulting with familiar spirits, or a
wizard or a necromancer, are described as an “abomination” in the
eyes of God, and must be driven out. Numerous other passages forbidding
the practice of witchcraft and wizardry, or consultation with mediums or
diviners, can be found in Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 27; Isaiah 8:19,
19:3; Galatians 5:19-21; and in Revelation 21:8, just to mention
a few. Plainly diabolical! Rome
has even spoken out against the Potter books. In early December of 2001,
the Diocese of Rome's official exorcist, Father 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 INSA news agency, Father Amorth said, “Behind
Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of 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 another interview, which was published in papers across Europe, Father
Amorth denounced the disordered morality presented in Rowling's works,
noting that they suggest that rules can be contravened, and that lying
is justified when they work to one's benefit. The
Potter series might look innocent enoug! And yet, never has the occult
come in such a desirable form, and never has it come in such a massive
fashion. It does not take an expert to see that Potter casts spells,
that he employs witchcraft, and that the books about him contain the
names of actual demons. Witchcraft is presented as being exciting and
powerful. Witches are portrayed as friendly, positive, supportive, and
good. One former witch — now a pastor — described the Potter series
as “witchcraft manuals” written at a surprising level of
sophistication. To orient our youth in the direction of the occult, and to expose them to
such forces in the name of fun, is very dangerous. Already, the Pagan
Federation in England receives an average of 100 inquiries a month from
young people who want to become witches — an unprecedented phenomenon
which is attributed in part to the Potter books. Parents: Wake up! Rowlings' stories create the impression that some of us could learn to
handle occult powers and wield them for good. This is a grave error, for
our intentions, however noble, cannot transform an objective evil into a
good. No
Christian family should allow their children to read the Potter books.
Parents must be warned that exposing their children to the enchanting
world of Harry Potter is playing with a fire from hell. A set of books
which glamorizes and normalizes occult activity is as deadly to the soul
as sexual sin, if not more so! Children must be taught that the practice
of magic is a major offense against God, something that is very serious
in nature. Parents need to pray daily for the spiritual protection of their families.
They need to ask God for the extraordinary gifts of wisdom and
discernment. They must know what their children are reading, and they
should encourage their children to model after the saints whom we know
are now in Heaven. For what is our life on earth all about but to work
our way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Meditating on witchcraft and the
occult will just not bring one on the right road! Parents,
take on your responsibilities of protecting the souls of your children,
and make known to those around you the evils presented in the Potter
series. Remember: All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for good
men to do nothing! Melvin
Sickler This article was published in the January-February, 2002 issue of “Michael”.
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The
first book of the series has approximately 300 pages, but the fourth
book,