Sunday, April 24, 2011

Witchcraft and Wizardry: A Dangerous Fascination

Harry Potter, Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, one must simply turn on your TV or walk into a local Barnes and Noble to see these names and faces plastered everywhere. Vampire movies being filmed as fast as they are being released. "Mediums" on TV. They've certainly "cast a spell" of wonder and fascination upon the world, and children/young adults in particular. This blog post might make a few people upset, but I think this issue needs to be addressed, the issue is... that these things, such as Harry Potter, Twilight, etc, come from witchcraft, and that witchcraft is evil.

But why you may ask, like many people I know, friends, coworkers... "why is it so bad"? "it's only a book." "it's not like it's real or anything"
~~~
Yes, it is a book, and the storyline of Harry Potter never really happened. But witchcraft and sorcery is however, real. Since Biblical times there have been those who "Inquire of the mediums and necromancers who chirp and mutter" (Is. 8:19 ESV). And "He (Saul) broke faith with the Lord, in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance." 1 Cron. 10:13.
"Did not keep the command of the Lord"? What is His command, does he have something to say about it? Yes indeed He does!!

Here is what God says:
“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you." (Duet. 18:9-12) Clear enough? 
But, you may ask, what does this have to do with things such as Harry Potter or Twilight, or Lord of the Rings for that matter? Now, I have not read the H.P. series (the first book I have, long time ago before I was a believer however), but I have read the LOTR books. Now, both have the same basic story line, good versus evil, giving ones all, fighting for what is right. But from what I've seen and read, there seems to be a difference in the underlying tone of the two;
Both do deal with darkness, a sense of evil that is shrouded with a force that is not meant to be tempered with. LOTR has it's wizards (Gandalf, and Saruman), they have a pivotal role, but their magic, I would argue, doesn't share the significant role as the magic does in Harry Potter. Harry and his friends have to go to school and make wizardry their life, (for the first few books of the series). They become indoctrinated with it, and it becomes who they are. The LOTR story does not revolve around "those who practice divination; sorcerers", but rather the destruction of something (the Ring) that was made by an evil being, who was actually called a necromancer in  "The Silmarillion", (by J.R.R. Tolkien).
"Do not turn to mediums or necromancers, do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them, I Am the Lord your God" (Lev. 19:31). We should not seek out those who practice these things, that which glorifies it; I believe H.P. does this, not in a way so blatant as saying, read these books and watch these movies to defy God, but in a devious, less obvious way. By making it "okay" because they are using it for good. (And to be clear, reading them or watching them won't send you to hell, it is bad when it becomes prevalent in your life, talking about it continuously, and when it becomes such a focus and fascination, that is when it becomes wrong and sinful.) Even Gandalf knew when the weakness of himself, his sinful nature you could say, when it goes too far and what happens when it does consume you.
"No!" cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. "With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly" His eyes flashed and his face was lit with a fire within. "Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire to do good. Do not tempt me! ... the wish to use it would be too great for my strength" (The Fellowship of the Ring, Ch 2)
Now if you are a Believer and you have read these books, do you find yourself placing yourself in the roles of the characters? Glorifying it? Does it consume your thoughts and your time? Or do you say, "do not tempt me!" and pull away?...



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