> > > That reminds me...how can people
> condemn Harry Potter and yet have no
> problem with The Lord of the Rings?
>
In my opinion, it's because Tolkien (and C.S. Lewis, who was mentioned elsewhere) was a professed Christian, and Rowling is not. My theory is that if she was a Christian and had written the same exact books, a lot more Christians would accept them.

> The Bible certainly makes no bones about
> comdemning witchcraft; there's no such thing
> as a "good witch" in Scripture. The old
> testament law said that "thou shalt not suffer a
> witch to live" (Ex. 22:19) and in the new
> testament, Paul called a sorcerer a "child of
> the devil" and rebuked him in Christ's name
> (Acts 13:6-11).
>
Was this before or after the Bible was translated numerous times by numerous people?

My opinion on the books? Just because they don't preach Christianity, it doesn't mean conservative parents should blacklist them. Is Mr. Rogers also bad because he takes children into a land of make believe? I bet a lot of the vocal Christian leaders who condemn Harry Potter have either never read the books, or they read them after being told by peers that the books were of the devil. It's amazing how many people will accept the word of another imperfect human as gospel, just because they claim to follow the same beliefs. They blindly accept Biblical reasonings for things that should not be judged as "good" or "evil" simply by quoting a few Bible verses and calling it sufficient research. And if, after reading the Harry Potter books, a child rejects Christian beliefs and starts worshipping the devil, I highly doubt the books would be the sole reason for the child's conversion. There are such things as family and peers.

~Kathleen