Harry Potter Preview!

[Sarah147]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='16 July 2010 - 02:00 AM' timestamp='1279256421' post='2143324']
It's one of the reasons why I read things like the Da Vinci Code. I've got no right to complain about how an author portrays something if I've never cracked it open.
[/quote]

That's why we have the Church to guide us in the faith and keep us from error and harm to our faith. Sort of like how good parents make sure everything given to their children is spiritually and otherwise safe for them, they don't just let them get into whatever is out there in the culture, and if they did, they warn them. There has been a lot out there revealing the error and harm of that particular work you mention, and it's not safe for your faith just immersing your soul in whatever is out there, especially what has been shown to be a danger. Faith is a gift and we can lose it. And just think how it hurts Jesus and Mary.

It's even in my examination of conscience from a holy priest, and it says: "Did I put my Faith in danger by reading books, pamphlets or magazines that contain errors or are contrary to Catholic faith and morals?..."

The Church also puts a special mark in books that show they are safe for the faith. It is the: NIHIL OBSTAT and IMPRIMATUR.

It kind of reminds me of something I read in Fr. Manelli's book "Come And Follow Me"
...When a mother was about to accompany her fifteen-year-old boy to the Novitiate, a friend tried to counsel her, "Delay this a little, first let him know and enjoy a bit of the world."
"Ah! What kind of advice are you giving me?", the mother answered. "In that way I would be offering God spoiled fruit..."
It was a wise and holy answer. But -- sad to say! -- there are many who would foolishly say, when their innocent children are called by God, that [b]they should first know the world, realize the evil in it, and then decide. This is pure foolishness.
[/b] Listen to this case found in the police court records of Anversa:
"A certain girl had always been good and devout. One day she informed her father of her wish to become a religious Sister. In order to steer her away from this idea, he gave her some obscene books. [i]'Read these first,[/i]' he said, 'and then you will make your decision.'
"Not long afterwards the book had corrupted the girl, who became so bad that she killed her father... The court at Anversa condemned Mary Smolders, found guilty of patricide, to ten years of hard labor." (From Via Verita Vita, Sept. 1954, p. 429)

[Shpout]

well I am totally exited about the last two movies! the trailer is very well done!!! (we'll have to wait and see for the movies)

and since this is the entertainment part of the forum, this seems like a valid topic...

[CatherineM]

I'm familiar with the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur. I'm also familiar with the fact that they are rarely used anymore for a variety of reasons.

I'm also familiar with the requirements of keeping ones children safe. I raised two. They will shortly be celebrating their 22nd and 25th birthdays. That's how I came to read Harry Potter in the first place. I read or watched everything before they were allowed to. The didn't have open access to the internet, had a 20 minute a day limit on video games that had been previously approved, and didn't have a tv in their rooms so I always knew what they were watching. They weren't allowed in anyone's house unless there was adult supervision, and it had to be an adult I knew didn't have weapons in the home or used illegal substances. They were not allowed to ride in a car with an underage driver. Basically for every second of the day and night, I knew where they were, who they were with, and what they were doing. Most of the time under my direct supervision. I was even known to show up unannounced at their school to eat lunch with them. I watched every baseball practice, went on every boy scout campout, and generally never let them out of my sight.

After reading Harry Potter, they didn't want to practice witch craft any more than they wanted to become vampires after reading Dracula or outlaws after reading Robin Hood. Although the idea of being ship wrecked like Robinson Crusoe did appeal to them.

[Sarah147]

Praise God they didn't turn to occult practices, but I still stick to my guns on that. That's where I stand.

God bless you.

[Jaime]

After I watched The Holy Grail, a woman turned me into a newt.






I got better

[CatherineM]

[quote name='hot stuff' date='16 July 2010 - 10:36 PM' timestamp='1279337796' post='2143767']
After I watched The Holy Grail, a woman turned me into a newt.






I got better
[/quote]
That's another movie that can get people in a twist. My copy is loaned out to a priest right now. Guess he should have checked it for a Nihil first.

[Archaeology cat]

I thought the Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur were only for religious-type texts - is that not the case?

[Jaime]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='16 July 2010 - 11:46 PM' timestamp='1279338411' post='2143776']
That's another movie that can get people in a twist. My copy is loaned out to a priest right now. Guess he should have checked it for a Nihil first.
[/quote]

one of my proudest moments

[url="http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/index.php?showtopic=43578&view=findpost&p=805118"]here[/url]

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='16 July 2010 - 02:00 AM' timestamp='1279256421' post='2143324']
I agree with 90% of what you've said. I also have some problems with some of the characters, but I generally find it very entertaining. I just have problems with anyone being critical of something they haven't read. It's one of the reasons why I read things like the Da Vinci Code. I've got no right to complain about how an author portrays something if I've never cracked it open.
[/quote]

Really? I feel like I can be critical of the works of the Church of Satan and Playboy without reading them.

[sistersintigo]

[quote name='JoyfulLife' date='15 July 2010 - 11:48 PM' timestamp='1279248515' post='2143270']
Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia have been praised as Christian, even Catholic. Harry Potter is witchcraft all over the place.

I personally don't much care for the dark involvement like that, the heavy fantasy nor the inhuman creatures. It certainly reflects the horror of sin and evil.
[/quote]
It is really curious for me, an adult convert raised in the United Methodist/formerly "Evangelical United Brethren" Church, to hear a Catholic talking like the Protestants who schooled me!
There are more than a few Protestants out there who think Catholic worship is witchy stuff, you know. The very idea of all that Latin -- just the sound of Latin creeps them out.
And then, there is my Catholic spiritual director, old enough to have been raised Catholic before Vatican II; this cradle Catholic is DELIGHTED to see Latin, at least Harry Potter Latin, in books for young people. My SD's experience is that the young readers can proceed from Harry Potter Latin, not onward to the Dark Side, but onward to...ecclesiastical Latin, and Catholic tradition before Vatican II.
Personally? I dodged the first couple of HP installments. Then came the volume in which repressed memories of infantile trauma left the protagonist vulnerable to the dementors and to the depression that animates them. The author had me right there. And, no, I did NOT run off and join the pagans after reading it.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='17 July 2010 - 07:36 AM' timestamp='1279373783' post='2143880']
Really? I feel like I can be critical of the works of the Church of Satan and Playboy without reading them.
[/quote]
Anyone can be critical of something they haven't read; the difference is the level of credibility a person's criticism carries to others. I will give far more credence to the criticism of someone who has read something than to someone who hasn't.

That being said, if you have reason to believe that reading or viewing a particular work would be detrimental to your personal spiritual health, then by all means you should avoid it. I have no problems with someone who chooses not read something; the problem I have is when they conclude that the same works will be detrimental to anyone who reads or views them. Not everyone shares the same weaknesses.