-Caveat Lector- >>After centuries of tryin to stifle a true spirituality, they're getting worried about the latent competition! <<<
From http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,3243846 %255E703,00.html }}}>Begin Print this page Harry Potter linked to Satan By DARRELL GILES 14nov01 HE may have enchanted millions of people around the world, but Harry Potter has made enemies in the US, where conservative Christian critics claim the boy-wizard is a tool leading children to witchcraft and sin. Protesters have promised to be out in force at cinemas when the Harry Potter movie, which premiered in the US this week, opens to the public on Friday. "Harry Potter conditions children to think of witchcraft as harmless and even fun, said Christian occult investigator David Bay. "That way, when the real Antichrist arrives on the scene, they will be preconditioned to accept him." There have been book-burnings and some school libraries have banned Potter tales. A Kansas public library recently cancelled a reading due to complaints. Children in Jacksonville, Florida, must present parental permission slips to read the books at school libraries. "Satan is up to his old tricks again and the main focus is the children of the world," wrote Jon Watkins, a Baptist activist. "The whole purpose of these (Potter) books is to desensitise readers and introduce them to the occult." Websites also point to alleged links between Potter and the Devil. But Harry Potter's creator, author JK Rowling called the accusations "absurd", saying her character's world was entirely imaginary. "I have met thousands of children now, and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, 'Ms Rowling, I'm so glad I've read these books because now I want to be a witch'," the Scottish author said. Some authors have reservations about the mysticism of Harry's world, in which magical people predict the future, change shapes and communicate with ghosts. "Although the story is fictional, Harry Potter has real-world occult parallels," said Richard Abanes, author of Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick. "The books present astrology, numerology, mediumshi p, crystal gazing. Kids are enthralled with it. And kids like to copy." But other Christians have supported Rowling. "I'm so tired of people saying he's evil," says Connie Neal, a Christian author who has investigated the claims. "They're choosing to interpret the books in a very selective way." The first film from the four Harry Potter books stars newcomer Daniel Radcliffe as the boy who learns on his 11th birthday he has magical powers. Hollywood insiders predict an opening weekend take of close to $200 million. "The interest in reading that Harry Potter has caused is great," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of Washington-based Centre for Science in the Public Interest. "What's not great is Coca-Cola's use of this literary phenomenon to sell junk foods to kids." In February, the Atlanta-based soft drinks giant signed a $300 million partnership with Hollywood studio Warner Bros. The company also has pledged $36 million to literacy efforts as part of its campaign for the movie, which is based on the popular books. "To characterise our sponsorship of the film and our promotion of the magic of reading as inappropriate and to infer a connection with health and wellness of children simply misses the point for the sake of sensationalism ," Coca-Cola spokeswoman Susan McDermott said. "We find it ironic that Michael Jacobson, and the CSPI, are using Harry Potter to promote his agenda." The Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit group that focuses on health and environmental issues, launched a campaign last month calling attention to the Coke deal in an effort "to protect children's' health." Jacobson set up a Web site inviting Harry Potter fans to join him in appealing to Rowling to "save Harry" from any future tie-in with Coca- Cola and to donate her royalties from the current deal to campaigns for improving nutrition. His organisation claimed that soaring soft-drink consumption over the past 25 years had helped fuel soaring obesity rates in the United States. privacy policy � 2001 Mirror Australian Telegraph Publications End<{{{ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many generations. 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