 
 

Letters To The Editor: Harry Potter books don't teach witchcraft

Posted: Monday, February 04, 2002

I would like to address Richard Hopper's Jan. 26 letter, "Close the book on Harry Potter's witchcraft."

The Harry Potter series of books does not teach and/or condone witchcraft as Mr. Hopper states. The books are simply fantasy. Fantasy, defined, is "the creative imagination."

How horrible it is that an author has the "creative imagination" to create a story line that children love to read.

As a teacher, I know firsthand how difficult it is to engage students in reading. I am thankful for J.K. Rowling and other authors who have written books that not only grab a child's interest but also spark an interest in reading in general.

If Mr. Hopper is so against Harry Potter, then he must feel the same way about such classics as "Mary Poppins," anything by Shakespeare and the Bible. Yes, the Bible.

Magic abounds in the Bible. How does one explain healing the blind, the burning bush, the parting of the Red Sea?

Fanatical right-wing Christians claim these are "miracles," not magic. But the American Heritage Dictionary defines the two terms similarly.

Miracle: "An event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature, held to be supernatural in origin."

Magic: "Purporting to control natural events, effects or forces by invoking the supernatural."

Both miracles and magic deal with the supernatural. How coincidental.

Children need to explore their imagination, and the imagination of authors such as J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien and yes, C.S. Lewis.

Let the children escape to the make-believe worlds these writers create for them. The natural world is a depressing place.

My daughter has read every Harry Potter book. She attends Sunday school and church weekly and is a moral and ethical child.

She does not spend her evenings casting spells or repeating incantations in our basement. She spends her evenings reading (how horrible!).

Please leave our children alone and allow them to explore the wonderful world of literature.

Johnna K. Birkes

Pampa

Arafat is committed to killing Jews

Why is columnist Paul Greenberg confused that Yasser Arafat can't take a reasonable position on peace with Israel?

Can't Greenberg read, or has he forgotten that for close to 54 years, the Muslim world has been dedicated to the eradication of this "infidel" state?

Arafat, like Habash and the others, is committed to carrying out the fatwah of the late grand mufti of Jerusalem to destroy the Jewish presence on "Islam's holy land." Despite protestations to the contrary by politicians and local Muslims, Islam, in those countries where it is the majority, is not a tolerant religion.

There are more Muslims sitting right now in the Israeli Knesset than the number of non-Muslims who have ever sat in the parliaments of those few Muslim states that even have working parliaments (and that is a declining number of countries).

There are more functioning mosques in Israel today than there are non-Muslim houses of worship in all of the Arab world east of Egypt.

And the mosques in Israel are protected. Can the same be said for churches, synagogues and ashrams in Arab countries?

Gerald D. McDougall

Amarillo

Voice of the unborn won't be quieted

I would like to thank Jenny Dixon, executive director of Care Net Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Amarillo, for her well-written Jan. 27 guest column.

She is correct. Attacking those who oppose the unborn's right to life is not the answer. It's doubtful that their opinions will change just because of letters written in a newspaper.

There is no common ground to be shared with those who do not sanctify the right and preciousness of innocent, human life. I firmly believe that given the rope, eventually wrong and evil will hang themselves.

Another thread in this rope appeared in a photo, taken by Steve Line, published in the Jan. 23 Globe-News. This picture is worth a thousand words as it vividly captures a member of Planned Parenthood blowing out a candle, ending the celebration of the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

A more accurate picture would have portrayed 44 million "candles" that have been blown out through abortion since 1973, ending the right to life for those who were denied the chance to live.

No, we cannot attack. We will continue to speak for those who have not yet been permitted to utter a cry in their defense. We will continue to minister to those who are in a crisis situation. We will continue to show the love of Christ to those who have made decisions that cannot be altered.

The voice of the unborn is not going away. Their cry is being heard.

Jeanie Hunsaker

Amarillo





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