Information Related to "Questions and Answers - Jan/Mar 2002"
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Question: Is it wrong to read the Harry Potter books? From what I've heard at camps and in my congregation, the ministers seem to think it's wrong, but none of them have read the books themselves. Please give me an answer from someone who has read them, if possible.
Answer: Your question about whether it is wrong to read the Harry Potter books is one that many young Christians are now facing. In these books the imaginary character Harry Potter attends Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he learns about possession and casting spells on people. Although this series of books is purely imaginary and the witchcraft in them is not technically the same as real-life witchcraft, filling our minds with things that closely resemble insults to God is not a good idea.
In working with ancient Israel, God consistently condemned witches, witchcraft and all things associated with the occult. In Exodus 22:18, God said, "You shall not permit a sorceress [witch, KJV] to live." In Deuteronomy 18:9-12, He adds, "'When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord.'"
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