Religious idiocy

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Fred in Skirts
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Religious idiocy

Post by Fred in Skirts »

I just read that St. Edwards school in Nashville has pulled all the Harry Potter books from the school library because Rev. Dan Reehil believes that the “The curses and spells used in the books are actual curses and spells; which when read by a human being risk conjuring evil spirits into the presence of the person reading the texts.” :twisted:

https://www.aol.com/article/entertainme ... /23806801/

Why on earth does the good reverend believe that the fictional spells and curses created from thin blue air by J. K. Rowling have any magical or mystical power? I have heard some strange reasons for religious institutions to ban various books before, but this may be the strangest.

:? :? :? :?
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Grok
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by Grok »

Why do some people take literally what is obviously fiction?
Freedomforall
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by Freedomforall »

Oh yes welcome to Nashville. Praise the Lord, God, guns, and the Bible. Oh can you pour me another drink please?
Last edited by Freedomforall on Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jim
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by Jim »

Fred in Skirts wrote: Why on earth does the good reverend believe that the fictional spells and curses created from thin blue air by J. K. Rowling have any magical or mystical power?
While I don't agree with the action, I think I understand it.

If evil spirits exist, which a literal reading of the Bible would suggest, then someone calling on a spirit to act might get a response. It's not that the spells have power, it's that demons have power.

Given that assumption, does it make some sense?
john62
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by john62 »

No.
pelmut
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by pelmut »

Some religious organisations in the U.K. objected to the books because they might encourage children to believe in magic. I'm sure I wasn't the only one to see the irony of that.
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6ft3Aussie
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by 6ft3Aussie »

It's in someways similar to the political correctness which has been dumped on us, which seeks to ensure that nobody could be offended.

Hey half of the nursery rhymes we had when I was a kid are not banned, and seen as racist or sexist.
Many books we had back then you can't find on the shelves now either
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by Fred in Skirts »

I have always stated that I was an escapee of the Political Correctness Penitentiary.

I do not believe in being politically correct. It just goes against my beliefs. Black is Black and White is White. I do not see everything as gray. They may want us to see only gray but the world is not gray it is in full living colour. And that is how I see it.

:silenced: :shifty: :shhh:
"It is better to be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not" Andre Gide: 1869 - 1951
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dillon
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by dillon »

I saw that on Facebook and was surprised...even though it takes a lot for anything social conservatives do to surprise me any more. It’s something I might have expected from a backwoods snake-handling evangelical school, but not from a Catholic high school. I’d have presumed that such an educational policy would have been approved by some church authority.
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pelmut
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by pelmut »

Fred in Skirts wrote:... I have heard some strange reasons for religious institutions to ban various books before, but this may be the strangest.
It's a good way of ensuring every child will want to read the books.
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by crfriend »

pelmut wrote:It's a good way of ensuring every child will want to read the books.
There is that to be said for the policy...
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shadowfax
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by shadowfax »

pelmut wrote:Some religious organisations in the U.K. objected to the books because they might encourage children to believe in magic. I'm sure I wasn't the only one to see the irony of that.
With all of the worrying about Health & Safety, maybe the religious orgs think that a child will get hurt trying to access Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross railway station to get onto the Hogwarts Express! :wink: :)
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by Kirbstone »

Nah, I'd be more worried about 'fluffy' the three-headed dog.

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partlyscot
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by partlyscot »

Quite a few children probably *believe* in the magic of Harry Potter, but most don't I think. Those that do, and grow out of it, and those that understand from the start that it is fantasy, might end up comparing the believability of the fairly cohesive "Potter Universe" with that of *other stories* they are required to take on faith.

This is, I suspect, is why some people regard them as dangerous.
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Re: Religious idiocy

Post by beachlion »

I remember stories about children trying to fly like Peter Pan. They were surprised it did not work if they survived the jumps. It could be fake news from the 50s and 60s nevertheless. But it looks like there is nothing new under the sun.

The action of the clergy looks like getting rid of any competition. ;)
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