Customer Reviews

Harry Potter and the Bible : The Menace Behind the Magick

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(69)

 

 

In my judgment, this book is poorly organized in that the author gets confusingly sidetracked into tangents that have no bearing on the discussion at hand. The narrative includes repetitive phrasing, making the same basic points in numerous places. Most all of the favorable reviews of this book cite its extensive documentation, even to the point of emphasizing that the book includes hundreds of footnotes. Perhaps these reviewers are more impressed by quantity than quality as even cursory examination of the author's sources should raise some reasonable doubts about the nature of the underlying research. Abanes relies heavily on sources of questionable authority for the propositions he sets forth. A 6th grader doing his/her first research report uses encyclopedias and dictionaries as sources; a scholarly "expert" in a field should be using more credible sources. He quotes the Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology over and over. He also relies heavily on websites as sources. He doesn't cite sources for some of his less credible claims (such as his assertion that numerous Christian experts on occultism object to the HP books - if this is true, why no source?).

Abanes has asserted (and at least one review notes) that Rowling said that one-third of the material in the HP books is based on "actual occultism." Perhaps I don't understand Mr. Abanes' definition of "occultism," but Rowling's actual words in the interview he cites were that approximately one-third of the material in the books is based on British folklore and legends. Myths, legends and folk tales hardly constitute "occultism," in the mind of the average person; they are rather part of our rich cultural and literary heritage. He also stretches logic beyond credulity with his statement that Rowling has failed to disavow all forms of magick in her interviews. Abanes chooses to put a very strained interpretation on her exact wording to sow seeds of doubt among less-informed readers. Reading the actual interviews that Abanes cites is advisable before jumping to conclusions. He also states that Rowling has refused to divulge her religious beliefs (although he acknowledges several chapters later that she has said she believes in God). Abanes is misstaken in this research however, as she has stated clearly in one interview that she attends the Church of Scotland.

The summaries of each book are hardly objective. Abanes omits or glosses over scenes and dialogue that detract from his basic points about the moral relativism and questionable ethics the books promote. While he should be commended for reading the books since so many of the books' critics have never read them, it appears to me that he read them with an eye to finding critical points that could in turn be worked into this book. In each of the chapter summaries, Abanes includes a Heading that reads: "Age 6 and Up?" I was baffled by this heading, since he doesn't elaborate as to who promotes the books for 6 year olds. The publishers market them to 9-12 year olds, and Rowling herself has said she wrote the books as something she herself (and presumably other adults) would enjoy.

Abanes' primary problem with the books, and with Harry in particular, seems to center around rule-breaking and lying. Abanes makes frequent reference to the fact that the characters don't adhere to the Biblical definitions of "good" and "evil." Funny, I must have missed it if the Bible has a definitions section. He charges that Harry doesn't suffer consequences for his actions and that he acts only out of self-interest. I can't help wondering if Abanes read the same books the rest of us have if he believes that Harry suffers no consequences for misdeeds and acts only out of self-interest! For example, when he sneaks into Hogsmeade in the third book, Harry doesn't get expelled or detention, but the harsh reprimand about his parents' sacrifice from Professor Lupin was no doubt a heavier punishment by far than receiving detention. How Harry's quest to stop the sorcerer's stone from falling into the hands of the evil Lord Voldemort, his rescue of a fellow student in the second book, his rescue of his godfather (and Buckbeak) and his show of mercy to the man responsible for the murder of his parents in Book 3 and his escape from a resurrected Lord Voldemort in the fourth book constitutes a "selfish agenda" is a mystery to me. Abanes also argues that the books include gratuitous violence, but he never elaborates on which scenes might be considered gratuitous.

Since he charges the books with humor that borders on perversity, it should be no surprise that Abanes has completely missed Rowling's points about divination, which is conveyed through humor. Much of the authors' arguments against the book center around their promotion of what he terms "magick" (occultism, including astrology, divination, fortune-telling, etc.). He must have been so bent on finding some element of "occultism" to seize on as evidence of the problems with these books that he missed Rowling's sarcastic jibes at divination. At one point in the third book, Professor McGonagall remarks that "True Seers are very rare," which is a pointed but diplomatic criticism of Divination instructor Sibyll Trelawney, yet Abanes asserts that her remark implies that McGonagall is endorsing divination. He misses the point entirely. He states that astrology is blatantly practiced at Hogwarts, but fails to notice that it is used as comic relief. Rowling is clearly making fun of it!

Abanes compares and contrasts the HP series with the Chronicles of Narnia and the works of Tolkien. I found this section to be alarmingly conclusory given that the HP series is only half-way finished. Abanes makes several judgments about the HP series and its ultimate resolution that simply cannot be supported given current information.

In conclusion, I obviously don't recommend this book.

Richard Abanes takes almost 300 pages to convey two main ideas.... Way too much, in my humble opinion.

MAIN IDEA 1

The Harry Potter books will/may encourage kids to take an interest in the occult. That is bad.

-- Abanes provides anecdotal evidence that suggests a spike in English kids' interest in Wicca and other non-mainstream spiritual paths.

-- To his credit, Abanes distinguishes between Wicca and Satanism. He stops short of saying that HP drives kids to the devil, but his dwelling on Satanism (including a lengthy digression about a teen on death row) seems implicitly to suggest that today's Harry Potter readers are tomorrow's devil worshippers.

-- Abanes bases his objection to occult practices on the assertion that the Bible forbids them. And I'm sure it does. But I'd hoped for more thoughtful reasoning that just "The Bible says...." Why are occult practices harmful? Are they all equally harmful? And so forth.

-- Abanes never really engages the key point of WHY kids are so into Harry Potter. (Chalking it all up to marketing is a cop-out.) Clearly, Rowling connects with many modern readers in ways that Christianity doesn't. Why? How? If, as Abanes clearly believes, Christianity has better stories to tell, how can Christians set about telling them effectively?

MAIN IDEA 2

Rowling's books do not accord with biblical ethics. That is bad.

-- Much of Abanes's unhappiness on this front stems from his unexamined and highly flawed premise that a children's story is (or should be) a normative portrayal of human behavior. In particular, he laments that Harry and co. don't "suffer" as a result of their rule-breaking. Well, life ain't normative. The race is not always to the swift, the election not always to the guy who got more votes. Rowling's ability to reflect reality is a big part of her strength as a storyteller--and of the books' popularity. (I increasingly see HP not as fantasy but as satire.) Abanes seems to assume that Rowling approves of Harry's every move, which I rather doubt.

-- In slamming Harry Potter's failures to respect authority, Abanes takes a pitifully simplistic approach to the immensely complicated question of obedience. (At one point, he approvingly quotes the loathsome Snape, which I found interesting.) Like it or not, we all know that earthly rules are neither perfect nor absolute. Abolitionists rightly defied the authorities by helping slaves escape. Resistance workers in WW2 rightly broke the law by hiding Jews. (In "The Hiding Place," Corrie ten Boom talks movingly about doing "wrong" to fight the Nazis.) And let's not forget that Jesus clashed with Snape-like critics about broken rules. A key part of the moral journey--or of a good story--is learning whom, when, and why to obey. Only cardboard characters follow rules without questions.

-- Abanes's simple pronouncements aren't much practical help to parents and teachers whose kids are reading or hearing about Harry Potter. Instead of just wishing the books would go away, why not use them as an educational tool? Talk about what Harry does wrong--and right. Compare these stories with other sources. (How does Harry's lying, for instance, stack up against Jacob's getting Esau's inheritance by fraud?) Teach kids to ask and answer moral questions.

BOTTOM LINE

The more I reflect on Abanes's work, the more I think it constitutes the first rough notes toward what could be an enormously interesting book. Maybe someday he'll write it.

I think not.

The author of this book twists and distorts the Harry Potter books into an almost unrecognizeable shape, and then criticizes the inaccurate representations he created. His arguments are one straw man after another. Here are just a few examples:

Page 16: "Muggles are consistently portrayed by Rowling as a narrow-minded and callous group of persons unable to grasp the glory of magic." This is entirely untrue. Harry's best friend is Ron Weasley. Ron Weasley's father is a low-level bureaucrat in the wizarding hierarchy, whose duties lie in hiding the use of magic from muggles. He is repeatedly amazed at the ways muggles manage to accomplish things without the use of magic, and finds muggle items like telephones to be absolutely ingenious. After Ron Weasley, the second major supporting character in the Harry Potter books is Hermione Granger -- a muggle who comes from a family of muggles, and is the first person in her family to ever study magic. The only person in the books who holds muggles in contempt is Draco Malfoy, a student at the school who comes from a long line of wizards, and who Abanes himself describes on page 17 as "mean-spirited, arrogant, and deceitful." Draco Malfoy, not J.K. Rowling, consistently holds muggles in contempt, and the protagonists of the stories argue against that notion at every turn. There's no way a rational person can miss these facts in reading the Harry Potter books.

Chapter 2 of this book supposedly deals with the occult elements in Harry Potter, but only 4 of the first 31 references are from the Harry Potter books. The other 27 are from other sources. Abanes blows smoke like this throughout the book -- he will mention the Harry Potter books, then make citations about some other book, then mention Harry Potter again, and make another irrelevent citation. It's an attempt at guilt by association. He also cites connections to Greek language and mythology as though they are ties to the occult.

Abanes's other main argument in this chapter is that Harry is a bad role model for children because he displays poor ethics in the book by repeatedly breaking rules at Hogwarts. Pinocchio had Jiminy Cricket, The Little Mermaid had Sebastian, and Harry Potter has Hermione. This is a fundamental character structure found throughout children's literature -- the flawed main character disobeys authority and is constantly reprimanded by a supporting character who serves as the protagonist's conscience. The interactions between Harry Potter and Hermione that Abanes cites on pages 34-36 are identical to those in Pinocchio or The Little Mermaid. If Abanes intends to condemn Harry Potter on these grounds, then he is making a sweeping condemnation of virtually all classic children's literature. And if he thinks heroes who make poor ethical decisions are unbiblical, he obviously has never read the bible. Adam, Moses, Jonah, King David, Joseph's brothers... Need I continue?

To show how magical fantasy stories can be done consistently with the bible, Abanes cites Tolkein and C.S. Lewis, and claims on page 234 that "Tolkein's stories do not include episodes of good characters doing bad things (e.g. lying to friends or stealing from authority figures) in order to accomplish a good task." Once again, however, Abanes is 100% wrong.
In The Hobbit, Bilbo lies repeatedly about the magic ring to the dwarves and to Gandalf, until he is forced by circumstances to reveal the truth. And later, when Thorin Oakenshield is searching Smaug's lair with the other dwarves for the Arkenstone (which rightfully belongs to him), Bilbo steals the Arkenstone, hides it from the others, and lies about it for days. Then, after lying once more to his friend Bombur who was on sentry duty, Bilbo hands the Arkenstone over to Thorin's enemies in order to force Thorin to negotiate for its return. There you have multiple examples of Tolkein's characters doing precisely what Abanes claims they never did -- lying to their friends and stealing from authority figures. How did he possibly overlook these when he made that patently false claim?

It seems to me that Abanes began by concluding that Harry Potter was bad, and tried desperately to find justification for his position in the Harry Potter books. If you've never read Harry Potter or Tolkein, Abanes is probably very convincing. But if you have read these books, you've got to wonder whether Abanes ever did.

I don't doubt that Mr. Abanes has read the Harry Potter books, but I'm not sure that he did so other than to catalogue all mentions of occult within its pages--occult including several instances of folklore. In his research and documentation, he has misquoted Ms. Rowling and takes her to task for not qualifying which sort of magic she *does* believe in--yet when I used his bibliography to find the interviews he used, she did qualify her statement to declare that she believes in the magic of imagination, of good books, of friendship, etc. This is but one example of the misleading nature of Abanes' book.

Another involves his extensive research and explanation of the Hand of Glory, an artifact which appears very briefly in one scene in the Chamber of Secrets. Yet to believe Mr. Abanes, it is a pervasive and recurring evil in the books.

He further misses the point about the Divination classes in the book. Ms. Rowling is clearly spoofing divination and presents Sybil Trelawney as the fraud she truly is--for example, she cannot even recognize when her students, who are not taking the class seriously at all, invent answers to their assignments. The discounting of divination continues in the 5th book, which, naturally, Mr. Abanes was unable to read at the time his book was published.

I feel Mr. Abanes is quite unfair to Ms. Rowling on several counts, first and foremost being his taking her to task for the marketing efforts of others related to the Harry Potter movement. While the marketing of occult items to children is wrong, the offenders should be blamed, NOT Ms. Rowling. To blame her is to blame J.R.R. Tolkien for writing Lord of the Rings because people have sold tarot cards, oracles, rune sets, and other occultic items to cash in on it. Why, Lord of the Rings is inadvertently responsible for the Dungeons and Dragons that Mr. Abanes decries in his book. Shall we view Professor Tolkien's work as evil too?

On the whole, because of such blatant misunderstandings and misquotes designed to build up an argument against Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling, I cannot recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a fair analysis of Harry Potter.

I don't know where I was when Harry Potter mania first struck. Must've been on a deserted island somewhere, with nothing to read. Because I didn't catch up with the frenzy until the fourth book. And how did I discover the trend? Why, by reading this book!

It was easy enough to glom onto what my pastors and mentors were saying about the Harry Potter series. Evil? Witchy? Occultic? Sure! I admit thinking that way to my everlasting shame, though. I'm a children's lit specialist, and I've worked in bookstores for most of my working life.

I was working in a Christian bookstore when this one was published. So I decided to read it on my lunch hours. It took all of fifteen minutes to understand that Abanes's arguments are superficial, flawed, and come from an uneducated understanding of literature. I had never read Rowling's books up to that point. The nonsense spewing forth from the pages of Harry Potter and the Bible is what made me turn to Book One, Page One of the Harry Potter series. I had to see for myself if such shallow arguments (such as, Harry lies and therefore teaches readers that lying is okay) had any basis at ALL.

Well, okay. Harry does lie. And yeah, he sure does use magic! But he's not a sorcerer, for pity's sake. He's not invoking spirits or calling up devils. He's doing what I'd call "play" magic - flinging feathers, unlocking doors (no, wait, that was Hermione!), etc. Even when he performs more serious magic (Patronus, etc.) it's for the good.

True, the Bible is clear on its warnings against sorcery. Abanes isn't a total idiot. He's got that bit right. But his understanding of literature is impossibly skewed. Writing is a craft. Every craft has its own tools. One that writers use is called PLOT DEVICE. That's what magic is in the Harry Potter novels. It moves the story along, gives it character. It does not teach impressionable young'uns occult practices.

I could go on and on about how ridiculous this book is. Let me just say, as a Christian, a reader, an educated individual, it was Abanes's book that got me to read Harry Potter in the first place. For that, I have to thank him. Because I LOVE J.K. Rowling's creation! The books are fantastic, brilliant, amazingly crafted, and they echo (as all Good Literature does) the Greater Story.

If you really want to learn more about Harry Potter from a Christian viewpoint, I suggest Looking for God in Harry Potter, by John Granger. It's the best book out there on the subject (and I think I've read them all!).

I bought a copy of "Harry Potter and the Bible" after I read the five Harry Potter books. It should be said that this book is unrelieable and here are the reasons why:

1. Richard Abanes misconstrues and distorts the contents of the Harry Potter series to advance his point of view. There are several points in which he seems to make good points, but he constantly, either twists the sources or cites biased "experts."

2. Abanes cites a news article from "This is London" news entitled "Potter fans turning to witchcraft." He insistst that this article give solid proof that Harry is inspiring a growth in witchcraft practices. However, I have read the intire article and found that its writter is largely writting on the premise of "I feel or I think this is happening." Even in the quotes Abanes gives, that hole is there in the article. In otherwards, the article doesn't prove squat.

3. Abanes cites 10-13 year old children who say they want to be witches and go to hogwarts (Harry's school). He says that this is proof that children are being lured into the occult by Harry Potter. This isn't true either. The political correctness in our school system results in teachers telling there 10-13 year old students that witches do not exist. By-and-large, children in that age group do not beleive witches are real. So when a child within that age group says "I want to be a witch" it is actually an act of fantasizing. Also, Abanes creates the picture that the following of Harry Potter is resulting in the growth of Wicca, the religioin of Wicca, in particular. This is controdicted by polling data. A ZENIT news poll on cesnur.org says that the occult/pagan populations in Europe and the United States is under 0.1%. Another survey puts the pagan population in the U.S. at 0.15%. Either way, the pagan population doesn't even come close to a single persentage point. ---One other point, while it is true that all Wiccans are pagan, not all pagans are Wiccan. So when it comes to the numbers I gave, one needs to subtract from them to get a more accurate showing of Wiccans in the U.S. This makes the Wiccan population much smaller than 0.1% than one would normally think.

4. Abanes cites 2 interviews which J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, did to prove she transfered occultism to her books. The first interview was done on October 12, 1999 for WBUR, on "The Connection." During this call-in interview, a Wiccan told her that she did her homework well. Abanes then goes on to say that this Wiccan loved the books, not only because the containes so much occultism, but also because they had served to make his daughter more comfortable with his involvement in the craft. ---ERROR, ERROR, ERROR! This appears to be a slam-dunk for Abanes's case, HOWEVER, I have the transcript of this interview and I can say with authority that though Rowling has done a certain amount of homework for her books, any unbiased researcher will be able to tell you that the "homework" here is nothing more than mythology. As for his daughter, or rather his step-daughter, he said that he had Rowling's books, and she was interested in them. So that is why she began to speak to him. ---Next, the socond interview was on October 20, 1999, for WAMU, on "The Diane Rehm Show." Richard Abanes says that in this interview, Miss Rowling admitted that one-third of her series was based on actual occultism. Another error. I have the transcript of this show as well. Rowling never used the word "occultism." She said that one-third of her books was based on folklore from Britain. The other two-thirds is her own invention. "Folklore," and "occultism." The two are not interchangeable.

5. Richard Abanes will addmit that Wicca isn't taught in the series, but he will say that spellcasting is accurately portrayed. I have researched the occult. There is NO similarity. Witchcraft practitioners will agree with me.

6. He also says that Harry is no better than the evil Lord Voldemort, and that they both share the same goal: self-interest. This is a cheap shot, not to mention, down-right false. He says that Harry lies and breaks rule. To be honest, he does, but usually, for a noble cause. Harry lies and breaks rules to save and protect his friends form danger and sufferiung a horrific death. He even nearly dies for them. But Abanes insists that Harry is serving his own selfish agendas because of this. If being willing to die for one's friends is selfish, than I guess Harry should have unselfishly kept all the rules, let the inevitable happen, and let his friends die. That's how the story would turn out if Abanes had his way.

7. Finally, like other Potter critics, a big problem Abanes has with these books is that Harry, a wizard is a good guy. On a Biblical basis he says that this is promoting evil. However, I do not see the same uproar over the Wizard of Oz. I seem to remember a good Witch ask Dorothy, "Are you a good Witch, or a bad witch?" There's that same decription of good witches. But one couldn't say that Oz promotes evil. This is a double standard.

I hope you [the reader] found this book-review informative. I cannot recomment Abanes's book, or for that matter, any of his books. But I would like to recommend "Looking for God in Harry Potter" by John Granger.

I read this book, hoping to find some coherent arguements against the Harry Potter books, knowing that I wouldn't like what was said, being a fan of the book. I was disappointed. The book seemed to ramble and the arguements given just didn't work with me. The point I knew this book wouldn't be a good 'anti-HP' arguement was when the author quoted Voldemort's views as being the views of JK Rowling -- 'There is no good. There is no evil. There is only power.' Considering this was said by the 'bad guy' should have been a flag that this just isn't true.

Saying that Harry and Co. get away with lying and breaking the rules doesn't fly either. They are punished -- with detentions, or worse, the guilt they feel if they 'get away' with what they have done. Also, I don't believe that there is one person alive who has never told a lie or done something wrong.

The camparisions between HP and Tolkien and CS Lewis also doesn't wash. Characters in all three series tell lies and do what can be considered bad things. All three books, in my opinion, are about the growth of characters and what they learn from what they experience. At the end of all the books by all three authors, the characters are the sum of all their experiences -- good and bad. I think we should wait for the end of the HP series before we start throwing stones at it.

As a Christian, I am saddened that this is the way that many people of my faith feel. HP is a work of well written fiction that I will have no qualms about sharing with my niece, when she is older, or recommending to any parent of young children.

To treat Harry Potter as anything but imaginative fantasy is a mistake. Despite Mr. Abanes statements that Ms. Rowlings believes in magic, the magic she believes in is the beneficial magic of imagination, not the sinister magic that Mr. Abanes seems to see lurking around every corner.

Certainly Harry Potter is strongly based on a vast array of British literature, including much folklore and mythology which draws from pagan and wiccan practices. However, it is not assumed to be real, any more than it is assumed that the readers can hop on a broomstick and fly away.

At best, this book is an interesting, though often inaccurate, study into the many legends and folk practices used throughout the British Isles and their references in the Harry Potter books. At worst, it is a vicious and narrow attack on imaginative fiction, artistic freedom, invention, and anything that does not closely follow a prescribed set of rules, and a vast reference for occultic thought and practices.

To say Harry Potter is anything less than a well-written, imaginative, and engaging morality story, that encourages children to read and daydream, is an error. Mr. Abanes' book gives far more detailed information into the various practices of the occult, and could be considered a very good reference for young people interested in exploring pagan beliefs. For that reason, I'd be reluctant to let a child read Mr. Abanes' book.

The intent of the book shines through. This book was written as an attack, whereas the Harry Potter series was written to enlighten and entertain. I think the distinction is very evident: in one book you leave with a bad feeling in your stomach and bad taste in your mouth, and in the other, with a smile on your lips and a head full of dreams.

I think we have enough books written by Pharisees attacking this thing or that thing. Let's spend our time a little more productively by making apositive contribution.

I must give the author credit for well documented research. Richard Abanes certainly did his homework for this one. The material is also presented in a creative enough manner so as to keep your interest peaked from cover to cover (not a boring text book presentation). In the first half, each book in the Potter series is given two chapters. The first chapter gives a brief synopsis of the story line of the book from beginning to end. The second chapter then gives an analysis of the book and its “occult” content. Warning: The synopsis of each book contains spoiler details about the ending and any plot twists and will ruin the stories for you if you have not read them yet and plan to.

Things I Liked:

The author’s analysis of The Soccer’s Stone was outstanding. This was not an idea thought up by J.K. Rowling but an actual stone that was to have existed in pagan history and the creator of the stone was not fiction either. She even uses his correct name! Many of the other names of other characters are not original but have been drawn from Pagan/Mythological history.

J.K. Rowlings mystical/magical belief with the number 7 and how it relates to the Potter series.

Quotes from interviews with J.K. Rowling and her obvious side stepping of questions regarding her belief in witchcraft and magic.

The author gives you a complete bibliography of his sources for your own research .

Things I Did Not Like:

Late in the book Abanes claims that the Potter series is not well written and is successful only because of good marketing and promotion skills by the publisher. Hogwash! That may work for one book but not 4 in a row. Whether she is saint or satanic, one must agree that J.K. Rowling is a very gifted and talented writer.

Potterethics – This was silly. To say that a book should not be read because the main character breaks school rules and occasionally tells a fib would also keep you from reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, The Hardy Boys and a whole host of GOOD classics.

One of the author’s sources that he draws heavily from to prove of the occult influence of H Potter is, Beacham's Sourcebook For Teaching Young Adult Fiction: Exploring Harry Potter. Beacham’s is not authorized by Rowling, (printed on the cover) and is a laughing stock of reviews...because of its inaccurate portrayal of the Potter series. Richard Abanes should have stuck to the solid sources and left this...alone. (But some of his other sources are outstanding)

There you have it. All in all I found it interesting, informative and entertaining. It is well researched and is a fairly good presentation of the Potter series from a Bible perspective.

I had read the first three Harry Potter books before my mother heard from several friends that they were "occultic". I was about eleven at the time and my two younger sisters and I loved them. We are a devoutly Catholic family, so anything TRULY (and I mean TRULY) occultic is not allowed. I was ,however, quite upset at having my favorite books taken away, so my mom bought "Harry Potter and the Bible" for us to read together. It was obvious throughout his whole book that Mr. Abanes already had the idea in his head that the entire Harry Potter series was evil and harmful before he even picked up the first book, so as he read through them, all he really did was look for ways to prove his theory. What resulted was an extremely biased and sometimes irrational book. Not even the chapters in Part One of the book where he simply reviewed the plot of the four books was balanced. I found so many examples throughout the book where he either twisted what a character had said, did not explain a scene fully or explained it downright incorrectly to fit the books into his point of view and what he wants the readers point of view to be. I was constantly correcting what I or my mom was reading, sometimes finding errors every couple sentences. Also, neither of us liked what we felt was his unfair treatment of J.K. Rowling. He was definately not acting Christian towards her. He seemed bent on destroying her character every possible chance he got. I called the book irratonal because Mr. Abanes sounded quite panicked about these books and seemed to want to get the reader panicked too. Some of his assertions about the way HP could lead children to the occult were ridiculous and bordered on propaganda. A good example being in Part Two of the book when he describes a story about a demon worshipping teen who killed his mother and stepfather and wound up dying by lethal injection for it. What was the point of that? How reading Harry Potter can lead to murder and death row? This book did have one good thing about it. After finishing it my mother proptly gave me back my HP books and even began enjoying them herself. She also had no problem with books four and five and now my sisters and I eagerly await book six in July.