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33 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Abanes challenges to be discerning, November 8, 2005
This review is from: Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings: What You Need to Know About Fantasy Books and Movies (Paperback)
Harry Potter, Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings by Richard Abanes is a dissection of three of the greatest fantasy phenomena around today. Is fantasy harmful? Can we learn from it? Are there different types? How does fantasy affect us? These are just a few of the questions Abanes answers in his informative book. As a mildly interested reader and watcher of fantasy, this book surprised me as it disclosed the impact that reading or observing fantasy can have on a person--especially a child or teenager. Yet parents are often very lax in supervising what their children read or watch, resulting in a decline in morals as well as an increasing interest in the occult. Abanes compares the three above-named fantasies to show what each is preaching or teaching. With the Narnia and Lord of the Rings series, he shows how Christian values and morals can be taught through the fantasy medium. With Harry Potter, he raises a few questions. Some in the Christian arena have said it teaches Christian morals. Abanes disputes this by asking: Do we have a clear-cut example of good and bad in Harry Potter? How can we call the hero "good" and yet watch Harry lie, cheat, and steal? What about all the occult spells and paraphernalia explored in the books? In the last chapters, he shows how television and movies are delving more and more into the occult, including horror movies and even prime-time weekly television programs. "Children are big imitators," asserts Abanes. Many of the crimes being perpetrated today--especially by children and teenagers--are copycats of scenes watched in movies or television. Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings is enlightening while remaining highly readable. Abanes challenges Christian authors and pastors in a friendly way, but calls us all to be discerning of what we put before our children and grandchildren. ..
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14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Giving the reader as much information as possible about the franchises and how they can be interpreted for good or ill, March 14, 2006
This review is from: Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings: What You Need to Know About Fantasy Books and Movies (Paperback)
Written by a devout Christian who is pro-literature and pro-fun, yet at the same time aware of the vulnerabilities of the developing minds of young Christian children, Harry Potter, Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings: What You Need to Know About Fantasy Books and Movies is a balanced appraisal of the positive and negative influences that popular fantasy novels and movies can have upon the Christian youth of today. Though the text focuses especially on the three franchises in the title, Harry Potter, Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings also discusses broader implications of children's fantasy literature in its depictions of the occult, its connections to Wicca and neopaganism, and its usage by corporations to mass-market products and cement a consumerist mentality in young people as early as possible in life. Do not mistake Harry Potter, Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings for a book that unilaterally condemns the franchises of its title, fantasy literature in general, or even non-Christian religious beliefs; for example, the author does not denounce Wicca or neopagan faiths as "evil", but rather warns against the relativistic morals of these beliefs (which often follow the basic code that doing harm to others is unacceptable, yet leave the nuances of deciding what is or is not harm to others up to the individual - thereby allowing individuals to justify such actions as sexual promiscuity). Harry Potter, Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings devotes itself to giving the reader as much information as possible about the franchises and how they can be interpreted for good or ill, leaving the reader to decide whether his or her children are ready to experience the literature and movies without jeopardizing their spiritual development. Highly recommended.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Very informative, January 11, 2011
This review is from: Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings: What You Need to Know About Fantasy Books and Movies (Paperback)
Richard Abanes has created a masterpiece of information for parents, Sunday school teachers, Pastors and children about the differences between fantasy and witchcraft. In plain language and with loots of proofs, he takes the reader to realize that fantasy is something we all should experience and also points out a warning about literature that poses as fantasy, but is not. I truly recommend this book for everyone who really cares for what our children read these days. It's an eye opener!
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