Before You Bash a Book...

You know, it drives me absolutely batty when people will start bashing a book -or books- (like the "Harry Potter" series) without even having read it/them! A certain acquaintance of mine (who shall remain unnamed) does this quite often, and it just makes me so mad!

I mean, if you want to put down a book, that's fine. But, at least read it first! You can't make a solid argument if you don't even know exactly what you're talking about! And, you can't tell me that you *know* about it unless you've discovered these things for yourself, firsthand, without just hearing about them from someone else.

I was guilty of this, regarding the Harry Potter series, a couple of years ago, admittedly. But, then a friend led me to a book called, "LOOKING FOR GOD IN HARRY POTTER" by John Granger, and it really opened my eyes to the possibility that there is a lot of symbolism -- Christian symbolism -- hidden in the Potter books! I read this and I thought, "Whoa! That's crazy!" (but in a good way). ;o)

Sure, I'd previously let my kids watch the movies -- albeit, with a little bit of uncertainty & skepticism -- but they weren't even old enough for the books, yet, so the movies were "tame". Now, I'll gladly let my kids read the series when they're ready, and if they want to! But, I'm gonna stand by with my copy of "Looking for God in Harry Potter", and we're gonna have a chat about the symbolism!
:-P LOL

No, I don't want my kids involved in witchcraft or the occult, but I honestly don't think they'll end up there. Not just from reading these books.

I read an article online, today, that was also putting down C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" series, stating that it was full of misleadings, and that it was going to put doubts in their minds about Jesus Christ. Personally, I just read the first book in the series last month, and I could see the Christian symbolism all through it! (Maybe it's just all in how you approach the book in the first place?)

I think that, if parents are going to let their children read "controversial" books (like the Harry Potter series or Narnia series), then the parents should read the books themselves first, and then - when their kids have finished reading - they should discuss the books in depth! Help them see the good or bad points. Guide them. Isn't that, technically, our job as parents in the first place?