Fantasy, the occult, and you

[Farseer]

So I'm not trying to bash Christianity here. However, there's a certain category of christians who tend to see the fantasy genre as something inflluenced by Satan, a stepping stone to "witchcraft". The kind of people who want to ban Harry Potter books.

Given the guidelines for thePlenty, I am fearful of overstepping the mark here so, Mervi, please jump in/delete if you feel the need.

First up, members of this "certain category of Christians" would argue that it is only they who actually form “Christianity” while members of all other categories of widely-accepted Christianity actually make up "Christendom" or "Babylon the Great". This may not seem important to the issue at hand but one cannot begin to understand the stance on books/magic etc without first having an understanding of the organisation or its fundamental beliefs and doctrines. While I will cover a little here, as is related to the topic, a web search would provide further insight.

This "one true religion" that sees itself as solely making up Christianity keeps itself separate from the world, and its members believe that all others outside of their organisation are "of the world". Magic and the occult, as is found within the pages of Harry Potter books, is simply one aspect of this separateness.

As a way of maintaining this separate state, members are strongly discouraged from reading, or even watching, pretty much anything that is not published within/by the organisation. Even rather than read storybooks or watch movies produced by those "of the world", children are encouraged to only read, watch and act out for themselves various bible-based productions, though never anything biblical that has been produced by those others within "Christendom" or that form a part of “Babylon the Great”. To do such a forbidden thing could warrant discipline of varying degrees and, ultimately, end in being thrown out of the organisation and shunned if one continued to do the wrong thing.

Still, there are many individual and group discrepancies between issues and doctrines etc. A simple example of this could be one person’s desire not to be involved with birthday, Easter and Christmas celebrations due to their pagan roots however it is deemed fine by the same person to sit and watch the Olympic Games despite the torch relay having roots in the worship of Zeus, Hitler’s involvement with the relay itself and not to mention the competitiveness, patriotism and nationalism (all elements normally frowned upon by members) displayed throughout the entire event. Another example could be that a child in a family is not allowed to read a book version of the Disney movie ‘Hercules’ due to the plot which includes continuous references to Zeus and other gods of Olympus etc but it is perfectly okay for a teenager in that same family to watch a movie like ‘Gladiator’.

I even personally know some of them and they can't. Be. Argued. With. Because the Bible says we shouldn't get involved with any kind of magic.

As mentioned above, with any group there are a range of viewpoints that extend all the way up to extreme, and this range often depends on the length of time or level of involvement within the group and the exposure to either limited or complete knowledge of the group’s practices (the longer you’ve been in and the higher you go, often it means the more you are told/exposed to). Usually, the current, public response to being asked about the Harry Potter etc books would be something along the lines of - It is up a person’s own conscience to decide whether or not they feel bothered by reading or viewing any type of material. They have to measure their Bible-trained conscience to determine if they should associate themselves with it. They must respect their fellow believers by not pushing "likes" or "dislikes" on to one another due to the risk of stumbling one another. In this, anyone can choose to read Harry Potter if their conscience is not troubled by it.

Of course, this response depends very much on which member you talk to about it, and can vary depending on their personal viewpoint and interpretation of "the rules". Still, while this is now the fairly standard and rehearsed response to be given to those “in the world” and/or to new or easily-stumbled members, it has not always been this way over the course of the organization’s history. It is also often vastly different when one is within the organization, particularly after baptism, when a member is then considered “secure”. While it is said to be left up to “one’s conscience”, advice offered via publications and meeting sends very pointed, clear messages that if you are participating in a certain activity, such as reading or viewing any magic/occult-related material, then you are going against your organization and your god. Basically, “You can do what you want to do but what you want to do had better be what we want you to do or it’s wrong and you could be severely punished.” There is no room for personal contribution or critical thinking on this or any other matter.

I love stories with magic in them, but I don't believe in magic myself. It's not real. These people, however, do believe in magic and demonic influences behind it. and yet, when you ask them "doesn't that make you very fearful?" they will always deny it.

All people are different but, through my own personal experience with a "certain category of Christians", I would imagine that most would deny it because they would not have truly analyzed it and their situation at all, let alone enough. This is because questioning one's beliefs and thoughts is not condoned and thus many would simply follow as the "sheep" they are supposed/instructed to be, and not show any "goat-like" traits which could display a rebellious attitude. Thinking for oneself is simply not allowed or tolerated.

If such people are not very fearful of demons, why do they refrain from touching or immediately destroy literature from another religion as it could transfer demons to them? Why are they instructed not to enter any of “Christendom’s” churches or other such places of worship, even for a close family member’s wedding or funeral, so as not to become demonized? Especially speaking to a member who has left the organization can open them up as a target for demons and that is why it is of particular importance that these ‘apostates’ are avoided, even if they are a husband, wife or child. It is the same fear of demons that often drives people to avoid reading material such as Harry Potter.

These people who deny fear would not be able to accept such an acknowledgement of fear because, in doing so, they would then have to acknowledge the other factors of fear used within their organisation and this would, in turn, shake and shatter the very foundations of their faith. Fear is the driving force behind all that this "category of Christians" holds dear...not the love that is preached or often portrayed for the benefit of the wider public. There is their true fear of their god, fear of being turned-in by fellow members, fear of public and private humiliation, fear of death at Armageddon, fear of being disfellowshipped and shunned by fellow members of both family and the organization as a whole, fear of finding out that "the Truth" is founded on lies, fear of demons, fear of those "in the world", fear of psychologists, fear of depression, fear of Satan, fear of being marked and fear of the organisation's leaders (not in that order!), to name a few.

But if you go so far as to seek demonic influences behind even My Little Pony (I'm not kidding here!)

Sadly, I know full well that you are not kidding here, and possibly some of what I have already stated proves this. I think many would be shocked to discover just how far it goes…

What is even sadder is that while many members are honestly attempting to abide by “the rules” and do the right thing by their god, however it is they became involved in the organisation, they would be horrified to discover that their history is rooted in evils far greater than those they are trying keep themselves separate from today. Their history and many on-going doctrines are founded in the very magic and occult they refrain from becoming involved in. Their founder was found guilty of trying to sell ‘magic’ seeds that would allow for the greater growth of a bumper crop and, quite honestly, this was the least of the things he was involved in! The fantasy of Harry Potter is bland when held in comparison to the truth and reality of what began and holds this organisation together.

I don't get these people, I really don't. Does any of you have any clue?

I do get them, and I feel true sorrow for their position, especially for those who do not accurately know what their position is. They are being deceived. Some actually know this but refuse to speak out about their doubts or choose to stay for a variety of reasons, willingly or not, while others simply cannot see it because of the damage the organization has caused them through various facets of manipulation and control throughout their lives.

This is my view and experience only but one which I feel I am fully qualified to share because I was among these people for more than a decade…it certainly proved to be an interesting religious, social and psychological experiment but it was, and still proves to be, a very difficult situation to disentangle myself from.

I would also like to note that anything I have written here would be viewed by those remaining in the organization as words of the Devil coming from an “apostate”. This is because I committed the ultimate sin by keeping my eyes wide open and willingly chose to walk away.

Again, I apologise for the strong 'religious' overtones but, as I mentioned at the outset, it is impossible to discuss this topic without also discussing the religion that is behind it. I have never, in any manner, spoken of this to anyone outside of my immediate family before now and I certainly do not want to denigrate anyone for taking an opposing or different stance.

In having said all of that , I am not sure if I agree with the banning of material or not. On the whole though, I don't think a decision to do so should be given over to any one organisation. I think it is only fair that all things are made available to the public and each person can be left with the choice to then read or not to read. Hmm..