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Hookbill the Goomba · 06-19-2005, 07:43 AM

I think what sets The Lord of the Rings apart from Harry Potter, is the fact that Harry Potter depicts witchcraft as something even a child could do, and so it would encourage them to try it out. Yes, it is unlikely that everyone who ready Harry Potter will immediately want to learn witchcraft and Satanism... But The Lord of the Rings depicts Gandalf and the Istari as something that mortals cannot be a part of. Still, you will always get some people who refuse to believe this.

I have never seen Gandalf as a Wizard in the Biblical sense. That is why I do not think that Lord of the Rings is evil. Harry Potter, on the other hand, is very clearly a wizard in the Biblical sense. Thus, I do not approve of it.

Regarding the 'moral yardstick' this is an interesting topic. Anyone who knows the Bible will know that God's Moral standards are much higher than ours. God sees the sins of yester-year as if they were today, and knows every idle word. Many people say "I’ll get into heaven if I live a good life". This is not biblical; in fact, it’s regarded as one of Satan's teachings. Look at some of Jesus' laws;
"You have heard it said of old, 'you shall not commit adultery", well, I say onto you, whoever looks upon a woman, to lust after her, has committed adultery in his heart"
Also,
"He who is angry with his brother is in danger of judgement"
So, Lust is adultery, and hatred is Murder. NO ONE could possibly live up to those moral standards. Jesus, as we all know, died on the cross so that people didn't have to live up to those standards, instead we just needed to be forgiven and accept his payment. Christians should not claim to be good people, just forgiven.

The thing about Harry Potter is, that it dose not have any moral standards, its more a sequence of events that conforms to Hollywood's ideological views of how to be a good person. Despite the fact that there is no such thing as a good person. The Lord of the Rings, or more precisely, Middle Earth, is much more complex in its view of heroes and villains. There are countless times when we see that the 'good' people aren’t all good. Look at Feanor!!! Frodo is corrupted by the ring and tempted by it. Even Sam is! We could look at this as Tolkien giving the Christian message throughout his work, or just looking at human nature… probably both.

I'll stop rambling now...

06-19-2005, 07:43 AM	#80
Hookbill the Goomba Alive without breath Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: On A Cold Wind To Valhalla Posts: 5,912	I think what sets The Lord of the Rings apart from Harry Potter, is the fact that Harry Potter depicts witchcraft as something even a child could do, and so it would encourage them to try it out. Yes, it is unlikely that everyone who ready Harry Potter will immediately want to learn witchcraft and Satanism... But The Lord of the Rings depicts Gandalf and the Istari as something that mortals cannot be a part of. Still, you will always get some people who refuse to believe this. I have never seen Gandalf as a Wizard in the Biblical sense. That is why I do not think that Lord of the Rings is evil. Harry Potter, on the other hand, is very clearly a wizard in the Biblical sense. Thus, I do not approve of it. Regarding the 'moral yardstick' this is an interesting topic. Anyone who knows the Bible will know that God's Moral standards are much higher than ours. God sees the sins of yester-year as if they were today, and knows every idle word. Many people say "I’ll get into heaven if I live a good life". This is not biblical; in fact, it’s regarded as one of Satan's teachings. Look at some of Jesus' laws; "You have heard it said of old, 'you shall not commit adultery", well, I say onto you, whoever looks upon a woman, to lust after her, has committed adultery in his heart" Also, "He who is angry with his brother is in danger of judgement" So, Lust is adultery, and hatred is Murder. NO ONE could possibly live up to those moral standards. Jesus, as we all know, died on the cross so that people didn't have to live up to those standards, instead we just needed to be forgiven and accept his payment. Christians should not claim to be good people, just forgiven. The thing about Harry Potter is, that it dose not have any moral standards, its more a sequence of events that conforms to Hollywood's ideological views of how to be a good person. Despite the fact that there is no such thing as a good person. The Lord of the Rings, or more precisely, Middle Earth, is much more complex in its view of heroes and villains. There are countless times when we see that the 'good' people aren’t all good. Look at Feanor!!! Frodo is corrupted by the ring and tempted by it. Even Sam is! We could look at this as Tolkien giving the Christian message throughout his work, or just looking at human nature… probably both. I'll stop rambling now... __________________ I think that if you want facts, then The Downer Newspaper is probably the place to go. I know! I read it once. THE PHANTOM AND ALIEN: The Legend of the Golden Bus Ticket...