It's a shoot-out in the OK Corral: HERE’s a Christian Wingnut blasting the non-Christian Harry Potter series, and HERE’s a non-Christian children's author blasting the Christian Chronicles of Narnia.
Snippet from the Wingnut:
"Potter" is a Pagan witch, "the female goddess of Babylon who is considered the potter who created the human being from clay. God, unable to give birth, is essentially believed to have tried to mimic the Potter. The feminine oriented cult of witchcraft sees the woman and her process of birth as fundamental in the new life, the transformation, the alchemy, the changing of the inner man to higher consciousness which is what Harry Potter is all about.... This is an upside down reversal of what a Christian believes [Well, yeah...].Snippet from the anti-Narnia guy:
Pullman has described The Chronicles not just as "propaganda in the cause of the religion [Lewis] believed in," but also as guilty of advancing views such as, "Death is better than life; boys are better than girls; light-colored people are better than dark-colored people; and so on." And those are just Pullman's G-rated charges. He also has blasted The Chronicles in public forums as "one of the most ugly and poisonous things I've ever read," "propaganda in the service of a life-hating ideology," "blatantly racist," "monumentally disparaging of girls and women," and marked by a "sadomasochistic relish for violence."Have any of you read both Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia ? What's your take on these two world-renowned children's book series? In your opinion, is one intrinsically healthier than the other?
4 comments:
Most people are amazed that I have never read either, or Lord of the Rings. Personally, I prefer apocalyptic Christian mythology - the whole 666, damien, stigmata, goth vibe. Now that's creative - and entertaining, as long as it doesn't inspire bonfires.
I think being a Witch is about pragmatism, and what is real - we just have an extended, more complete view of reality than most people. You don't have to be into fantasy to study fairies, ghosts or angels. They're all real. I much prefer reading about reality.
I havent read the entire Chronicles since I was a kid, but I loved them. I spent most of my childhood getting stuck in cupboards in an attempt to reach Narnia. But they qre definitely racist, sexist, rather violent, very thinly veiled Christian allegory. Though as The Wildhunt Blog pointed out, its the pagan elements that interest Lewis the most, whether he realized it or not. Alsan may be a Christ figure, but hes also Mithras. I love the fantasy and world building of the series, but I hate Lewis preaching. The big difference between Narnia (and LOTR, which is also racist and sexist) and Harry Potter, imho, is that I think Potter is almost more morally complex (dare I say it). It doesnt wallow in stereotypes and simplistic Good vs Evil; theres far more gray in Rowlings world. Her writing isnt quite up to Lewis or Tolkeins though.
As for Pullman, I think hes kind of over rated. I couldnt really get into the series, though i liked the premise.
I've read all of Potter and all of Pullman, none of Narnia except the first few dreary chapters of Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe. I loved Pullman's premise and continue to be amazed that the Christian Right hasn't banned that trilogy. I wish they would, because then it would sell like hotcakes.
I'm frankly disappointed by the lack of any religious philosophy in the Potter series. I think the author thereof is conscious that keeping her religion out of her exciting (but frankly fluffy) chronicle has made her wealthier than the Queen of England.
His Dark Materials gets my vote, and of course LOTR is the very best of all.
Andy your assessment seems very good to me. I think I am right in saying that Lewis was immersed in Irish and Norse mythology before his Christian conversion, and also he was Irish, its definatly the Celtic /Pagan qualities in his chronicles that shimmer for me,
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