On the much publicized "Obama" infomercial tonight, Michelle Obama revealed that her husband read the Harry Potter series to their daughter! Woowhoo!
I'm sure there's thousands of Dominionists coughing up blood at this moment.
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Pullman and Rowling, what good company!
The sum of all fears: organized religion
According to Dominionist and Absolutist Xtians, do you know what occupies even a lower step in Hell than Neo-Paganism? ATHEISM, that's what! I guess those who protest Harry Potter, claiming it's the Communist Manifesto of Wicca, have found an even more dreadful target. Move over J.K. Rowling, make room for our friend Phillip Pullman:
...If there is a piece of art, a TV show, a column, a book, a movie, a blog, a movement, a wine bottle or sexual position that somehow deeply threatens the various ultraconservative sects of Christian-blasted America to the point where their pale, dour representatives demand boycotts and distribute angry pamphlets to try to stop people from experiencing said hunk of culture because of how negatively it portrays their seething, condemnatory God, well, it's time to break out the Champagne. Or buy that book. Or get very, very naked. Or all of the above...
What great advice. Mark Morford's opinion in the SFGate hits even more perfect stride when he identifies the target of Pullman's "The Golden Compass":
...The nefarious thing the books aim to kill is religious authority. It's about the destruction of dogma....the God of organized religion...the false deity that promotes numb groupthink, inhibits growth and abhors the feminine divine (perhaps the books' most beautiful, inspiring theme), the same paranoid, dreadful God that votes for George W. Bush because he will smite the icky gays and protect us from vile pagans and Buddhists and Muslims and feminists and frumpy genius atheist British writers. If humanity is to flourish, to get over its addiction to war and guilt and fear, this is the false God that should - that must - die...
OK, I'm sold. I feel like such a jerk that I have not read Pullman's work.
According to Dominionist and Absolutist Xtians, do you know what occupies even a lower step in Hell than Neo-Paganism? ATHEISM, that's what! I guess those who protest Harry Potter, claiming it's the Communist Manifesto of Wicca, have found an even more dreadful target. Move over J.K. Rowling, make room for our friend Phillip Pullman:
...If there is a piece of art, a TV show, a column, a book, a movie, a blog, a movement, a wine bottle or sexual position that somehow deeply threatens the various ultraconservative sects of Christian-blasted America to the point where their pale, dour representatives demand boycotts and distribute angry pamphlets to try to stop people from experiencing said hunk of culture because of how negatively it portrays their seething, condemnatory God, well, it's time to break out the Champagne. Or buy that book. Or get very, very naked. Or all of the above...
What great advice. Mark Morford's opinion in the SFGate hits even more perfect stride when he identifies the target of Pullman's "The Golden Compass":
...The nefarious thing the books aim to kill is religious authority. It's about the destruction of dogma....the God of organized religion...the false deity that promotes numb groupthink, inhibits growth and abhors the feminine divine (perhaps the books' most beautiful, inspiring theme), the same paranoid, dreadful God that votes for George W. Bush because he will smite the icky gays and protect us from vile pagans and Buddhists and Muslims and feminists and frumpy genius atheist British writers. If humanity is to flourish, to get over its addiction to war and guilt and fear, this is the false God that should - that must - die...
OK, I'm sold. I feel like such a jerk that I have not read Pullman's work.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Welcome to America (*UPDATED*)
Potter Creator Tells Of Religious Fanatic's Attack
JK Rowlling was accosted by Xtain fundy recently while out with her children. She found the encounter unnerving:
"...The next thing, a man came up to me and said, 'Aren't you that Potter woman?' Then he brought his face close to me and said, very aggressively, 'I pray for you every evening.' "...I was stunned. It was very frightening..."
That's pretty mild by Bible thumper standards. Here in the US, where religious tolerance is suppose to be a virtue and wired into our Constitution, you get use to such in-your-face tactics when you're not among the Chosen.
I have to admit that lines like "I pray for you every evening" always makes me cringe. I can't help feeling they really mean "I hope Jesus gives me a ring-side seat so I can watch you burn in hell." We need a snappy comeback to such condescending dribble. Here's some suggestions:
1)"I saw your future in the chicken entrails last night. Don't worry, people with short lives usually die happy."
2)"Thanx, but where's the neighborhood abortion clinic? I have to render some baby fat for my flying potion."
3)"Instead of wasting time on my soul, don't you have gay nightclubs to bomb or something?"
4)"Pray for me? I ate the liver of the last person who prayed for me with fava beans and a fine Chianti."
These are just a few suggestions. Have fun with the whole family thinking of more!
*UPDATE*
LiviaIndica adds a good one:
5)"If you want to pray for me you've got a pray to a different god."
(thanx to Witchvox for this)
JK Rowlling was accosted by Xtain fundy recently while out with her children. She found the encounter unnerving:
"...The next thing, a man came up to me and said, 'Aren't you that Potter woman?' Then he brought his face close to me and said, very aggressively, 'I pray for you every evening.' "...I was stunned. It was very frightening..."
That's pretty mild by Bible thumper standards. Here in the US, where religious tolerance is suppose to be a virtue and wired into our Constitution, you get use to such in-your-face tactics when you're not among the Chosen.
I have to admit that lines like "I pray for you every evening" always makes me cringe. I can't help feeling they really mean "I hope Jesus gives me a ring-side seat so I can watch you burn in hell." We need a snappy comeback to such condescending dribble. Here's some suggestions:
1)"I saw your future in the chicken entrails last night. Don't worry, people with short lives usually die happy."
2)"Thanx, but where's the neighborhood abortion clinic? I have to render some baby fat for my flying potion."
3)"Instead of wasting time on my soul, don't you have gay nightclubs to bomb or something?"
4)"Pray for me? I ate the liver of the last person who prayed for me with fava beans and a fine Chianti."
These are just a few suggestions. Have fun with the whole family thinking of more!
*UPDATE*
LiviaIndica adds a good one:
5)"If you want to pray for me you've got a pray to a different god."
(thanx to Witchvox for this)
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Real Hogwarts to open
Wiccan lottery winner plans to open witch school
Bunky is keeping his promise to the Lady and Lord! You know it's a good Sabbat when we have a comet in the sky and someone figures how to piss-off the Xtain Right even more:
...Wiccan high priest Elwood "Bunky" Bartlett, who won an estimated $49 million in the Maryland lottery last month, intends to use his money to set up a school for witches -- a real-life Hogwarts...Bartlett has already contributed to a Special Olympics event, to Mystickal Voyage, a New Age shop where he currently teaches, and to a Stonehenge preservation group in England...
Bunky is keeping his promise to the Lady and Lord! You know it's a good Sabbat when we have a comet in the sky and someone figures how to piss-off the Xtain Right even more:
...Wiccan high priest Elwood "Bunky" Bartlett, who won an estimated $49 million in the Maryland lottery last month, intends to use his money to set up a school for witches -- a real-life Hogwarts...Bartlett has already contributed to a Special Olympics event, to Mystickal Voyage, a New Age shop where he currently teaches, and to a Stonehenge preservation group in England...
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Harry Potter's Dumbledore outed!
J.K. Rowling outs Hogwarts character
Ah, yet another reason for the Religious Right Wingnut-o-sphere to hate the Potter series:
...Rowling, finishing a brief "Open Book Tour"...said that she regarded her Potter books as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority"...
It's days like this that make me proud to be a Wiccan. :)
Ah, yet another reason for the Religious Right Wingnut-o-sphere to hate the Potter series:
...Rowling, finishing a brief "Open Book Tour"...said that she regarded her Potter books as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority"...
It's days like this that make me proud to be a Wiccan. :)
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Hysterical Anti-Potter Hoax fools Xtains
Harry Potter: LETTER FROM AN EX-WITCH WRITING ABOUT HARRY POTTER
It seems a hoax, based on a parody once featured in "The Onion", is being taken seriously by Dominionists. Hoaxes like this have be about for a while, check-out Snopes. However, even if all you know about Wicca & Witchcraft is from a few minutes googling, you can spot this as a fake. Then again, some people are easily fooled and lying about the Potter books is a cottage industry among Dominionists. For the benefit of those who know how to configure their spam filters, here's some of the knee-slapping highlights:
...By means of spells and magic...and fly upon the night winds transcending the astral plane...
Damn, so I suppose I'm the only witch that can't fly!
...Halloween was my favorite time of the year...
Guilty as charged!
...As time went on, I watched the so-called “Christian” churches compromising and unifying.
I think I must have missed the commandment, "Thou shall not compromise". And the blaspheme of "unifying"--well, perish the thought!
...The occult songs of the 1960’s launched the Luciferian project of capturing the minds of an entire generation. In the song “Sound Of Silence” by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel...
Yup, "The Sound of Silence" is the Mark of the Beast. The boogie man of the "1960's" frequently raises it's head in such Dominionist screeds.
...real witches greet each other by saying “Blessed be”, and when they part, they say “The Force be with you.”
Don't you hate it when someone mixes low budged genre horror with Science Fiction!
I hope the good folks over at PrayerWeb are aware of some of the other nightmares lurching towards Bethlehem, such as the spider nest in a cactus, or the fact you might wake up in a hotel room without your kidneys.
It seems a hoax, based on a parody once featured in "The Onion", is being taken seriously by Dominionists. Hoaxes like this have be about for a while, check-out Snopes. However, even if all you know about Wicca & Witchcraft is from a few minutes googling, you can spot this as a fake. Then again, some people are easily fooled and lying about the Potter books is a cottage industry among Dominionists. For the benefit of those who know how to configure their spam filters, here's some of the knee-slapping highlights:
...By means of spells and magic...and fly upon the night winds transcending the astral plane...
Damn, so I suppose I'm the only witch that can't fly!
...Halloween was my favorite time of the year...
Guilty as charged!
...As time went on, I watched the so-called “Christian” churches compromising and unifying.
I think I must have missed the commandment, "Thou shall not compromise". And the blaspheme of "unifying"--well, perish the thought!
...The occult songs of the 1960’s launched the Luciferian project of capturing the minds of an entire generation. In the song “Sound Of Silence” by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel...
Yup, "The Sound of Silence" is the Mark of the Beast. The boogie man of the "1960's" frequently raises it's head in such Dominionist screeds.
...real witches greet each other by saying “Blessed be”, and when they part, they say “The Force be with you.”
Don't you hate it when someone mixes low budged genre horror with Science Fiction!
I hope the good folks over at PrayerWeb are aware of some of the other nightmares lurching towards Bethlehem, such as the spider nest in a cactus, or the fact you might wake up in a hotel room without your kidneys.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Thank you, Harry
My Debt to J.K. Rowling
I know many of us have been saturated with the media machine that is Harry Potter. But Byron Ballard's post at DeafPagan hit's the nail on the head. The books have been an incredible boon to tolerance and understanding of Wicca and NeoPaganism, even if not an accurate portrayal:
...As a Wiccan, I have watched with interest the attempts to ban the Potter books from school libraries...I’ve listened to the pronouncements from several religious leaders in this country and abroad who are concerned about the effects of Rowling’s work on the more impressionable members of their flocks. This foray into young adult literature has distressed people who haven’t even read them but certainly have an opinion of what witchcraft is, what Wicca is and how Rowling conflated the two to create the world of Muggles and Hogwarts that have taken the reading world by storm...
What really impresses me, is how this wonderful storm has completely drowned out the book burners such as Laura Mallory, making them look silly and ridiculous. But most importantly (emphasis mine):
...Rowling’s work has allowed an important dialogue to begin. When I am asked if witchcraft Hogwarts-style is what Wiccans and Pagans do, it is a starting point for genuine discussion...Adults who have either read the books or seen the movies now have a language in which they can talk about one of the fastest-growing and least understood religions. It has been easy to talk about the obvious differences between what we do and what Rowling has written and a challenge for Pagan leaders to dig into the aspects of Harry’s world that do reflect the work we do as Earth religionists. Though the series is ending, the conversation will continue, to the advantage of all concerned...
Now, I have to get going on planning that wand making workshop with my coven! :)
I know many of us have been saturated with the media machine that is Harry Potter. But Byron Ballard's post at DeafPagan hit's the nail on the head. The books have been an incredible boon to tolerance and understanding of Wicca and NeoPaganism, even if not an accurate portrayal:
...As a Wiccan, I have watched with interest the attempts to ban the Potter books from school libraries...I’ve listened to the pronouncements from several religious leaders in this country and abroad who are concerned about the effects of Rowling’s work on the more impressionable members of their flocks. This foray into young adult literature has distressed people who haven’t even read them but certainly have an opinion of what witchcraft is, what Wicca is and how Rowling conflated the two to create the world of Muggles and Hogwarts that have taken the reading world by storm...
What really impresses me, is how this wonderful storm has completely drowned out the book burners such as Laura Mallory, making them look silly and ridiculous. But most importantly (emphasis mine):
...Rowling’s work has allowed an important dialogue to begin. When I am asked if witchcraft Hogwarts-style is what Wiccans and Pagans do, it is a starting point for genuine discussion...Adults who have either read the books or seen the movies now have a language in which they can talk about one of the fastest-growing and least understood religions. It has been easy to talk about the obvious differences between what we do and what Rowling has written and a challenge for Pagan leaders to dig into the aspects of Harry’s world that do reflect the work we do as Earth religionists. Though the series is ending, the conversation will continue, to the advantage of all concerned...
Now, I have to get going on planning that wand making workshop with my coven! :)
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Laura Mallory sentenced to dunking!
Judge Upholds Harry Potter Books
A dunking? Wishful thinking on my part, but it would have been poetic justice. Loopy Dominionist Laura Mallory lost her fight against Harry Potter:
...For an hour, Laura Mallory tried to convince a judge that the Harry Potter books should not be allowed in the public schools because the books promote a religion. What's worse, she said, when the books are read in class, they often convert school children to that religion -- to witchcraft -- Wicca. Judge Ronnie Batchelor ruled right away, saying that Gwinnett County's decision to allow the books into the schools was made properly...
I wonder if there will ever come a day when I'll cross paths with that mythical person who actually became interested in Wicca through the Potter books. Btw, it may be news to critters of Mallory's ilk, but converting, evangelizing, and proselytizing is not something Wiccans do.
A dunking? Wishful thinking on my part, but it would have been poetic justice. Loopy Dominionist Laura Mallory lost her fight against Harry Potter:
...For an hour, Laura Mallory tried to convince a judge that the Harry Potter books should not be allowed in the public schools because the books promote a religion. What's worse, she said, when the books are read in class, they often convert school children to that religion -- to witchcraft -- Wicca. Judge Ronnie Batchelor ruled right away, saying that Gwinnett County's decision to allow the books into the schools was made properly...
I wonder if there will ever come a day when I'll cross paths with that mythical person who actually became interested in Wicca through the Potter books. Btw, it may be news to critters of Mallory's ilk, but converting, evangelizing, and proselytizing is not something Wiccans do.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Board of Edu Allows Kids to Read in Georgia
State to side with county on Harry Potter
You know, there's so many frightening varieties of Absolutist xtians to worry about. But the Laura Mallory flavor is particularly troubling. It's tragic that someone has a phobia about reading and thinking. You have to admit, going through life fearing one's own brain must really suck! But what could possibly posses someone to want to contaminate others with such a disease?
ATLANTA - It's still unknown if Harry Potter will ultimately prevail over Lord Voldemort, but it appears the well-known fictional wizard will remain in Gwinnett County schools. The state Board of Education voted Wednesday to include in its consent agenda a decision to sustain the Gwinnett County Board of Education's decision to keep the Harry Potter series in local school media centers. Loganville resident Laura Mallory...had argued the books in J.K. Rowling's best-selling series contain evil themes such as witchcraft...She also contended the books promote the Wicca religion...Gwinnett County school officials have said the books are good tools to encourage children to read and to spark creativity and imagination.
More great info @ Guntotingliberal
You know, there's so many frightening varieties of Absolutist xtians to worry about. But the Laura Mallory flavor is particularly troubling. It's tragic that someone has a phobia about reading and thinking. You have to admit, going through life fearing one's own brain must really suck! But what could possibly posses someone to want to contaminate others with such a disease?
ATLANTA - It's still unknown if Harry Potter will ultimately prevail over Lord Voldemort, but it appears the well-known fictional wizard will remain in Gwinnett County schools. The state Board of Education voted Wednesday to include in its consent agenda a decision to sustain the Gwinnett County Board of Education's decision to keep the Harry Potter series in local school media centers. Loganville resident Laura Mallory...had argued the books in J.K. Rowling's best-selling series contain evil themes such as witchcraft...She also contended the books promote the Wicca religion...Gwinnett County school officials have said the books are good tools to encourage children to read and to spark creativity and imagination.
More great info @ Guntotingliberal
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