Thursday, July 19, 2007

Some Controversial Issues on the Eve of Harry Potter's Final Tale

[NOTE: Please excuse my long absence. I've been busy having grandchildren and other such exhausting feats of derring-do... but I'm back now.]


Creation Science - vs- Evolution

To begin with, I'm a practicing Christian and a former Christian minister, who still has a pastor's heart for the gospel and for people. That said, I think Creation Science should be booted out of public schools and should in no school be taught side-by-side with evolution. Folks -- Christians, atheists, agnostics, lapsed believers, monkeys, and single-cell organisms -- I tell you all, evolution is an indisputable fact. The scientific evidence is clear, and only self-delusion could lead one to any other conclusion. How's that for certainty. Does that mean there is no God, no Creator? No! It just means true faith isn't dependent on fairy tales. Evolution is a mechanism -- not a purpose, and I still believe in a purposive Creator. In my mind, there's no conflict with faith and science. Neither, properly exegeted, contradicts the other.




Harry Potter -vs- Christianity

"Harry Potter is evil because the Bible says God abhors witchcraft and sorcery." Oh, how this sugary flowing sentence makes me gag -- forgive me, those of you who may agree.

Folks, the "witchcraft and sorcery" that the Bible says God eschews were some serious things -- not the whimsical, fantastical versions of the Harry Potter series and other wonderful stories (i.e. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings, etc., etc. etc.). That brand of sorcery defiled humanity, committed human sacrifice to gain power, tortured and maimed pracitioners and victims alike. It wasn't wands and pointy hats. It was truly evil -- much more akin to violent Islamic jihad than to storybook tales.

When the first Harry Potter movie came out in theaters, my son came home with a flyer that had been placed on his windshield while he was at the mall. He didn't go the the movie, but the theater was at the mall. A local church group had put together the flyer to warn the vulnerable of the "evils of Harry Potter". They had quote after quote, each of which they used to describe how Harry Potter "encouraged evil" and lured children into "the spell of witchcraft". The problem was, every quote was taken out of context. The evil quotes were clearly from the evil people who were clearly evil in the book, but this church group was on such a "mission for God" that it didn't matter to them that they were complete liars. It's like taking a quote from the devil in the Bible, or taking an evil act of a bad person, and saying, "Look! The Bible clearly encourages evil!" The church folks may have been sincere, but they came across looking like fools, and they were actually, in my opinion, an embarrassment to the Church.

Harry Potter is a story about good and evil, where evil is clearly evil. It's a story about love and friendship, courage and morality, and even that value that some would like to keep at arm's length these days -- honor. Harry Potter is in essence a manifestation of the Christian story.

UFOs -- Real or Fake.

Real!

After all, UFOs are "Unidentified Flying Objects", and there's no doubt there are many flying objects that aren't readily identifiable. But space ships from distant galaxies? Come on! No way. We are not being watched by space creatures. There are no flying saucers, flying cigars, or metalic disks that hover in the night competing with Christmas trees.



Alien Abductions -- genuine or phony?

Except for the occasional Mexican or Honduran or Columbian who enter our country illegally and eventually kidnap someone, there are no alien abductions. The phenomenon is clearly induced in a person's mind when he or she awakens during the phase of sleep during which the brain essentially paralyzes the body.


And finally...

Elvis -- alive or dead?

Elvis will ALWAYS live in my heart! Thank yu' verah much!













~ Jim

"Ladies and Gentlemen -- Jim has left blog!"

3 comments:

Bratfink said...

You find the neatest pics to go with your posts!
.

Wings said...

You're definitely right about the Harry Potter thoughts. My Church was one of those who tried to pull the 'it is evil' spew. They did it to pokemon too and banned kids from talking about it or even bringing in the cards or figures... I did it anyways. Always the rebel, always that 'evil person who I don't know how she got into our Church!'

To each their own. In order to take a context and use it to prove something, you must use it IN context... As in- you have to know the whole story in order to fully understand the one part. It's like telling a person someone's name and saying they go to school. What does it mean? Well, it could mean the person is smart! They are a learner! Or they could be ditching everyday.. For all the person knows, it's a 6 year old that goes to school.

About the UFO thing- I don't think there are UFO's or abductions. I do believe that there is other life out in the universe. It's too vast and beautiful to be wasted on just us. Anyways- aliens have better things to do than take us from our homes and study us. I believe that no matter what living thing it is- it will know what it means to take something from its home and I hope if it ever came down to it, they would want to communicate with us first. By the way- I got a big kick out of your alien abduction joke- clean, intelligent, and oh so true.

The evolution bit- yes, it's true. I choose not to call it evolution, but adaption. It can be slow or fast, either way, a species will change to adapt to its habitat in order to survive. A note, I got in huge trouble in high school for refusing to participate in class activities, do my homework, read the book, or even talk about evolution when it was taught in my Biology class. I said I will not learn about 'EVOLution', I will learn about 'adaption' and try to understand how it works.

Another thing- (I know this has nothing to do with a specific topic in your blog, but I wish to share my thoughts) there is no way we came from monkeys. If we did come from monkeys, then the existing monkeys would not be monkeys, but humans. One part of the species does not 'adapt' without the other unless separated to very different climates- which in that case, there are monkeys ALL over the world that have stayed monkeys. Point proven for me.

And finally Elvis- he really did die when they said he did. He's too big to 'fake'. Anyways even if he had been able to fake it, he'd probably be dead by now anyways due to age, drugs, and all the physical abuse he went through in performing concerts, movies, and doing stupid stuff like eating deep fried peanut butter-banana sandwiches...

I now officially love your blog for getting my mind to think thoughts I normally wouldn't think to think. Exercise for the brain is a win!

Annette said...

Very good post on the Harry Potter books and movies. I have had several friends that want nothing to do with the books, they avoid them like the plague. I've read most of the Potter books and they are great; the writer has a wonderful "imagination", they are entertaining and they are easy to read.