September 30, 200619 yr Harry Potter author tops list of writers Americans most want banned Book ban: there were more than 3000 attempts to remove JK Rowling's books from schools and public libraries On these shores she is the writer who waved a magic wand and turned millions of computer-obsessed youngsters into bookworms. But across the Atlantic in America, the spell J K Rowling and her Harry Potter series have cast of the nation's youth have had a unexpected side-effect. The author is now number one on the list of writers Americans want to ban. The multi-millionaire mother of three's tales about the boy wizard have been interpreted by some as an attempt to promote the occult or Satanism. As a result, the American Library Association reports there were more than 3000 attempts to remove her books from schools and public libraries between 2000 and 2005. But Rowling, who lives in Perthshire, believes the top 10 offensive writers list contains so many wonderful authors that her inclusion on it as a badge of honour. Just a few places below her on the list are writers like John Steinbeck, for 'racism, violent language and sexism' in Of Mice and Men; Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mocking Bird, J D Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye and William Golding who wrote Lord of the Flies. The ALA, which claims to be the world's oldest and largest library association, unveiled the list as part of its Banned Books Week. Rowling said yesterday: "As this puts me in the company of Harper Lee, Mark Twain, J.D.Salinger, William Golding, John Steinbeck and other writers I revere, I have always taken my annual inclusion on the list as a great honour." She also quoted American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said: "Every burned book enlightens the world." Global sales of the Harry Potter books are now reported to have topped 300 million and, together with the first four film adaptations, they have helped make Rowling one of the richest people in the UK, with an estimated personal fortune of £500m. Filming has now begun on the fifth instalment of the movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix. But according to their detractors, the book series is to be condemned for promoting witchcraft and 'inciting bad behaviour'. Also on the Top 10 list of books most challenged in the 21st century are Maya Angelou's acclaimed autobiography I know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the story of an African American childhood in the 1930s Depression. Critics objected to racism, homosexuality and offensive language. Challenges are defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. No exact figures were revealed for challenges, but categories include 'sexually explicit' material - the most popular. That was followed by material with 'offensive language', material considered 'unsuited to age group' and material with an 'occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism'. Also considered problematic were portrayals of violence, material with a homosexual theme and books 'promoting a religious viewpoint.' ALA president Leslie Burger said: "Throughout history, there always have been a few people who don't want information to be freely available. And this is still true." An ALA spokesman added: "Banned Books Week (BBW) celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. "Although they were the targets of attempted bannings, most of the books featured during BBW were not banned, thanks to the efforts of librarians to maintain them in their collections. "Imagine how many more books might be challenged-and possibly banned or restricted-if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society."
September 30, 200619 yr I hate people like that! We should never ban books. We censor America too much
September 30, 200619 yr Author I hate people like that! We should never ban books. We censor America too much As I've said before - all religious fanatics are dangerous.;)
September 30, 200619 yr As I've said before - all religious fanatics are dangerous.;) You are very true my friend.
September 30, 200619 yr This has been going on for years. Parents are so anal. Thank god for liberal cities... I've read so many "banned" books. :rolleyes:
September 30, 200619 yr This has been going on for years. Parents are so anal. Thank god for liberal cities... I've read so many "banned" books. :rolleyes: Thank God for level headed christians who have kept liberals from banning God. Dont blame all Christians for the actions of a few whacko's! Its kinda of a balance. Cooky Libs and cooky Far out Christians balance each other out. One side got their way, it would be agaisnt the law to do anything un-christian the other side got their way it would be illegal to be christian.
September 30, 200619 yr Thank God for level headed christians who have kept liberals from banning God. Dont blame all Christians for the actions of a few whacko's! Its kinda of a balance. Cooky Libs and cooky Far out Christians balance each other out. One side got their way, it would be agaisnt the law to do anything un-christian the other side got their way it would be illegal to be christian. I guess I don't need to post my usual 'see both sides' post! Well said!
September 30, 200619 yr I guess I don't need to post my usual 'see both sides' post! Well said! Thank you. But what scares me is if one side gets to powerful. IE if the whacky far out christians get their way and get books like this banned. I'm a christian but i know all to well about very strick controlling christians. My parents are the type. But then again i dont want some whacky lib to get their way and ban Christainity. I once read about extremist who wanted to ban all kinds of things from Cable TV, and most the the MA rated shows. That is ludacris.
September 30, 200619 yr My Mom is a devout Christian, who thinks rock music is 'of the devil' and yet loves stories like lord Of The Rings. She thinks a child shouldn't be deprived of fantasy stories in the name of Jesus...but her church friends want to ban it all. To me she seems right-wing, and they think she's a Liberal!!!Somewhere in the middle of all this lies the truth. I fear either extreme ganing control too. I've seen on a small scale what happens when the right does...but I've also seen what happens in the absense of 'morals'. Scary stuff either way!
September 30, 200619 yr My Mom is a devout Christian' date=' who thinks rock music is 'of the devil' and yet loves stories like lord Of The Rings. She thinks a child shouldn't be deprived of fantasy stories in the name of Jesus...but her church friends want to ban it all. To me she seems right-wing, and they think she's a Liberal!!!Somewhere in the middle of all this lies the truth. I fear either extreme ganing control too. I've seen on a small scale what happens when the right does...but I've also seen what happens in the absense of 'morals'. Scary stuff either way![/quote'] lol they think she's liberal! hahaha they must be extreme rightwing.:laugh3: :stunned: Well Lord of the Rings is considered by many christians to be christian. But my dads a preacher and im 18 and banned from watching Harry Potter or the show supernatural. Its insane. I think my parents are good people but people like them should never be in power or making laws. Hell im not allowed to say crap or freakin,lol.
September 30, 200619 yr lol they think she's liberal! hahaha they must be extreme rightwing.:laugh3: :stunned: Well Lord of the Rings is considered by many christians to be christian. But my dads a preacher and im 18 and banned from watching Harry Potter or the show supernatural. Its insane. I think my parents are good people but people like them should never be in power or making laws. Hell im not allowed to say crap or freakin,lol. Sometimes the separation of Church and State isn't such a bad idea, eh? Bit of useless trivia for the day: The reason alot of Christians tolerate Tolkien and The Lord Of The Rings is that he was a close friend of C.S. Lewis, who was a Christian author and who converted Tolkien to Christianity. BTW, Nick, your dad's a preacher?? My Mom's a church organis and choir director...I'm so sorry for you...are you allowed to move withoug being condemned??? *wink*
September 30, 200619 yr Meh. I wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter for book reports all through Elementary school--I go to a little private Christian school, and when I was in elementary, reading Harry Potter was like taboo. :rolleyes: I was convinced that it was of the devil for I don't know how many years. "OMG THAT'S WITCHCRAFT" "OMG, STOP READING THAT! TEACHER SAID NOT TO!" Stupid private schools...
September 30, 200619 yr Sometimes the separation of Church and State isn't such a bad idea, eh? Bit of useless trivia for the day: The reason alot of Christians tolerate Tolkien and The Lord Of The Rings is that he was a close friend of C.S. Lewis, who was a Christian author and who converted Tolkien to Christianity. BTW, Nick, your dad's a preacher?? My Mom's a church organis and choir director...I'm so sorry for you...are you allowed to move withoug being condemned??? *wink* Its never a bad idea! Mixing religion and politics and government only causes problems. Like the witchhunts, or radical islam, or Crusades. lol not really, im condemned for everything i do around my parents. I make a joke, its not mature, i get caught drinking and im grounded, i cant see any R movies or watch most tv shows. Im forced to lie and sneak out just to be a normal person:\ Preachers shouldnt have kids. So I take it you dont like having a parent thats really involved in the church? I find them to be the worst most of the time, too strict and the kids usualy turn out either with social problems or legal ones, lol. Like me, ive had many legal problems.
September 30, 200619 yr Meh. I wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter for book reports all through Elementary school--I go to a little private Christian school, and when I was in elementary, reading Harry Potter was like taboo. :rolleyes: I was convinced that it was of the devil for I don't know how many years. "OMG THAT'S WITCHCRAFT" "OMG, STOP READING THAT! TEACHER SAID NOT TO!" Stupid private schools... Thats just wrong. Im sorry you had to go to a private christian school
September 30, 200619 yr Thats just wrong. Im sorry you had to go to a private christian school Haha--the sad thing is I still go to the same school. I'm not sure why I haven't switched.... :thinking:
September 30, 200619 yr Is it a Catholic school? I almost went to a private Catholic school, but they wouldnt take my brother so my parents put us both in public school.
September 30, 200619 yr the publicity machine is cranking into action then? not seen any of the ban Harry articles for a while, so it can only mean one thing - there'll be news of the 7th book sometime soon.
September 30, 200619 yr Author Vatican's Chief Exorcist Repeats Condemnation of Harry Potter Novels By John-Henry Westen ROME, March 1, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Vatican's chief exorcist, Rev. Gabriele Amorth, is reported to have repeated his condemnations of the Harry Potter novels yesterday. According to press reports, Fr. Amorth, said of the books, "You start off with Harry Potter, who comes across as a likeable wizard, but you end up with the Devil. There is no doubt that the signature of the Prince of Darkness is clearly within these books." "By reading Harry Potter a young child will be drawn into magic and from there it is a simple step to Satanism and the Devil," he said. The news will come as no surprise to LifeSiteNews.com readers who recall that Fr. Amorth made very similar remarks in 2002 which went misreported in the North American media, until LifeSiteNews.com clarified the matter. In a 2002 interview with the Italian ANSA news agency, Rev. Amorth said "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil." The exorcist, with his decades of experience in directly combating evil, explained that J.K. Rowling's books contain innumerable positive references to magic, "the satanic art". He noted that the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction "does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil." (coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/jan/02010202.html ) At the time, however, North American coverage of Rev. Amorth's warnings about Potter significantly downplayed the warnings. The New York Times coverage by Melinda Henneberger, which was carried in Canada's National Post, the San Francisco Chronicle and on Yahoo Daily News left out most of the information in the European coverage, only quoting Rev. Amorth as saying that "If children can see the movie with their parents, it's not all bad." North America's most prominent Harry Potter critic, Michael O'Brien, has told LifeSiteNews.com that the movie version has significantly cleaned up Harry's image, making it far less troublesome than the books. Another condemnation of Harry Potter coming from Rome was not widely reported until LifeSiteNews.com's intervention. When in 2003, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger allowed his comments against the novels to be aired publicly, the news was reported in Europe, but not in America. However, when in 2005 LifeSiteNews.com published Ratzinger's letter concerning Potter online, the international media exploded with the news that the new Pope opposed Harry Potter. (coverage: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html ) Writing to Germany's best known Potter critic Gabriele Kuby, the man who was to become Pope Benedict XVI wrote, "It is good that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly."
September 30, 200619 yr Surely the Pope has more important global issues to address than a kiddies book.
September 30, 200619 yr Author Surely the Pope has more important global issues to address than a kiddies book. You mean such as slagging off Islam??:rolleyes:
September 30, 200619 yr ^Tell me about it... it's disgusting. I shall not start on my critique of the Catholic church or I would go on for ages!
September 30, 200619 yr Author ^Tell me about it... it's disgusting. I shall not start on my critique of the Catholic church or I would go on for ages! Please feel free!! The thread isn't going anywhere!!:rolleyes:
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