This is not a thread for bashing on religion. The forum rules on civility and complaining still apply.
This thread is meant to be a welcoming and inviting place for Atheists, Antitheists, and Agnoists to talk about their beliefs and experiences.
edited 3rd Oct '14 1:27:15 PM by Madrugada
Mikon :3
I'm not talking about the people who liked it. I mean the people who said the pagans were using it as a recruitment tool. The people who seemed to believe the magic was real, or would lead people to seek out "real magic" (from Satan). I was once in a church whose pastor believed this, and lumped in D&D, Pokemon, and the Smurfs somehow (he claimed the magic used in the show was lifted out of Egyptian spellbooks).
edited 11th Oct '14 6:42:01 AM by Morgikit
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The "Harry Potter is un-Christian and immoral" school of thought spans a surprisingly broad spectrum, from the nuttery you just mentioned to a more moderate, but no less nonsensical, position based around the fact that the series doesn't explicitly promote conservative Judeo-Christian values (the kids disobey the rules too much, magic is an impersonal force, Hagrid is a drunk, etc).
edited 11th Oct '14 7:28:14 AM by Robotnik
(Avatar by Coffee)
<Belabouring the obvious>
Harry Potter is fiction.
</Belabouring the obvious>
Sure, but the religiously conservative critic would say that it's a "bad influence".
(Avatar by Coffee)
Because, obviously, children can't really distinguish fantasy from reality...
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
Generally, religious ones can't. There's been studies, remember?
edited 11th Oct '14 8:21:25 AM by Elfive
(Avatar by Coffee)
It's stuff like those studies and things like this
(I kid you not; it's real) that make me want to face-palm so hard it'd knock the bad memories out of my head.
Mikon :3
Yeah, I've heard the more reasonable stupid reasons for hating the books also. I'm with Rowling though. Authority figures are not always right. And blindly following powerful people (be it out of fear or a desire for power oneself) has led to the doom of many, both in the wizarding world and the real world.
edited 11th Oct '14 10:05:53 AM by Morgikit
Devil gives you magic powers, God doesn't. Why are we supposed to follow this God bloke again?
@desdendelle: I'm not surprised, though I don't know much about Jewish mysticism. Didn't some ultra-Orthodox put death curses on Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon? Naturally they claimed credit for the former's assassination and the latter's illness.
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-Philip K. Dick
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Yeah, that's what they call Pulsa d'Nura. While their claim for responsibility for Sharon's illness is idiotic, there are grounds to believe that that ritual (among other things) inspired Rabin's assassin.
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
Well that would make sense. A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy it seems.
edited 12th Oct '14 2:41:52 PM by Fireblood
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-Philip K. Dick
Chapter 1 (Discontinued)
religion as a Horcrux?
Warning: This poster is known to the state of California to cause cancer. Cancer may not be available in your country.
(Avatar by Coffee)
Wait, what?
-Is confused-
Mikon :3
Do you mean like someone hearing about the ritual and deciding to kill the guy?
Dread Sorcerer of Auchtermuchty
You do the ritual, tell everyone you've cursed someone, and people will believe they'll have exceptional luck killing/maiming/stealing/raping/defrauding etc. the victim.
edited 14th Oct '14 5:20:44 PM by TheOneWhoTropes
Keeper of The Celestial Flame
I think it's how all magic is...
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-Philip K. Dick
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In Rabin's case his security was a bit too lax, considering it was known his life was threatened — for example, he didn't wear a bulletproof vest to the meeting he was assassinated in.
Dread Sorcerer of Auchtermuchty
And he'd already been cursed? Isn't it foolish to not take precautions if you know that people who hate you might try to assassinate you? You don't have to believe the curse, just the fact someone could come and kill you.
edited 15th Oct '14 3:42:12 AM by TheOneWhoTropes
Keeper of The Celestial Flame
(Avatar by Coffee)
There was that, and there was the Shin Bet being complacent. There was a Commission of Inquiry about this.
Did anyone pursue the idea that one of the Shin Bet was involved?
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-Philip K. Dick
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Various right- and left-wing weirdoes, I assume.
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
According the page you linked, the Shin Bet had an agent at the time who was a right-wing militant, knew Amir and was seen attending rallies denouncing Rabin. Seems suspicious and worthy of investigation at the very least.
edited 16th Oct '14 9:59:48 AM by Fireblood
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-Philip K. Dick
I suppose I'm an agnostic atheist. So popping my head in seemed appropriate.
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
Yeah, I don't know either. Many people take works they like very seriously though.
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-Philip K. Dick