As Long As I'm on a Harry Potter Kick...

My father was a Lutheran minister, so, as you might expect, I grew up in a religious household. But he wasn't obsessed with the evils of witchcraft. In fact, in the last few years of his life, he became quite a fan of the Harry Potter series (books and movies both).

The same can't be said for the Lutheran school I attended from 4th through 8th grades. Our religion classes included in-depth study of Martin Luther's Small Catechism. In fact, we had the whole book memorized by the time of our confirmation in the 8th grade. A typical day in religion class would be spent discussing each of the elements of Luther's explanations to, say, the Ten Commandments. For example, the Second Commandment (from Luther's Catechism):

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks."

(As an aside, "What does this mean?" is very big to Lutherans. You can make any Lutheran, current or recovering, smile simply by saying the words, "What does this mean?" I inherited a sweatshirt from my dad that reads, "Confirmed Lutheran: What Does This Mean?" And I have to admit, it tickles me. Heh. "What does this mean?" Heh, heh...)

So on the Second Commandment, Mr. Hass's religion class would spend a day on cursing and a day on swearing. Then, somehow, the witchcraft portion of Luther's explanation warranted a week-long discussion. Magic? Witchcraft. Star charts? Witchcraft. Horoscopes? Yeah, you got it: witchcraft. I tell you, it was like The Crucible in there. Plus, there may have even been the implication that Jews were witches.

This obsessive anti-witchcraft course of study might explain my fascination with this particular review for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It's just so interesting (to me, anyway) what fundamentalists find threatening. If you don't mind spoilers, go down to the bottom of the page and check out some of the book reviews, too. I'm telling you: it's fascinating stuff. Feel free to skip the plot summaries and get right to the Positive Elements, Spiritual Content, and the rest.

I might have to subscribe to this magazine. After all, it's Shining a Light on the World of Popular Entertainment.

"What Does This Mean?" Heh, heh, heh...