The loaded language for this sort of thing is the Society's phrase, "it smacks of spiritism".
Frankly, both LOTR and HP bitch-slap spiritism.
But so does Star Wars and Disney.
JWs view of Lord of the Rings VS Harry Potter
by serotonin_wraith 18 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
bubble
My mum who is a v.strict jw absolutely loves HP and reads all the books and goes to see the film as soon as it comes out.
She is not in the least bit interested in LOTR.
I think if you play by their rules, neither are allowed.
Naughty naughty mother!!! -
Fellbeast
The thing is, the reason JWs don't watch magical things isn't just because: "magic bad".
There's a reason behind this. That is spiritism. Now, the only way to practice magic, in reality, is to have help from demons. That is detrimental to a servant of Jehovah. Watching media portraying people contacting demons is also bad.
However, the magic in Lord of the Rings is quite different. The Ainur are the source of all magic. Some Valar and Maiar are evil, and become demonic figures, whilst some are good, and remain angelic figures. The magic in Lord of the Rings, therefore, comes from either angels or demons. The magic used by the good guys always comes from the angels, and therefore cannot be equated to magic nowadays that can only come from demons. Therefore, watching Gandalf heal Theoden is not spiritism. But, the magic that Sauron and his forces use does come from demons. So, the Ring is a demonic possession, and so watching Frodo put it on is a form of spiritism. This becomes a dilemma - do you watch or read something containing explicit spiritism? Well, to some, this spiritism is clearly condemned in both the books and the films, and in the end, it is destroyed. Moreover, the magic used doesn't resemble the magic being practiced today and is a secondary element to the story (the Ring's power to corrupt people is a more prominent feature than the fact it is magical). To others, it contains spiritism and therefore they cannot watch it. The fact that the magic is more subtle is likely the reason that more JWs are fine with it.
Harry Potter is different. The magic comes from the individual based on whether they inherit it or not. Compared to reality, this is fantasy, and the magic being used clearly has a resemblance to magic being practiced today (wands, spells, etc.). So, more JWs are likely to not be fine with it because it may remind them of actual spiritistic magic, even though the magic being practiced isn't technically spiritistic. To others, since the magic is not spiritistic, it is just fantasy and is ok to use.
-
Journeyman
I was always fine with LotR, but hated HP. I found the hype over it way too much (and still do). As to why LotR seems more 'acceptable' to JWs and/or Christians in general than HP, I think I agree largely with Fellbeast.
Another British fantasy/magic series which has (sadly, IMO) been overshadowed in the last 20 years or so by all the hysteria around HP is The Chronicles of Narnia, which is more like LotR in containing epic themes of the battle between Good (God) and Evil (Satan), with fantastical races and creatures, and with CS Lewis' religious background playing heavily into the concepts and characters.
The stories of Narnia are probably more acceptable to JWs too, given that Good triumphs over Evil, that they contain themes and ideas very similar to Bible ones, and that Lewis himself was Christian. Although that in turn may make some stricter JWs reject it.
-
Anony Mous
Interesting, in most congregations I was in both were big no-no but adjacent congregations were fine as long as you kept quiet about. Then again, I remember HP was called out at the convention (not by name) for being dangerous and targeting children with spiritism.
How about comedies like Life of Brian or Religulous. They are making fun of common Christian narratives and I think that most people would have problems with those than whether or not fantasy/demons/magic is allowed.
-
Vidiot
Don’t ask, don’t tell.
-
GLTirebiter
If they really understood, devout JWs would steer clear of Tolkien's works.
J. R. R. Tolkien ... described The Lord of the Rings in particular as a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision". While he insisted it was not an allegory, it contains numerous themes from Christian theology. These include the battle of good versus evil, the triumph of humility over pride, and the activity of grace. A central theme is death and immortality, with light as a symbol of divine creation ...
-
Journeyman
Indeed.
As I said earlier, The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia have a lot in common in that respect.
One the one hand, that makes them both more acceptable to some Christians, while for others it makes them both taboo for others, as they see them as a mockery or false imitation of the Bible and its message.
Based on the strict interpretation of JW theology neither should be entertainment for JWs, but then every Witness has their own understanding of what is 'acceptable' for entertainment like this (contrary to the idea the org promotes that there is total unity among them).
-
BluesBrother
In my household the sincere dubs love LOTR but denounce Harry Potter as demonise.
I enjoy LOTR but because of the above I have never seen Harry Potter, not that I really wanted to. This is not a universal view among dubs , I have had a bro. Tell us how “dangerous “ it is to watch LOTR .
It is one of those things that ,thankfully, are left to a “ Christian conscience “