The "Harry Potter" Books - Entertainment or Magic?

I confess: I am an enthusiastic fan of books and films about the sorcerer's apprentice Harry Potter. As the author of scripts, I immediately recognize when something is well written by hand, and individual characters are well described.
Now there is a discussion about books and films in some conservative religious websites in Germany and the USA. Some users see good entertainment in the books, from which one can learn about life; other users see it as a glorification of magic under the influence of the devil.
What do YOU think about the books and movies?
Entertainment or harmful influence on readers?

I have not read the books but have watched some of the movies. There are lots of similar literature such as Lord of the Rings, King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table, etc. which fall under the category of fantasy where there is a lot of mention of magic/sorcery/etc. Most Christians kids I believe would understand that Jesus is real and that stories of magic are for story-telling purposes only and fall in the fairy-tale category. There are a lot of fairy tales which contain some magic, such as Aladdin (with Genie), Snow White (the apple), etc. Many of these books have themes of good vs evil which is a Christian theme, and parents should focus on this. For most kids, any interest in wizards, etc. will be short-lived until they move on to their next interest.

This is nothing new. It's actually a rather old debate that was going on before all the books were even released.
I've never had any interest in HP, at all. None. So I've not read anything or watched any movies.
Most commonly the argument is that if a story places a heavy focus on the magic, such as seems to be the case in HP, that is a cause for concern. But if magic is just an element in the story, such as in LotR, that makes it not dangerous.

Personally I think such debates are pointless. If a person is bothered by it, avoid it. If a person is ok with it, then that's their conscience. If people spent less time telling others how to view subjective topics and put their energies into real problems the world could be better off. But as long as the self importance and ego of people is such that they feel their conscience is the ultimate authority in all subjective matters then petty bickering over irrelevant issues will take precedence over real problems.

I just see them as revenge fantasies that children eventually grow out of.
The first few books were quite well written but I got bored of the series by the end and didnt much care for the characters. I think it dragged on a bit too long. In the movie Harry breaks his wand, he chucks it away and its a relief cos by that time I think hes so over the whole magic thing that he just wants a normal life.

J.K. Rowling built up the books after Cummings' heroic journey. There are a total of twelve stages that the hero in the books from Volume 1 to Volume 7 must go through in order to be "redeemed" and gain greater wisdom. It becomes especially clear when HP has to "die" in volume 7 in order to resurrect. That's point 10 in the hero's journey.
The author did it well by adding a "cliffhanger" in each volume, which made her curious about how things are going.
I can't find anything magical or satanic about the books, because in my religious quest after leaving the JW, I also came into contact with Wicca/witches practicing magic.

Dont know the reference to cumming sorry.
The 'magic' in the book is folktale magic of charms, spells and divination, but there is different types of magic, all witchcraft is essentially rebellion against God because its drawing on power from below that isnt from the Holy Spirit.
Its more of a gateway into the occult rather than overtly satanic. But you might have to agree that cursing people and taking vengeance into your own hands via spells and wands isnt godly. Just a more british form of voodooism.

I may have missed the whole HP dying to self episode, but the same thing happened to Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. He was a wizard, but a 'good' wizard. Still a wizard tho. Can wizards and witches be redeemed? They just need to give up their powers and submit to God.

Tolkien and Rowling process the "good against evil" thing in their stories. This form can be found everywhere in world literature. Sometimes with, sometimes without magic as an accessory.
What would Goethe's "Faust" be without Mephisto, what would Tom Sawyer do without Indian Joe? In stories, good and evil are necessary. They need each other to explain or advance a story.
Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, they all have NOTHING to do with real magic. They are just an accessory to tell a story.
Rowling is an Anglican Christian. With the death and "resurrection" of Harry Potter to ultimately defeat Lord Voldemort (the evil sorcerer), an allegory of the death and resurrection of Christ is part of Cummings' heroic journey.
Once again, it is literature, not reality!

Wait, what? Harry Potter is an allegory of Jesus Christ?

Well, learn something new every day.

I'm not going to spend a lot of effort putting Harry Potter stories down, but saying it's a redemption story allegorical to Jesus' life is a bit much even for me.

Do you think that Jesus was the only one who had twelve disciples, performed miracles, died, and resurrected?
There are many examples (Horus and Krishna, for example), where it was also so.
At that time, a divine legitimation had to be "proved" by such things, and it did not matter whether it really happened or someone came up with it.

When I was in highschool I read all the books as if there was no tomorrow I was obsessed I finnished the las book in only three days which has nearly one thousand pages I liked the movies and still do but they had to cut a lot of the things in the books due to limited screen time and then also added things that weren't in the book.
I to this day am a harry potter fan and play the mobile game harry potter hogwarts mystery in my free time.

I think really it is up to the person who likes it and what the spirit says to them whether or not it is entertainment or evil form of demonic magic. In essence it is a mystery novel it may be a book series on magic and the wizarding world but it is actually a form of writing that you learn about in writing classes mystery being that particular style which is one of the most diverse methods of writing you are much more open to what you write and how it is done in this form
But more than magic it is a series that is a message about the power of love and how it above all other things is the strongest force.

The entire reason in the series that harry is even alive is because of his mothers sacrifice, the scriptures say (John 15): "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends This speaks of self sacrifice and that self sacrifice that harry potters mother made for him as he was about to be killed as a small baby was in fact the strongest form of magic and her love was then in harry's blood making him protected against the dark lord.

Now think of Jesus and us he gave his life for us and his death done out of the deepest love saves us and protects us it gives us new life the power of his sacrifice is shown in what harry's mother does.

There is also a scripture verse used in the harry potter series that says

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Which ends up being a very important part of the story later.

Whether people think it is evil or not depends on them but the main point of the story is that love truly does conquer all

You don't see anything magical about HP? Wow. It's HP heavy focus on magic that puts it into question.

Well it may have a great focus on the magical world but that doesn't make it evil, The narnia movies and books were written by a well known Christian C.S Lewis
It has a lot of magic in it but has biblical representations especially towards the lion Aslan.

Harry potter is known for it's practice of magic but people like it mainly for the story because without a good story any magical aspect doesn't matter.

There is a message in the hp series pertaining to what happens when a person the dark lord for instance fears death and has never known love seeks after immense power to the point where he is basically immortaLWhen his polar opposite harry doesn't fear death and overcomes not by his own strength but by the help and friendship of those around him the bond and love they share in fact is exactly why at the end they are never killed because harry ends up doing the exact same thing his mother did sacrificing his own life for the sake of another or in this case the entire school and thus without meaning to places a protective love spell on his fellow shool mates.

Honestly the message on love and the importance of the bonds and friendships we make is very amazing to me, it is less about the aspect of magic and more on the focus on such things the entire series is based and starts with this aspect and ends with it.

If other people see it as evil that is their belief that they have the right to have

Unlike you, I have magical experience. After being excommunicated at the JW, I embarked on a religious journey, a search through various faiths, including the faith of the Wicca. Some of them also refer to themselves as "witches".
I took part in their rituals, learned to use herbs for health and well-being, and the law of Wiccan: Do what you want, and do no harm to anyone.
None of this can be found in Rowling's books. That is why I say this.

Have you tried one of the spells mentioned in the books? If so, you know they are of no use because they are wrong.

No I have not tried to cast one but I am a gryffindor we are brave but not naive XD

Entertainment. Though I will say that the initial book and what followed did work like magic to take Ms.Rowland from her dire straits financially into the realm of multimillionaire. And that as a blessing considering at the time of its writing she was a struggling mom. On the dole if I'm not mistaken.

I didn't read the books but I did watch two of the movies. Not that impressed except for the first film when Harry entered the library and it was full of lit beeswax candles and owls! Loved the owls.
Amazing how much the actor looked like Harry of the book jackets too.

er, never said Harry Potter was reality. I said in my first post that they were revenge FANTASY.

Fantasy does not equal reality. PLease read the post again and dont attritbute to me stuff I didnt write, I find that annoying. There are different kinds of magic as I said. The magic in fantasy literature is not the exactly the same as practiced in real life, but the concept of them is the same, getting power from a source other than the Holy spirit.

Wiccans as far as I know dont use wands, but voodoos can use charms, and clairvoyants and psychics use divination. Its never really explicit in the books the source of the magic, but there are similar initiation rituals although its very dumbed down for children. The casting of spells does happen as things some people do believe that whatever you say has power. wicca is a different kind of magic from voodoo or santeria. wicca has elements of paganism in it, but theres also shamanism (in harry potter, patronus comes to mind) but I would say the Harry Potter books most resemble freemasonry... the secret society, the division between those with magical powers and those that dont (muggles), the learning and apprenticeships etc.

Ah I see. You had some experience in one variation of magic therefore you're an expert on all magic. And all matters surrounding it spiritually.

Wiccans use both a magic wand and a double-edged knife called "Athame". The knife symbolically inters hiss this world and the "other world". This is for information only.

Voodoo and other magical religions, refer to so-called "people's magic", often originated in times of oppression and slavery. Today, as with some Christian television preachers, they serve primarily to gain power and money.
It is something else with so-called Satanism!
It was originally founded as a counter-movement to Christianity in order to lead a free, independent life, beyond Christian morality. Were common in these groups at the time.
That, too, has changed!
Most Satanists want to shock, others commit crimes (mostly child abuse and murders) under the guise of religion.
Have you ever thought of the many crimes committed in the name of God or a Church? I just say:
Genocide of Indians and Africans.
Witch burning
Forced baptisms of Jews, Indians and Asians

Those who sit in the glass house should not throw stones.

Not of any form of magic, but of some, because I have read a lot.