The Harry Potter Diaries

March 2, 2016:

Would you believe I've never read or watched Harry Potter?

It's one of the most popular book/movie series in the world, with zillions of fans purchasing bobbleheads and Hogwarts attire, people quoting favorite lines and spells, and children frightened out if their minds at funerals because the church reminds them of that room with all the hands coming out of the walls.

And I sat it out.

On purpose.

My parents did some research and found that there were real-world pagan/satanic references in the books, and therefore in the movies.  And while they all appear to be harmless childish fun, the series does, in a way, serve as an introduction to paganism.

There are movies and books on this subject.

Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged is a good one.

Also, Halloween: Trick or Treat? is worth seeing at least once.

Now, please don't be offended.  I'm not condemning anyone who has read the books or seen the movies.  I'm just explaining why I wasn't allowed to read or watch them.

Even to this day, people tend to flip out when I tell them I haven't read the books or seen the movies.  It's gotten to the point where I just roll my eyes as these people fly through the ceiling, turn some saumersaults, then belly flop on the ground (in a purely figurative sense, of course).  But I always have to tread carefully when they eventually ask why I allowed myself to be deprived all these years.  A lot of people were never aware of the pagan references, and some have taken my innocent explanation as judgement.  Once upon a time, I was talking about this with a Potter-fan friend of mine, and her mother became so offended that I was seriously afraid the woman was going to beat me (knowing that my friend's parents spanked their children).  With no other fandom have I ever feared for my physical safety. 

14 years, 7 books, and 8 movies later, I found myself in a theatre watching the trailer for the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and I groaned.  Not another Harry Potter movie!  The whole thing with saumersaulting fans and physically violent parents was probably going to start all over again!

But even as I searched Amazon.com for protective body gear, a thought occurred to me.  I'm almost 24 years old.   I'm aware of the danger, so I will be on the lookout for it.  I know Who the one true God is, the guy with all the real power, and the One who has already defeated the Devil and his various minions.  I can't escape Pottermania, so why not take it head-on?  With Jesus protecting me, I would hypothetically emerge unscathed.

There is a time for everything.  A time to be born, and a time to die.  A time to plant, and a time to reap.  A time to dance, and a time to mourn.  A time to avoid Harry Potter like the plague, and a time to be exposed.

It was time to be exposed.

And thus, I am writing here today.  I'm going to watch all 8 Harry Potter movies and journal my thoughts for you, my readers. 

So, please stay tuned for my various thoughts on the Harry Potter series.