The Harry Potter books are THE NUMBER ONE selling children's books in Barnes & Noble or Waldenbooks storefront.

Go to Amazon.com and read the reviews. Hear the touting by educators and even Christian teachers about how "It's great to see the youth so eagerly embracing the reading experience!"

Harry Potter is the creation of a former UK English teacher who promotes witchcraft and Satanism. Harry is a 13 year old 'wizard.'

Her creation openly blasphemes Jesus and God and promotes sorcery, seeking revenge upon anyone who upsets them by giving you examples (even the sources with authors and titles) of spells, rituals, and demonic powers.

I think the problem is that parents have not reviewed the material. The name seems harmless enough . . . Harry Potter. But that is where it all ends. Let me give you a few quotes from some of the influenced readers themselves:

"The Harry Potter books are cool, 'cause they teach you all about magic and how you can use it to control people and get revenge on your enemies" said Hartland, WI, 10 year old Craig Nowell, a recent convert to the New Satanic Order Of The Black Circle. "I want to learn the Cruciatus Curse, to make my muggle science teacher suffer for giving me a D." (A 'muggle' is an unbeliever of magic.)

Or how about the REALLY young and innocent impressionable mind of a 6 year old when asked about her favorite character: 6 year old Jessica Lehman of Easley, SC. "Jesus died because He was weak and stupid."

And here is dear Ashley, a 9 year old, the typical average age reader of Harry Potter: "I used to believe in what they taught us at Sunday School," said Ashley, conjuring up an ancient spell to summon Cerebus, the three-headed hound of hell. "But the Harry Potter books showed me that magic is real, something I can learn and use right now, and that the Bible is nothing but Boring lies."

DOES THIS GET YOUR ATTENTION?

If not, how about a quote from High Priest of Satanism: "Harry is an absolute god send to our cause," said High Priest Egan of the First Church Of Satan in Salem, MA. "An organization like ours thrives on new blood (no pun intended) and we've had more applicants than we can handle lately. And, of course, practically all of them are virgins, which is gravy."

(Since 1995, open applicants to Satan worship has increased from around 100,000 to now . . . 20 MILLION children and young adults!)

It makes me physically ill, people!

But, I think I can offer you an explanation of why this is happening.

Children have been bombarded with action, adventure, thrills and scares to the point Hollywood can produce nothing new to give them the next 'high.' Parents have neglected to see what their children are reading and doing, and simply seem satisfied that 'Little Johnny is interested in reading.'

AND . . . educators and the NEA are PUSHING this with NO WARNING as to the effects or the contents.

Still not convinced? I will leave you with something to let you make up your own mind. And finally, a quote from the author herself, J. K. Rowling, describing the objections of Christian reviewers to her writings:

"I thinkit's absolute rubbish to protest children's books on the grounds that they are luring children to Satan," Rowling told a London Times reporter in a July 17 interview. "People should be praising them for that! These books guide children to an understanding that the weak, idiotic Son Of God is a living hoax who will be humiliated when the rain of fire comes ... while we, his faithful servants, laugh and cavort in victory."

My hope is that you will see fit to become involved in getting the word out about this garbage. Please FWD to every pastor, teacher, and parent you know. This author has now published FOUR BOOKS in less than 2 years of this 'encyclopedia of Satanism' and is surely going to write more. I also ask all Christians to please pray for this lost woman's soul.

Pray also for the Holy Spirit to work in the young minds of those who are reading this garbage that they may be delivered from its harm.

It is true that the Harry Potter books are best sellers, and it is "great to see the youth so eagerly embracing the reading experience!"

Harry Potter is the creation of a former teacher, but she taught the English language in Portugal and has never taught in the UK, especially "English" (Literature). She is, however, from the UK.

Rowling's books do not promote real witchcraft or satanism. Her books do not blaspheme Jesus or God, nor promote sorcery, seeking revenge, or the practice of spells, rituals, and demonic powers in the real world.

The problem is that people who have not reviewed the material need to stop believing lies and discover the truth for themselves. These quotes are made up and absolute rubbish (real readers of the series wouldn't get their facts so mixed up about the books' content as these "readers" have).

The Harry Potter books are excellent because they are interesting, well written, and teach you all about love and standing by your friends and loved ones in the face of incredible danger and hardship. The series does it endorse use of the entirely fictional Cruciatic Curse for any reason (it's illegal and used only by the bad guys). A Muggle is someone who does not have magical powers (that is, powers that exist only in the fictional Harry Potter universe).

J.K. Rowling would never say that "Jesus died because He was weak and stupid" because she is a Christian. A typical reader of Harry Potter knows that the stories are make-believe, does not think that the series is saying that the Bible is boring, and there are those of us who even see God in the series.

Cerebus isn't in any of the books, but there is a three-headed watch dog named Fluffy in the Philosopher's Stone, who is entirely too large to be summoned.

No "High Priest of Satanism" would call anything a God-send, least of all one from "Salem, MA", and if anyone wants to perform the magic as portrayed in Harry Potter they will be sorely disappointed because it's pretend. The Harry Potter series has not converted anyone to satanism; if there is a rise in that religion then people need to stop pointing fingers at Rowling and start looking elsewhere for where the blame lies.

I hope i've caught your attention. While this forward doesn't make me physically ill, it does pain my heart. An explanation of why this is happening is easy:

The Church has been degraded and bombarded with the prevalent perversion that is now acceptable in society. The Church has been and is being attacked by Satan. Christians are often afraid of the truth, of doing what is right, and they would much rather believe easy lies and hide instead of obeying God by doing what the Bible tells us to do.

Who is the NEA? Why do we expect the educators of this country to raise our children for us then criticize them for actually promoting something worthwhile instead of something worthless? Yes, parents have neglected to see what their children are reading and doing, and Satan is thrilled when Christian parents are against anything that God is using to bless His children.

The worst thing about this forward is the fact that 95% of it is a lie that has is being being pushed as fact. I've received this forward at least five times since 2001. The truth is that J. K. Rowling is a Christian and her intentions in writing the Harry Potter series is to draw people to God, not push them to Satan. My hope is that people will see the truth: please stop forwarding these lies to everyone you know. This author has written seven books that promote Christ-like behavior and are strongly against evil and darkness. Hopefully she will continue writing books that will reveal God's love to her readers even more. I ask all Christians to please pray for this fellow sister because she is under persecution from people who should be supporting her.

Please pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to work in the hearts of those who need Him and that they may be delivered from Satan and his harm.

Lastly, please pray for all parents to grow closer to their children, and that they will rise to the task and responsibility of raising godly children in this ever growing darkness.

in His love,

This <e-mail forward> is fiction.

The alarming quotes and sensational stories are from an article on the Internet humor/satire site www.theonion.com.

That site features tongue-in-cheek stories based on current news and events and the Harry Potter story was intentionally written in an exaggerated and inflammatory way.

None of it is true.

Some people have either read or been forwarded the original article and apparently not recognized the satire.

Others have used quotes from the article to write what sound like legitimate <e-mail> alerts.

None of the people, quotes, or stats in the story <are> true except reference to the author of the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling . . . the quotes attributed to her are fiction. "
      - from TruthOrFiction.com