Reviews of the video by Jeremiah Films:
"Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged"

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Filmmaker Caryl Matrisciana of Jeremiah Films has
produced a 60 minute video called: Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged;
Making Evil Look Innocent. It attacks the Harry Potter books and movies
as being dangerous to children's spiritual health. She claims that she
was once involved in the "occult" but later
converted to conservative Christianity.
She states that:
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The broomsticks that
Harry and his fellow students ride are "a phallic symbol and it's very important in
feminine cult worship." Wiccans do
occasionally use broomsticks to sweep a floor in preparation for a circle
ritual. But they regard the broomstick as an instrument of cleaning and
purifying, not a phallic symbol. |
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"The same with a pointed hat." We have never
seen Wiccans wear a pointed hat during a ritual. |
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The lightning bolt on Harry's forehead is "a mark of power
from the god Thor...This lightning bolt was considered so important
in occult mythology that Hitler used it on his uniforms...it is half of the
swastika." The lightning bolt is also used on electronic equipment to
indicate a power source, and in many other applications. It has no
significance to Wiccans. 1 |
In the documentary film, she equates the
fantasy world of sorcery and magic in the Potter
books with the religion of Wicca. There is no
real connection between the two, other than sharing the name "witchcraft"
which has at least 15, mostly unrelated, other meanings.
A ShopNetDaily review reports that hosts Robert S.McGee, author
of The Search For Significance, and Caryl Matrisciana, author and
occult researcher, link the following factors to "Witchcraft:"
Mother Goddess, reincarnation, seasonal nature celebrations,
divination, meditation, and spells. But the movie hosts also include the following
factors which are unrelated to Wicca: communing with the dead and spirit
world, sorcery, curses, occult symbology, black magic, demon possession,
"dark" aspects of Witchcraft, and more. They also connect Wicca
with a belief in the theory of evolution. Some
Wiccans do in fact also believe in naturalistic or theistic evolution; but
others do not. Evolution and creation science are not an integral part of
Wiccan belief. 2
Conservative Christian reviewer Julie Foster writes: "The video documentary details numerous
similarities between the spells and magic used by Harry Potter and those
used in the witchcraft of the Wiccan religion. Such striking similarity,
said Matrisciana, is evidence that the author has meticulously researched
Wicca and included its tenets in her children's books." Ms. Matrisciana
is quoted as saying: 'Alarmingly, the Potter books are
engaging in pagan discipleship, disciplining our children to spiritual
alternatives and also turning them away from the biblical principles and
God's protection'...My greatest concern is that godly fear that
protects mankind from dabbling in the spirit world is being taken away from
children who read these Harry Potter books. The terrors and horrors of black
magic and occult practice, rituals, ceremonies and demon possession are
being normalized," she said. "Alarmingly, the Potter books are engaging in
pagan discipleship, disciplining our children to spiritual alternatives and
also turning them away from the biblical principles and God's protection."
3 On the Amazon.com
web site, the video received very bad reviews. Five reviewers gave the
video a rating of 1 out of 5. Two mentioned that they would have assigned a
0 rating if one were available. One reviewer gave the video the maximum rating
of 5.
Some
ratings and comments:
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1 Spreading Hate: "I would never consider making public such
horrible and unfounded statements against another person's religious beliefs.
I hope that those that watch this film are inspired to seek the truth about
other cultures and belief systems instead of allowing someone else to spoon
feed them hatred." |
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1 Even Christians hate this garbage: "If other Christians spent less time fearing and hating "witches",
homosexuals, and anyone who has "different" ideas, and more time following
the teachings of Christ, I'd be less inclined to agree with the ever-growing
numbers of "Christian-haters" in the world. Don't buy this
video..." |
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1 Stupid, beyond belief: "...Harry Potter and real witchcraft are... NOTHING alike. We do not use lightning, or
say funny words to make things happen instantly. Our rule is 'an it harm
none, do what ye will,' a pretty basic rule.
This video teaches your child to dislike pagans, witches, and others alike.
...Do you
really want to raise your child as a bigot? " |
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1 Will we ever learn?: "This Video harkens us to heed blind phobia. The distasteful belief that what
is not mine is evil. I don't begrudge them their attitude, but the
conclusions reached are silly at best." |
 |
1 This video tells a tale of the
times: "I am troubled by this video...It is more fictional and
disillusional than Harry
potter....This video is another crackpot
conclusion as ridiculous as believing that TeleTubbies have a sexual
preference." |
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5 WOW! A MUST SEE VIDEO!!: "I thought this movie was fantastic! What an eye-opener! I thought Harry
Potter wasn't all that bad. What I found out in this video changed my mind.
This video shows how Hollywood can take a fantasy fairy tale type of story
and subtly blend in witchcraft and curiosity. The two don't mix for
children. It is so easy for kids to dabble in things they think is harmless....I highly
recommend this to any and every parent to see
-- Christian
and non-Christian alike." |
The OCRT, the agency that maintains this web site, has a Wiccan on staff who has
read the first two books in the Harry Potter series, and has attended the
first two movies. They found no points of similarity between Wicca and the
spells and magick in the Harry Potter books. Wicca is a religion which is
very much tied to the real world. Wiccans do not commune with the dead and
spirit world, or engage in sorcery, curses, black magic, or demon
possession. The Harry Potter books are fantasy; they describe a non-existent
imaginary world of unicorns, candles floating in the air, flying
broomsticks, curses, automobiles that fly through the air, magick, cloaks of
invisibility, etc.

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References:
- John Stossel, "Witches and Wizards: Time to Celebrate, Not Ban,
Harry Potter," ABCNews commentary, 2001-OCT-31, at:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/
- "Harry Potter:
Witchcraft Repackaged (video)," ShopNetDaily, at:
http://shopnetdaily.com/store/
- Julie Foster, "Potter books: Wicked witchcraft?: New documentary
claims tales lead kids to the occult," WorldNetDaily at:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/


Copyright © 2000 to 2002 incl,, by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-JUL-3
Latest update: 2002-DEC-26
Author: B.A. Robinson

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