I know who Richard Abanes is, I only had to read the bits about him being a plagiarist and hating Harry Potter before I lost interest. I didn't even get to the bit about the LDS Church.
1. If you did read about the so-called plagiarism, you would have also read:
"Noteworthy is the fact that no lawsuit was ever filed by Van Gorden against Abanes. Moreover, the publisher of Walter Martins The Kingdom of the Cults is the same publisher that has since released Abaness book on Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey titled A New Earth, An Old Deception: Awakening to the Dangers of Eckhart Tolles #1 Bestseller and also Religions of the Stars: What Hollywood Believes and How It Affects You.
And that is from my own website in the "ABOUT" link that I adapted from the wiki article. I referenced wiki because: a) I can't post links yet; and b) it is the lowest, bare-minimum reference to use. Hence my words, "(at least)."
2. I don't HATE Harry Potter. You didn't read that closely either. I would humbly ask that you do so as to avoid misunderstanding. I offer the following from an interview I did:
My main point regarding Harry Potter books has remained consistent over the years: Like them. Love them. Hate them. Whatever. But know what they contain, not only from a spiritual perspective (pro & con), but also from an ethical/moral perspective (pro & con). Then, make an appropriate decision for yourselves and your children based on the possible effects of such content, especially on the malleable minds of young, impressionable kids.
The HP series should be approached like any other stack of books. They must be judged according to their content, neither overly condemned, nor overly accepted. Take them for what they are, not for what one may want them to be, either out of fear of them, or out of some misguided sense that because culture as a whole accepts them, we also must accept them wholeheartedly or look foolish. I see both of those extremes being displayed within the Christian community. And its unfortunate.
Ive looked at the subject, or at least Ive tried to look at it, very even-handedly. When it comes to HP, its really a fairly simple issue, at least to me. But the waters have become muddied by people on both sides of the fence who have their own agenda (especially within the Christian community, where everyone should be showing more restraint, love, and a willingness to look at the facts with an eye toward finding the truth).
You have the true Harry-haters on one hand who want to ban/burn the books because they contain occult imagery and mythological references. They are not recognizing the literary merit in the volumes, nor are they seeing some of the valuable lessons in the story or the positive character traits in several of the characters. On the other hand, you have the Harry-worshipers who refuse to hear anything negative about the volumes, and have gone so far as to twist and pervert the books into what they want them to bei.e., a blatant Christian allegory (despite words to the contrary by J.K. Rowling, whom they claim to admire so much).
Again, I have to say, that I fail to see, even after all of these years, why people have gotten so emotionally caught up in the HP series. I suppose it is indeed somewhat like radical sports fans who will actually come to blows against another person who doesnt like their team, or who says something bad about their favorite quarterback. I never really got that caught up in sportsmaybe thats my problem.
Clearly, I am only seeking to bring balance to a very emotionally-charged issue. And there is certainly more than enough evidence to support my modest concerns. For example, recent MTV in-depth investigation of neopaganism among youth. I quote:
"A surprising number of young witches MTV News spoke with also said that they became curious about their faith through misguiding pop-culture fare like Neve Campbell vehicle 'The Craft' and the 'Harry Potter' series (Guess a few conservative Christian groups were right about that one)."
I am saying YOU are NOT Richard Abanes. The very fact that you direct me to wiki proves that!
Well, this is indeed Richard Abanes.
Hey don't give me that "your" stuff....
I'm just saying it wasn't anything that came up in my time there....
You're saying as a 20-year Mormon, you NEVER read The Book of Abraham -- which is a very highly prized book of holy writ as one of the Standard Works? That would be like me as a Christian saying that in 20 years I never read Genesis!
Why are all your comments in the form of an attack?
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack at all. Where is there an "attack." I will certainly apologize. I sought to explain: a) why it is sometimes difficult to zero in on Mormon teachings; and b) what the actual meanings are behind the previous explanations given about godhood, being literal children of God, and having a divine spark. I also sought to use nothing but LDS quotes for the Kolob issue. Where was the attack? :sorry1:
RA
