Ran across the below blog entry and wanted to comment as the subject has been coming up quite a bit.

PyroManiac: Harry Potter and the Dark Maven of BlogSpotting

First off, let me state that one thing that I have been noticing in Christendom is the lax attitude towards secularism. Even more alarming is the brethren that bash (or try to put in a negative light) those who speak out against things such as Harry Potter and witchcraft. If you read the comments on Phil’s blog you can get a sample of such attitude.

For example, “If your child’s grasp of Christianity is so tenuous that Harry Potter can turn him to the dark side, then you have failed in your covenant duties as a parent. Further, Hogwart’s is little more than a fanciful adaptation of British public school life.” Now I ask you, does that comment cast a negative light on the brethren who have decided they are not going to let their children read Harry Potter? Does that comment make it seem that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Harry Potter? Has the person making the comment investigated the claims made about Harry Potter books and their ties to witchcraft?

The problem with the lax attitude mentioned above is that it eventually leads to crossing the line. Can you picture John Calvin (I use him as an example because many people are familiar with his writings) endorsing works along the lines of Harry Potter and telling his fellow brothers and sisters that it is ok to support such works? The fact is, Harry Potter glorifies witchcraft for young children. Now for the mature Christian, I don’t see much harm in reading anything. However, for baby Christians and especially for children, the things Harry Potter glorifies could be detrimental.

So to all those who think there is nothing wrong with Harry Potter, I challenge you to ask yourself if Jesus would approve of it. You may find that your answer could possibly be “yes” in certain situations but I highly doubt that anyone can honestly answer, “Jesus doesn’t mind if I let my children read books that glorify witchcraft”. In addition, I challenge you to search the Scripture on the subject of educating your children and see if there is room for books that glorify witchcraft (because they are written well). Does the author of the Harry Potter books stand for Christ or against Him? Is her message meant to glorify God? Should Christians be supporting her?

Deuteronomy 6:5-9
Proverbs 22:6
Ephesians 6:4

AMDG

The review I previously mentioned is now posted here.

From the review, I must say that it appears to be a waste of paper. I am not really commenting on the content as I haven’t read it. However, I am commenting on the motive/purpose of the book. I wouldn’t waste my time (and especially my money) reading a book that tries to defend Rick Warren. What would be the purpose? (no pun intended).

Nevertheless, I have read The Purpose-Driven Life and my analysis was very similar to Phil Johnson’s.

AMDG

Tim Challies is about to review a book titled Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him by Richard Abanes. I am looking forward to this review and he states that he will be conducting an interview with the author (Richard Abanes) after he reviews the book. If you have questions you would like to address to Abanes you should email Tim and maybe he will get some of those in for his interview. You can read more about it here.

One thing I would like to say about all this PDL craziness…

I have never quite understood how a book or “movement” can cause so much excitement in the Church. We should be so excited about the Scripture. What can be more exciting than having the Word of God in our hands? What can be more exciting than being able to read it, study it, talk about it, apply it to our lives, and share it with others? I imagine Christians of old would have loved to have the Bible in its complete form which we now have.

If “Christians” spent as much time studying the Scripture as they did on reading/watching/listening to/talking about preachers and their books/movements imagine…. well, just imagine… One thing is for sure, we would have far less people that would call themselves “Christians”.

JOLLYBLOGGER: “I Think, Therefore I Blog” t-shirts are now available at his website.

I suppose people that are nuts about blogging might like them.

I personally like the text but don’t like the logo at all. It looks like a dude sitting on the pot. Couple that with the fact that most people don’t know what “blog” means and you have a recipe for…

…I wonder what that means…looks like a guy sitting on the toilet thinking…is that short for big log…so he is just thinking instead of reading while he is going #2…etc etc…

Let me first say that I don’t really keep up with the who’s who in Christianity or in the Christian blogosphere. It seems most of my concentration is on the Scripture and I guess you could say “I don’t get out much” in relation to knowing who all these guys are. I do run across names here and there though and I have been trying to spend a little more time checking such things out.

Most of my comments on blogs and whatnot are objective to the post itself since I usually have no idea who the author is. I do have a few links in my blogroll and I do frequently read some of the more heavily trafficked Christian blogs (since there is usually quite a bit of discussion there).

A good example of the above is linking to Phil Johnson’s blog. Before he started blogging I had no idea who this guy was. I still don’t really know who he is. I do know that a lot of people seem to think that he is “all that” and they love the fact that he is blogging. On the other hand, some people seem to really have it out for him. I really don’t see anything special about his posts. I agree with some of the stuff he posts and some of the stuff I don’t agree with. His posts are not groundbreaking or earthshattering IMO. Though I must admit, I haven’t run across any blogs that are (including mine) and I don’t expect to. He posts frequently and gets a lot of feedback so I like checking his blog. He does go way overboard on the fire graphics though…not quite sure what that is all about (other than a waste of bandwidth).

This post is what prompted me to comment on his blog. So below is my constructive criticism of Phil’s blog.

First off, I think he should keep the blogspotting. He seems to be pretty equal on who he mentions in the blogspot posts and what would it matter even if he wasn’t. One, it is his blog he can do what he wants with it. Two, it isn’t like it means anything if you are mentioned in some dudes blog.

Secondly, what’s with not having trackback capability (or did I miss it somewhere)? Why is he using blogspot.com? Get a domain and get someone to host it for you. Start using some decent software like WordPress. I am sure there are many Christian brothers that would be willing to help (including myself).

Thirdly, lose the fire graphic obsession. It is cute at first but quickly becomes nothing more than a waste of bandwidth. I understand the whole pyromaniac name thing and a few nice graphics…but having some sort of fire related graphic on every other post is just overkill.

Fourthly, hmm, I guess that’s it.

I personally hope he keeps the blogspotting posts and I hope he keeps up the current level of blogging.

You can usually bite off quite a bit of good reading material from just a few sites: challies.com, PyroManiac, and Adrian Warnock’s. They are definitely a good place to start at least.

AMDG