Saturday, July 21, 2007

Jesus vs Muhammad vs Harry Potter vs Frodo

So I was working in the 'hood this morning - actually in a neighborhood dominated by Sudanese, Somali, and Ethiopian refugees.  There are lots of Muslims in the area walking by with their Qur'an in hand, and then I hear a group of kids singing.  They are doing the thing that I only know as the "jihad yodel."  (Someone can probably school me on sacred Muslim music, and someone might want to try to school me on religious sensitivity.)  But, it kind of freaked me out to hear those kids screaming like that.  My only impression is of suicide bombers in training.

Then I remembered some of the songs I sang in Sunday school.  One of my favorites was something like "I'm in the Lord's Army."  "...Riding in the cavalry/flying over the enemy/shooting the artillery./Yes, I'm in the Lord's Army!"  I loved it because we could do all the "motions" that went along with it: flying over the enemy, shooting the artillery, etc.  It seems totally fucked up to me now.  Why do you want your kids to go to church and sing about shooting people?

So, now I remember the movie, Jesus Camp.


Get it and watch it. It is unreal.

I won't go into it all, but it made me remember something from the film that has always pissed me off. I think it's Becky Fischer or maybe one of the moms talking about how Harry Potter is evil because it talks about witchcraft and wizardry and etc. The directors must have got the shot on purpose, but on the coffee table is one of the LOTR books. I have wondered at this phenomenon for years. Why do the Christians condemn JK Rowling's books (to the point of book burnings), while they just love JRR Tolkien and his brand of wizardry and sorcery!? It's ridiculous. Is it because she is a "nonbeliever" herself and Tolkien was a Roman Catholic? The fundies don't even think the Catholics are true Christians! Is it because she was a single mom and he was an upstanding, (married) professor? I don't know. I won't geek out on Tolkien, but his books are not about Christianity, and they do include wizards (good ones and bad ones) and there's all kinds of (good and bad) magic going on. I just don't get it. What is the bfd with Harry Potter for these people?

So, anyway the Deathly Hallows has been out for about 15 hours and I still haven't picked up my copy, so I guess I'll go do that now. My friend was already done yesterday and said it was the best of the series. Read it, read Tolkien, imagine Gandalf vs Dumbledore - or Frodo vs Harry - (whatever you're in to) and tell a fundamental Christian how much better either one of them is than the old and new testaments combined. (Tell them the Qur'an is better too, even though it's just as wacky.)

1 comment:

WalkerChick said...

I used to have a friend who refused to read Harry Potter, but watched "Charmed", religiously... Pun intended, I guess... So, have you picked up Harry Potter yet?