FWD: 'Ungodly' Harry Potter Books Burned

[KXX4493553 at aol.com]

> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010328/re/religion_burning_dc_1.html
> (in der Vorlage mit Links)
>  
> Wednesday March 28 9:17 AM ET
>  'Ungodly' Harry Potter Books Burned
> 
>  PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The Rev. George Bender says he never
>  thought a little book burning would get so much publicity.
> 
>  But news reporters have not stopped calling his tiny Harvest Assembly
>  of God Church in rural western Pennsylvania since word got out that
>  church members held a ceremonial burning of ``ungodly'' videotapes,
>  music CDs and books including some of Harry Potter (news - web
>  sites)'s magical tales.
> 
>  ``We got a lot more attention than we were planning on. I've been
>  getting calls all morning from all around the country,'' Bender told
>  Reuters on Tuesday. ``We were only out to make a little noise in the
>  local community.''
> 
>  The Pentecostal church, located about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh,
>  sponsored a book burning at the edge of its gravel parking lot on
>  Sunday evening. Among the 30 church members and guests in
>  attendance were teen-agers who led hymns including ''Amazing Grace''
>  and ``Father of Creation.''
> 
>  Into the fire went 1970s albums by Joe Walsh and the rock group
>  Foreigner; CDs by Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and AC/DC; and
>  Walt Disney Co. videos of ``Pinocchio'' and ``Hercules.''
> 
>  ``It's the same old devil with a new face,'' explained Bender, 60,
> whose
>  congregation has about 95 members.
> 
>  Only a few Harry Potter books were among the trunk load of articles
>  fed to the flames. But Bender said British author J.K. Rowling (news -
>  web sites)'s ``supernatural'' novels hold special status because local
>  schools distribute workbooks that feature the boy magician but will not
>  allow church members to hand out Bibles.
> 
>  ``Harry Potter is a big flash point,'' the clergyman said.
> 
>  The church modeled the book burning on a biblical passage from the
>  New Testament's Book of Acts, which describes how former
>  practitioners of magic burned their books in public.
> 
>  ``When they did this, they did it before all so it would provoke the
>  question, 'What are you doing?''' said Bender, whose followers believe
>  in faith healing and speaking in tongues.
> 
>  The reason why? ``There is one God and he has set his standards
>  through the Commandments, and Jesus Christ is our lord and savior.
>  Things that misrepresent or cause us to pull away from him, we should
>  cleanse from our lives,'' he said.
> 
>  Bender said the church had never held a book burning before but might
>  try it again if doing so would ``accomplish something positive toward
>  expressing our love for God.''
> 
>  Meanwhile, publicity has not hurt. ``We got some people mad at us. But
>  it's good to have publicity. It's good,'' he said.
>

Kurt-Werner Pörtner