In Cromwell, Conn., a local middle school is resisting a
call from Christian parents to ban certain children's books, including 'The
Witch of Blackbird Pond' and 'Harry Potter.'
Some Christian parents want such books removed from the school library on the
grounds that they promote the Wiccan religion. One local minister said the
books have some of the town's kids cooking up magic spells and reading Tarot
cards.
School officials refused to comment to CNSNews.com.
Tim Milleville, pastor of River Bend Christian Fellowship, a local Christian
church, said some of the parents who are now circulating a petition regard the
books as "Witchcraft 101" -- a way of easing kids into Wicca.
"Before they realize it, they're playing around with spells and
things," he said.
Milleville also said the Harry Potter books portray Christianity in a "bad
light," and he believes the popular series has satanic overtones.
"I know people into Wicca, at some level, would say they are not connected
to Satanism," Milleville said, "but there is stuff that says they
are."
However, Darla Kaye Wynne, the assistant national director of Wiccans Against
Religious Discrimination (WARD), denied any association between her religion
and Satanism. She also denied any connection between Wicca and Harry Potter.
"In our deity, we don't even have a Satan," Wynne said. She also
clarified that neither 'The Witch of Blackbird Pond' nor any of the books in the
'Harry Potter' series are Wiccan in nature.
Wynne argues that Christians are "losing the concept of what their own
religion represents, what Christ, and what God had to say."
If books such as those being protested in Cromwell promote violence, hatred and
prejudice, then parental consent should be required, Wynne said. But she noted
that the Bible also includes prejudice and violence, yet it can be found on the
shelves of most school libraries.
"The Bible states that it's okay for a man to beat a woman. It also states
that it's acceptable to kill a witch," Wynne said. "So, it promotes
murder."
Milleville acknowledged some of Wynne's observations about the Bible, but he
disagreed with her notion that the Bible promotes murder.
"There's a lot of stuff that we don't do today, even though it was there;
eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth," Milleville said. "I think some of
that stuff is there to really present the dangers of it."
But Milleville said the dangers posed by books like the Harry Potter series are
real because kids end up familiarizing themselves with terminology associated
with magic spells and witchcraft.
Milleville did allow, however, "It's people's right to read what they
want, I guess."
"I appreciate the position of the [parents] that are raising the ruckus,
but I wouldn't go as far as banning the books," Milleville said. "You
start trying to throw out books that say bad things about anybody, you're going
to throw them all out eventually."
"Just because a book has the word 'witch' in it, doesn't mean that it
promotes witchcraft," Wynne said.