Farenheit 451

[Kalessin]

As Keneldil says, banning books is attempting to address a symptom (violence among children, secularism etc.) and arguably misreading the cause.

Cudae, it is reasonable in principle for a school to impose standards of behaviour that may be stricter than those applied by parents - or equally to set an example to children (and parents) by its teaching policies, code of conduct and so on. It is also accepted that schools may have a basis in organised religion, which would then influence the curriculum, and I would imagine that single-faith schools of all the world religions will have a fairly long list of books deemed 'undesirable' in the context of their faith.

I suppose the slightly depressing thing is that banning a book because of religious reasons is, in the end, unarguable. The primacy of faith in this context overrules what we might call rational debate or liberal tenets, perhaps understandably so in the minds of certain true believers. These are vulnerable souls we are talking about, after all.

If a genuine and committed Christian is of the view that Harry Potter is an incitement to Satanic worship and demonology, and will open children to corruption by spiritual forces, I have a sinking feeling that all my arguments to the contrary would have little effect except to classify me in their eyes as a lost soul and advocate of evil. I say this with regret on the basis of experience.

And by way of illustration, from what seemed to me a fairly cursory web search, I came across this (the last paragraph is hardly a triumph of inductive reasoning [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]) -

"Demons are real personalities, not just some vague presence of evil. In our society, we have trivialized reference to evil powers.

Children's literature is filled with stories of witches and evil spells. Creatures such as trolls, gnomes, and elves are sanitized references to demons. A classic example of supernatural evil in the literature of children is the popular "Wizard of Oz". (By definition, a wizard is a person with supernatural power.) Everybody loves Dorothy, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, and even little Toto. But don't forget the Wicked Witch of the West. A witch in any context is a human being who has invoked demonic powers. Although fiction may talk about good witches and evil witches, all witches receive any supernatural powers they do have from the same source: Satan and his demons.

Now, watching or reading the "Wizard of Oz" as an isolated activity won't cause your children to become demon possessed. However, literature like this is just one more way Satan has of normalizing and trivializing the evil supernatural power which originates with him.

Hollywood is convinced of the existence of literal demonic entities. Movies such as "The Exorcist", "Gremlins", and "Poltergeist" depict demons as actual personalities. In April 1989, a part of a Jim Henson TV special featured a story about demons and their interaction with humans. And Jim Henson is the originator of the "Muppets," a program for children."

Equally, but more pertinently, I found the quote from CS Lewis' preface to the Screwtape letters ...

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils [sic 'demons']. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight."

Is this more unintended irony?

What I was wondering originally was whether the principals in schools would have an argument for banning Tolkien and others that was distinct from what most BD residents would clearly see as irrational. And to know what it was. Perhaps I am a little closer ...

Compliments on the excellent contributions to date, which have provided some insightful and thought-provoking reflections.

Peace [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Kalessin

[ December 01, 2002: Message edited by: Kalessin ]