• points of interest: 1. No "educators" worthy of the title concern themselves with worrying about the "dark arts," most teachers are more concerned with teaching their students about things that actually exist. 2. Love the way that the comentator implies, without openly stating it, that allowing students to read HP books for fun in public schools is proof that the 1st amendment allows special protection to non-christians while victimizing christians. Harry Potter books are NOT a religion!

• And now explain i which ways HP is similar to tolkien? Beacause I like both and I just don't see the similarity. I'm curious.

• In the interest of fairness, I will say that the guy in the Bible taking 100 extra foreskins is a good lesson for kids, if only in that it teaches them to go the extra mile when doing errands. I mean, if you ever send your kids to gather penis skin, you might as well have them be thorough about it.

• True,very true. Not to be too heretical,but I don' care for Harry Potter. In my view it is a feeble imitation of Tolkien's masterworks.

• Oh, the book where he "sucks the unicorn". That was my favorite. ...or wait was that one of the FFF's?

• I just want to point out that I'm a jew and as far as I know no Jew claims that Jesus was important Rabbai. I am certain that no Jew claims that he was a prophet because that would make his claims (that we don't believe) true. As far as I know the muslims claim that he was a prophet but not the sun of god (I'm not sure how that fits exactly). To my knowledge jewish view of Jesus is how you would treat someone who came to you and claimed he is a son of God and can hear His voice in his head...

• SMOKIN'!

• -stands up- the defense recognizes this video, and would like to point on several damning evidences on the matter they are championing. exhibit A: http://www.cracked.com/article_16546_6-raunchiest-most-depraved-sex-acts-from-bible.html exhibit B: http://hubpages.com/hub/the-bible-and-greek-mythology the defense rests, your honor -sits down-

• as oppose to reading too much into a children's/preteen books and digging into it for morsels to justify their views? >:3

• Videos like this and the Chick Tract about Dungeons and Dragons confuse me to no end. You want to convince children not to be seduced by these things, but then you tell them that if they embrace them they get magic powers that really work? Come on now, if you're 8 and your choice is between sitting in church, on a Sunday morning, dressed in uncomfortable clothes being bored by a sermon, or running through the woods in armor using magical mind control powers and instakill death bolts, which one are you going to go with? If they really don't want kids to be interested in these things, they shouldn't make them sound so good. They should explain that they're dumb old books that are full of make believe and nothing like what's in them ever happens in the real world, ever. That'll crush their little imaginations and get them to behave.

• Agreed.

• True enough! I'd forgotten that one! Someone should tell that to the woman in the video!!!

• Scripture just means it was written down. The Bible doesn't teach that any race is only 5/8 human yet, some people believe(d) that too. Any moron can form a belief or system of control,and then dig through the Bible to try to justify it after the fact.

• How dare you deny the power of Theiols!? =O

• Wait, the bad guys are just bad without justification? Um, I thought Voldemort was evil because he killed people. And a unicorn. And he and those who followed him were vicious bastards who were obsessed with blood purity. Also, didn't the "saintly" Harry Potter once ignore the advice of those around him to the point where he let himself get duped by Voldemort, and got his godfather killed because of it? Was that part of the straight and narrow path, too, or did you miss that part? And the dozens of times he doubted and/ or defied those who had his best interests at heart, putting himself and others in danger?

• Oh, didn't you know? Catholics aren't <i>real</i> Christians. Only Protestants are. And let's not get into those crazy Greek Orthodox people.

• Yeah, that was really weird O_o

• This video makes me equally amused and dismayed. I laughed most of the way through at the mentalists decrying Harry Potter as an introduction to witchcraft, but it worries me that there are people out there in the World that actually believe that. And they are allowed children. And access to the internet. *shudder*

• *thumbs up* Thanks Rob. I am a Christian and it does cause a bit of embarrassment when kooks like these speak out. It also causes a bit of a problem as then people think every Christian is like that. I respect your beliefs and I respect you for stating them :)

• Fair enough, fair enough. I contend that if we understand our role in the universe in context of God's plan for us, we'll understand much of the "troubling" passages in the Bible better. I don't think I was replying to you, but I do appreciate your response when others with opinions different from my own aren't nearly as respectful.

• Oh hell. Well, I brought this on myself. I'm sure you'll be shocked to know that I am not a religious man. But I have no problems with Christians or people of any religious belief... although I much prefer that they've actually thought about those beliefs and aren't just regurgitating them. Of course I don't think that most Christians are like the nutjobs in the above video. Any belief system can produce extreme lunatics including Christians, Democrats and Republicans (although for whatever reason, there aren't many insane atheists, they just turn into assholes). People who take Christianity so seriously as to believe there's a vast witch/Satan conspiracy going on tend to take the Bible very seriously, so I just went through some of the Bible's saucier sections to illustrate a bit of the hypocrisy of people who think Harry Potter is full of evil. I assume most Christians who have examined their beliefs can reconcile these parts of the Bible with the tenets of their religion in whatever way they choose; but certainly I wasn't trying to knock the Bible as a whole or offend Christians in general. I just wanted to offend the crazy ones in the video. That said, Topless Robot is for nerdery, and making fun of people who see our passions as evil will always be part of that. It wasn't my intent to start this insane discussion, but I could've been clearer in my article. Frankly, I blame witches for this whole mess.

• Wait, why have you said "Christians and Catholics"? That's like saying Transformers and autobots.

• Just black or white characters? One word, Snape. Hell, I'll even add Dumbledore. If all you saw were black and white characters, then you were reading parts of it wrong.

• The video represents a small and deluded faction of Christianity, but then all groups and religions have their fair share of kooks. Conversely Rob? I think it's a bit unfair of you to drag the Bible into this and cherry pick certain quotes. What exactly then are you saying about the Bible Rob? Do you think that people who read the Bible are all like those people in that video? Do you think that any and all people who believe in God are wrong? I hope you take some responsibility and answer these questions. I hope you don't let fear of losing some readers prevent you for standing up for your beliefs and telling everyone what you really think about Christians and Catholics.

• What religion is Rob Bricken? What are his beliefs? Seems Rob's not happy with running a board just for nerd topics, but instead wants to start something by dragging religion into a topic, a topic that no one agrees completely about. Do you have something you wish to say Rob?

• I apologize, but "always loving"? did god not throw a temper tantrum and wipe out humanity? Just wanting to check. I've read the bible, and there are atrocities performed by god. I'm not in any way trying to bash Christianity, only your quote on an always loving god, I have no problems with the religion, I don't happen to be Christian but I do see the good points. My problem is with particular Christians, such as the ones who made this video.

• Seriously, I doubt no matter what I said would have made any favorable impression on someone like you for it seems your mind is already made up. It's just people like you who like to talk crap and then when someone speaks up for their beliefs? You slap labels on them like zealot. Wow, you don't like it when someone thinks differently than you, or talks out about things on which you don't agree on, and when they do? You act rude. ... Sure <i>you're</i> not one of those types of Christians that you hate?

• satanic!

• Your rant is pretty entertaining, but you're kidding yourself if you don't believe the series is aimed at children. Yes, they're books, but they're books with the vocabulary, style, and depth meant to allow children to appreciate them.

• Don't stop you actually have a point. Christmas was originally called Winter Solstice and it was a Druid Holiday in honor of the new moon. Easter was originally a Druid Holiday they worship the moon, stars, and the sun, not Satan) in celebration of the coming of a new sun/moon cycle. These two holidays were both hijacked by the Catholic Church in the 1600s so as to prevent the "Satanic Religion" from taking root in the new world. The Bible itself doesn't even say when Jesus Christ was actually born.

• This woman is a Christian but she uses the word 'ligitimate' curses?

• There is a reason some sects of Christianity don't celebrate Christmas. It was actually banned in Massachusetts for a number of years because of its pagan roots.

• Christianity existed before the Christian bible. The bible as we know it was assembled and agreed upon By the Council of Nicaea in 325. The Bible is not the base of Christianity Jesus is and the bible is not the only proof that Jesus existed. If you want to look outside the fact that both Jews and Muslims agree that Jesus did exist and he was a wise and important Rabbi and Prophet. Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman historian wrote about how the founder of Christianity, Christus (which is a conman roman misspelling of Christ)was executed by Pilate, the procurator of Judea during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberias. There are multiple other historical sources, you can look up. You may not agree with his teachings or that he was the son of God, but he was a real person.

• Also, Harry Potter is well written, for the most part. The Bible? It ain't.

• I am a Christian and I love Harry Potter. I find the stories fascinating. And when I have kids I will let them read them because they are good stories, and it should encourage them to read. You did take the text out of context to make a point, and I understand that, but you should have known it would have caused this kind of debate. Maybe that is what you were going for. Either way, you should stay clear of commenting on any religion not just Christianity, (even though I understand it seems to be an easy target).

• Pwnd.

• Cooper. Cooper. Cooper.

• The Bible is disgusting - but not because of what it stands for. It's disgusting in that it contains the history of the vileness of people. By the way, your argument isn't sound. Just because something is presented a certain way in the media doesn't make it right. I content that it's wrong to have an affair, but the media will have you believe that your passions are ultimately more important that your vows or your responsiblity as a parent. Media and culture is ever-changing and has at times and places in history become quite immoral; I prefer to stand with an unchanging and loving (at all times) God.

• I find it interesting that some people will get angered by Christians and say hurtful things about them just because they're defending their religion. I would hope that you would take a step back and be more accepting and less judgmental, as is often told to "zealots."

• Eh, well, there's the fact that a major religious movement spread like wildfire shortly after Jesus' death and resurrection, supported and spread by hundreds of witnesses. It's like saying Confucius never existed because The Analects or other writings are the evidence of his life. His influence is strong evidence for his existence.

• Odd, I thought toplessrobot.com didn't discuss religion? Yes this post, and the post above it about gay characters certainly invite such a discussion. While I don't agree with the conclusion this video comes to, it most certainly is a discussion on religion, and I don't just mean the Christian religion, Voodoo, Wicka, and other religions are mentioned in the video as well. The biblical quotes you use are either taken out of historical context, or from the old testament. The video is from a Christian group, not a Jewish group. Christians believe that Christ altered the Levitical law and those specific passages are not taught to the children of modern Christians. Nice we can have religious discussions here now...cool.

• Sounds like a one-shot crossover for DC and Marvel to me. The Flash turns out to actually be an agent of the SS, and does battle with Captain America. Go Cap!

• Harry Potter was first written with kids in mind. Rowling was targeting kids when she wrote the first book. Thus the short length, the simple relationships and easy english. It was after she the publisher realised that adults were also into this stuff that she made it more "adult" oriented. I still think Harry Potter is still childish in the way that all characters are either good or evil, no in-between, and the evil characters are just evil without justification. And the good characters are just too saintly (especially the titular character) rarely deviating to wrong paths....I could go on about how bad the books are but time to forget about it. Atleast it's over. Now something to do about stopping anymore twilight books from coming out ......

• It's been said before here, but not all Christians are like this. It's very easy to look at nutty Christians and use them as a reason for why all Christians and Christianity in general is for crazy people, but that would be as much a straw man argument as quoting the fourth book of Judges. There are crazy people in every religion. There are crazy atheists and agnostics too. Yes, the Bible has things that are very violent and sexually perverse, but that happens when you have books intended to chronicle the actions of people. It could just skip over those parts and be nothing but warm fuzzy teachings, but the writers of those books felt that pretending that those things didn't happen wouldn't exactly be honest to pretend that so-and-so didn't sacrifice his children to some pagan deity. Point being, as much as there are dishonest and crazy people who thump the Bible, there are others who don't actually make believing in God look bad. Not every Christian is writing to his or her local politician to get Harry Potter, Avatar, and Pokemon banned.

• The owls are not what they seem.

• Seanbaby did a pretty funny article about the entire video over at Wave Magazine: http://www.thewavemag.com/pagegen.php?pagename=article&articleid=22182 Favorite line: As Caryl puts it, "Transforming into creatures... IT IS HORRIBLE!" So if while your child is reading Harry Potter they are suddenly replaced by a werewolf dressed in your child's clothes, you're right to be upset.

• All the Bible verses Rob citedwhenlooked at in context of the whole story or the times in which they took place. Also the people who put out this video are no different then someone like Bill Gothard. Saying if you own a Cabbage Patch Doll your kids will become developmentally disabled. It's this type of thing that gives Christianity a bad name. Also I think the guy was in a Badger costume not a Skunk but I could be wrong.

• Well this just pissed me off... I can't stand this (Or for that matter, any other) aspect of Religion...

• I feel a new idea for comic devloping. Nazi Flash v. The Allies

• It OUGHT to be interpreted as a poem, sure. But it tends to get interpreted as scripture. Because, you know.

• FOUR-SIDED HARRY POTTER TRILOGY, SPINNING TWICE A DAY EVERY NIGHT. BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN HORRIBLE. HITLER GOAT-RELIGION EDUCATED STUPID!

• Look at all these silly knee-jerk reactions to Rob's rant. All up in arms about a point that they don't even understand at all. How exactly do these people get through a FFF without gasping themselves into asphyxiation?

• I'd imagine anyone with half a brain who actually reads the Bible cover to cover, and comprehends it, would be disgusted by it. - I know I was. No Christian should be complaining about any book until they can explain why human sacrifice, rape, incest, torture, genocide, and slavery are A-OK when in the Bible, but not OK in any other media.

• I'm kind of sick of the "for kids" argument. In the U.K., Harry Potter books are marketed to everyone; Adults and teens alike. Most young kids don't read it because it is fairly advanced (and the series is LONG). It's only in America that it's published by a company that is traditionally a producer of children's literature (Scholastic) instead of Bloomsbury, who publish mostly adult fiction. - Because of this tie to Scholastic, the books are believed to be "kids books" in America, which is pretty much a pile of bullshit. They aren't kids' books. They're just BOOKS, with young protagonists that grow up as the series progresses. - And so you mention "craziness" that's "bad for kids". Well, you know, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland was written over 100 years before Harry Potter came along, and it WAS meant for children. It's pretty much the high bar for "craziness" and magic, and yet I can't think of a single child who was corrupted by Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. - I could say the same of The Wizard of Oz, or The Hobbit, or reach back further and talk about Beowulf. Fantasy is not some new thing. Weird environments and fantastic, magical characters aren't new either... And nowhere is there any proof that any of that earlier literature turned a child toward evil acts. - Wanna talk crazy? Crazy is adults who, even after growing up, believe in a magical, all-powerful, invisible wizard who lives in the sky who communicated via burning bushes and thunderous commands given on mountaintops. It's people who believe that a flood destroyed everything on Earth except for two of every animal in a big boat. It's people who think the line about hating gay people is still relevant, but that the neighboring lines about shellfish are not. - Next to the kind of weapons-grade crazy you find in Christianity (and every other religion), Harry Potter books look positively mundane.

• It's quite frightening when people not only demonstrate their ignorance of popular culture but also of their own so called "faith". This "God" person is probably one of humanity's most notable mistakes. I'm not going to defend Harry Potter here, because I don't feel it's needed, as anyone with half a brain can figure out the bullshit in the above video for themselves. I will note though, that if you start to pick and choose what you take from the bible and what you ignore, then you'd probably be better off just thinking for yourself and let go of the book. as I see it, you'd just be using it as a crouch "in case" you're wrong so you can justify yourself. I make my own choices in life, and if things go wrong, as they sometime do, I can blame myself, not the man in the sky.

• Mr. Gold demonstrates why I loathe religion. Wiccans don't impress me much, either, but at least they mind their own business and don't get all pissy when their religion is questioned or taken to task. Any time you threaten a Christian's delicate balance with their beliefs, they get mad, start rolling their eyes and acting like sarcastic dicks, and then hand-pick only the happiest-sounding parts of the Bible to back up their assertion that their particular fictional sky wizard is better than someone else's fictional sky wizard. - Seriously, bite me, dude. Rob was right. You missed the point completely, and your typical zealot's overreaction just underlined his point even more. - Personally, I know that the day I finally got away from the Christian schools was the one of the best days of my life.

• What is wrong with creators getting rich from their popular works? It isn't like they write for charity. We all work for money AND we all would want to get rich from our job if we can help it. Also, I don't think that by killing or not killing Harry at the end of the book would make she any less rich. Jealous much?

• I don't think that's all too important...

• Let's talk about Harry Potter. First of all, there is the "Dementers". Nightmarish creatures that torment others by making them relive the worst parts of their lives over and over again until they go insane.. die... and become "Dementers". Bad guys, right? Chaotic Evil through and through, right? Well the "Wizard Order" in Harry Potter uses them to run the Wizard PRISON. That's right kiddos! Wizards that PUNCH OTHER WIZARDS and other various extreme acts of abominable violence are thrown into the Abyss to be tormented by the Damned..... ah... I meant thrown into Azkaban to be tormented by Dementers, but really kids, same difference. Harry Potter is full of such total craziness. I'm SURE that's healthy for kids.

• I'm not a religious person by any means, but Jesus actually only said whoever is without sin may cast the first stone. So, in essence, that means if you are perfect, it's okay for you to bully and hurt others.

• Isn't Narnia a repackaging of the Christian faith? Got to love that video quality though, and the voice additions to punctuate the evils of paganism. Paganism which is the basis for most Christian holidays. Ugh. I'm going to stop before I go on a full rampage.

• This makes me so happy, I may have just pissed myself in glee

• Yup. The last book is FILLED with it. George gets his ear cut off like Peter, the whole concept of dying to save everyone else, etc.

• Really? I actually found the Space Trilogy to be a whole lot of Jesus-wank indirectly. It's a lot more palatable than other Christian stories obviously (since they don't damn every person who's not a Christian to everlasting hell) but it's a very black and white story.

• oh man i gotta go out and learn me some witch craft!

• And what, pray tell, does it mean to <i>really</i> read the bible?

• Oh and I almost forgot, what exactly is your issue with JK Rowling getting rich from those books? Considering how much money the movies have made or how many books have been sold for example, it seems fair to me that she should get a huge chunk of cash.

• Caved in? How the hell do you know that she didn't intend for Harry to survive all along?

• Holy crap, i don't think i've ever read something so mind numbingly ignorant before in my whole life. I spent the entire time reading, waiting for there to be some sort of indication that it was a joke. How do people make this stuff up?

• Well since this video seems to be from around the time the fourth book came out I presume these twits have since moved onto blasting the twilight books.

• Um... how do people know of this Jesus guy and what's the only evidence that's ever been offered that he ever existed to begin with? Oh yeah, that would be the bible. The christian bible(in all it's many variations) is the basis for belief in Jesus and thus the basis for christianity.

• These are the same people who dislike the Chronicles of Narnia because of the occult elements in the books. Who have no problem quoting EVERYTHING ELSE C.S. LEWIS HAS WRITTEN, but are leery of Narnia. Because it has occult elements. I can't figure out what those elements are, but one must assume that they're there. Oh, wait, now I remember. It's because a couple decided to fake out Jack Chick by pretending to be Wiccans and told Jack Chick they were seduced to the dark side by J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. And Chick told the world there was occult stuff in Chronicles of Narnia. Right. I just wish to god one of these idiots would read "That Hideous Streingth". In the ending Merlin, the wizard, who is much more "occult" than Harry Potter could ever hope to be, is the hero who saves the world for the good side because he learned magic before it was evil (and the reasoning behind this, IMHO, is well explained and one of the reasons why I love that book so much). It would hopefully make their heads explode.

• Sorry for the double post.

• I also love the "Harry Potter = Hitler" bit. I mean, Voldemort wants to kill everyone who's not a "pure-blood witch/wizard", and Harry wants to stop him. Soooooo... Harry = Hitler. So obvious.

• I also love the "Harry Potter = Hitler" bit. I mean, Voldemort wants to kill everyone who's not a "pure-blood witch/wizard", and Harry wants to stop him. Soooooo... Harry = Hitler. So obvious.

• This is... I don't even...*sigh* I never really liked Harry potter, but this? God. And, is it just me, or this is an actual documentary from a parallel universe, where HP existed in the '80's? Think i've been watching to much fringe. that and the LSD.

• I'd join Loki's Church any day!

• But you know, I think this woman does have a point. I mean, think about it: Harry and everybody else at Hogwarts are depicted celebrating Christmas - and Easter too, if I'm not mistaken - in every single book; both celebrations, as we all know, are satanic rituals. Oh, wait...

• The Bible says that bears mauled some douchey kids for mocking a bald man, you say? And what would be wrong with that? To me, as a balding man who gets mocked a lot, this sounds perfectly reasonable.

• Well, at least she didn't mention anything about fucking the unicorn to death. Now that's a start.

• Lol, she got me at "Latin words". Its funny how she thinks "Witchcraft is reality". I admit I started reading the first Harry Potter book when I was little, hated it, and haven't picked it up since but I got the feeling Harry Potter was the good guy. And they defeat the evil "satanists". Sigh, its people like this who make normal religious people look bad.

• Break neck speed? You sir, are an idiot. It was 759 pages and half of it was about the main characters staying in tends annoying the shit out of each other (and everyone reading about it).

• Giggle. And the Bible is such a better example of morality. Aside from the above verses, how wonderful can it be when the main character is an incompetent moron who leaves the ONE thing that a pair of legally mentally handicapped people aren't supposed to have unguarded. And then when they screw up, goes and has a complete melt down and curses the ENTIRETY of humanity for all generations with death, disease, hangnails... And lets not start on the morality of the Flood, the Plague of Egypt, etc.

• You misquoted him. He said, "Africa... or some <i>foreign</i> country," not "Africa... or some other country."

• I love it...the people behind the video obviously haven't <i>really</i> read the Harry Potter books or watched the movies, and Rob obviously hasn't <i>really</i> read the Bible. Quite frankly, I don't see what's the big deal about Harry Potter in the first place. I liked the movies but I don't see what's so *great* about the series to garner all the fanaticism, nor do I see what's so "evil" about the series to garner all the controversy. What I do know is that Nolan missed a great opportunity for an awesome nerd moment in <i>The Dark Knight</i> by not having the Joker ask Commissioner Gordon, "Why so Sirius?"

• My only issue with the Harry Potter books was how wealthy it made it's creator. That and how she caved in by not killing off Harry to end the series.

• The pointless character deaths cheesed me off. Not to mention the saccharine unneeded epilogue. Otherwise I absolutely adored the series. Started reading it before it became popular when I was 11 years old.

• HAHAHAHAHAHA. It's funny because they're so very clearly insane.

• Totally agree. That weird little epilogue was not a good ending.

• Lightening bolt as symbol of power from Thor. Congrats, that actually managed to make something otherwise silly and lame pretty awesome.

• you mean no latin words

• Funny, I just tried to Imperius my fiancee into ordering pizza and it worked like a charm.

• Sorry, I love this kind of quotes from the bible... But I think you misunderstood. He's not quoting to say that the bible is not worth reading, he's quoting to prove that some passages of the bible can lead to misunderstanding and educate children to a wrong way. I think it's the same as giving the children to read the Grimm's originals.

• "robes"...nice, Jesus wore robes too.

• Yeah. Little Blue Devil bastards. Damn Smurf Dukies. Butler was robbed.

• Owls. Owls are evil. Little velociraptors with wings.

• Does this mean that "the flash" is a Hitler suporter because he has a lightning bolt on his chest? All these years I thought lighning bolts where as awesome as unicorns. How could I go so wrong..

• Thanks for missing the point.

• Wow, he manages to be offensive to both Catholics <i>and</i> Jews in this one! This guy is amazing!

• Good lord this is insane... their occult specialist? Lightning: Why Thor and not Zeus? Why talk about Hitler using the lightning bolt (SS insignia) but be stupid enough to show a swastika, which is based off of the symbol for the sun? What the hell? This is totally insane. Most eye opening for me, though, is that magic really is real! Time to learn me some! I always thought it was just fantasy and harmless, but she set me straight!

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