It was only a matter of time before the personal attacks began on Nancy Brown. This column does not attack Nancy's book, The Mystery of Harry Potter, on it's merits. It attacks Nancy, calling her self-serving and non-Christian.
I have two things to say in response. One, I'm the one who encouraged Nancy to write this book in the first place. I know for a fact that her motivation was not money. (Let's get real here -- this is Catholic publishing, no one gets rich in the real world of Catholic publishing.) Nancy wrote this book because she had something important to say, something she wanted to share with the world, and by golly that's just what she does -- write.
Secondly, I've known Nancy a number of years. She's been to my home, I've been to hers. Our families have broken bread together and we've attended Holy Mass together. Nancy walks the walk. She doesn't just sit around talking about all things Catholic -- she lives it. I know her to be a woman of great faith, dedicated to Our Lord, His Church, and His Mother. I can only hope and pray that I too can someday be as holy as Nancy.
If you hate the Harry Potter books, I'm cool with that. If you hate Nancy's book, I am cool with that too. I have no problem with discussing these books and their merits or lack thereof. Bring it on. I love a great discussion. But we must, as Christians keep it charitable. There is no room, in my opinion, for personal attacks whether they be on J. K. Rowling or Nancy Carpentier Brown. Yes, we can judge their work and their fruits but are we to publicly judge the state of their souls?
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12 comments:
Does anyone even know who this woman is? It's just a letter to the editor. Hopefully it will only draw more attention to the book, and get more people to be open-minded. If I were against the Potter books and read this kind of diatribe, I'd probably decide to read the books after all or to be more open-minded about it, because I usually think that anyone with nothing better to do than attack the person must be wrong. Anyway, loved your defense of Nancy. Makes us feel like we know her...oh yeah, I do :) - but only online. Neat to hear about her from someone who knows her well.
Thought it is ironic that Christians will attack Nancy for being non-Christian by acting in a non-Christian way.
Though I am not surprised considering some of the anti-Potter hysteria and once again they are straining gnats while letting camels get through.
So very well said!!!
Thanks for keeping everything in perspective!
d
I've been in contact with Nancy for a few months off and on...she has been
very helpful to me and is a good soul. I'll end my comment there.
God bless you, Nancy and thanks to Maureen for this post.
Make sure the name is spelled right: B-r-o-w-n. That's all that counts.
Bravo! The personal attack was unwarranted. Thanks for speaking up about it... and thank you for encouraging Nancy Brown to write her excellent book!
I have to laugh, when I recommended a pro-Potter for Catholics essay to some people on a Catholic group I was called all sorts of nasty names. I was told I was worst than an abortionist. And when I pointed out that this was far from Christina behavior the person actually couldn't understand what on earth I was talking about. They then began to stalk me. That was when I changed my email, lol!
So there are some real scary people out there, far scarier than some of the things I have read in the books!
God bless Nancy, and I hope whoever is picking on her will find the true path to Christ.
Nancy is one of the most conservative Catholics I know--that's why I was so surprised she wrote this book...I couldn't believe it...She is one of the most no-nonsense, sensible people I know.
Prayers are needed for her detractors.
I've not read any of the Harry Potter books, mostly because literature of that genre just doesn't do anything for me.
That said, I don't -- nay, can't -- have an opinion of my own on the books.
However, considering the number of good Catholics I know who love the books, it flummoxes me when seemingly sane folks work themselves into a lather arguing that HP is evil.
While this woman may have falsely called our Nancy self-serving, she's forgetting the first rule of the press.
"Even bad publicity is good publicity."
Here's lookin' at ya, kid.
Yes John, a good number of good Catholics do enjoy the HP books, but there is also a good number who have strong feelings against them. People I respect a great deal. I hope that people don't go around saying, "Oh, So-and-So Good Catholic reads HP so I'm just going to hand it over to my child to read." I know you wouldn't do that, but there are some people who will. One of the many things I like about Nancy's book, The Mystery of Harry Potter, is that she isn't "for" the HP books, but rather for parents making educated decisions. She recommends parents reading the books themselves ahead of time. She also recommends reading them to your kids or at least alongside the kids so you can discuss them.
Maureen,
Good points - thanks.
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