| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ( B ) GANDALF & LORD OF THE RINGS The scriptures shared in section ( A ) from both Old and New Testaments clearly reveal the hatred of God towards witchcraft, wizardry and sorcery. Consequently, the Christian should reject such things. It is alarming then that there are Christians who choose to believe that such written works as The Lord of the Rings ( LOTR ) and Harry Potter ( HP ) series are not really spiritually damaging to readers. In truth, each of these series are spiritually damaging to the non-Christian as well as to the Christian who does not have spiritual discernment which can only come by way of the scriptures of Gods� Word ( Heb. 5:13-14 / 1 Kings 3:7-12 / Job 32:8 / James 1:5 / 2 Timothy 3:15-17 ). In the case of the LOTR series is the specific character of the wizard, Gandalf. It is believed by certain Christians that Gandalf is a type of Christ character in the LOTR stories. This belief is due to the fact that in those stories, Gandalf willingly sacrifices his life in order to save the life of his friends. In addition to this sacrificial death for his friends, Gandalf also rises back from the dead. Consequently, because of these actions and attitudes of the Gandalf character in the LOTR stories, there are Christians who believe that such a character is a valid means in revealing the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in holy scripture. Though Jesus Christ willingly sacrificed His life to save the world and then rose from the dead, these actions and attitudes of Christ alone do not in any manner equate Him to the character of Gandalf simply because as is shown in the LOTR stories, the character of Gandolf is a wizard, a sorcerer. In the scriptures, Jesus Christ is shown to be the Son of God. Holy, undefiled and separate from sinners ( Heb. 7:22 & 26 ). In contrast as shown in the scriptures previously shared, sorcerers and wizards are people who along with their activities are condemned by the Holy God. Such persons are an abomination to Him ( Deut. 18:9-13 ). To believe that a sorcerer by the attitude and actions of said sorcerer is a valid equation and parallel to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is foolishness and shows that such belief is in error and opposition to Gods� Word. The one is an abomination to God, evil and corrupt. While the other is blessed, holy and good. Moreover, the scriptures reveal the wickedness of the sorcerer and the bewitchments of sorcery. These other scriptural evidences further prove that in no manner can a wizard or sorcerer have any similarity to the Holy Son of God, Jesus Christ. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |