Stupid things religious people say

[brewer]

Atheists claim that the Catholic church is useless, and yet it is trying to warn us against the demons we may summon by reading children's books and watching TV shows.

Magic is not 'harmless fun,' priest says

It's been more than 25 years since J.K. Rowling published her debut novel, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." To say it was a success story would be an understatement.

But, while at first glance, an interest in magic or even the occult might look like just harmless fun, Catholics should be aware of what the church teaches about such things and the very real dangers associated with what Pope Francis often refers to as "bad spirits."

This is all the more important since the interest shown by wider society in the occult shows no signs of waning, to just look at some of the latest releases from streaming service Netflix, especially for teens. All of this means that Catholics, particularly parents, need to be aware of what they are dealing with and the need to warn vulnerable people, especially the young.

So, what are Catholics to make of such a program?

Both the Old Testament and New Testament are clear in their denunciation of witchcraft as not being from God.

The traditional Catholic approach has been to condemn magic as being from the devil, believing that it opens the way for demonic possession.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is firm in asserting the church's teaching. In paragraph 2117, it notes: "All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others – even if this were for the sake of restoring their health – are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion."

Fr. Pat Collins is a Vincentian priest based in Dublin who specializes in exorcism, or deliverance ministry as he prefers to call it. He believes that as faith has waned in many Western countries, interest in the occult has increased.

He warned that despite the secular rush to condemn or make fun of concerns about magic and the occult, it's clear that Catholics need to be careful not to be indifferent or superficial about the real dangers inherent in practices that open one up to dark forces that are undoubtedly present and, in the words of the traditional prayer to St. Michael to ward off evil, "wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls."

https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/mag...es-program

Who was that one guy that did these things............ oh yeah,