Friday, March 20, 2009

Harry Potter To Christians: It's Not Good To Hear Voices

That is the popular and, thank God (if you'll pardon the use of the G name) the politically correct feeling among most Christians today. You will recall that in the second book of the Potter series, The Chamber Of Secrets, Harry Potter alone heard the voice of the basilisk. When he confided in his two friends about it, one told him that even in the wizarding world, hearing voices is not a good thing. Like art imitating reality, can't we say that even in our non-wizarding world, it's not a good thing to be hearing voices. Whether those voices be God's or someone else's voice.

Most of us would agree that hearing voices in your head, voices that aren't there, this is indeed a bad thing. In fact it used to be a sign of being crazy. But what if the person claims to be hearing God's voice? How can we know if God is speaking to this guy such that we can't immediately lock him up in the looney bin?

The obvious answer is that we, the non-Harry Potter-hearing-voices-people, have to recall the eleven different ways that God speaks to mankind. Some of those ways are observable and objectively verifiable. Others are not observable but they can be verified. Examples in the first category are the times that God spoke to Moses out loud and all the other Israelites could hear their conversation. Or when God the Father spoke to Jesus during his baptism, and the others gathered around heard that talk. Or when the wayward prophet Balaam had a talking to by his donkey. Makes you wonder who the dumb animal was at that time, doesn't it?

Only daring men and women choose to hear God's voice today. Many christians don't hear God because they don't know what exercises to do that would enable them to hear his voice. While other christians choose not to hear God out of fear of what their friends will say about them. They will likely be considered to be crazy, religious fanatics, and attempting to glorify themselves. Worst yet, those christians will be imposing their morality on the rest of us because they claim to have heard God. Right?

The value of hearing God is that it saves lives. I recall the time that God told me to pray for a certain Dee Jay (Strawberry Jan) that used to be on KEZY 1190 AM. He told me that she was in danger and I was to pray for her often. So I did, even though I didn't know her, and knew nothing of her personal or professional life. Six years later she was nearly killed by a drunk driver on the freeway. Finally about 15 years later I met Strawberry Jan in person. I am certain that my prayers were central to God's plan to save her life in that accident, prevent certain injuries and lessen others during the years.

If you are courageous and want to hear God, then contact me toll free at (877) 230-0100 or by email at sgtrepo@comcast.net

Mark B. Replogle is an Attorney at Law in private practice in California. He is also the author of the book Saviour Clinton: An Evil American King. Last year he served with the Marine Central Comand's Staff Judge Advocate in Bahrain before and during the war in Iraq

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Harry Potter signed by J.K. Rowling to be auctioned on Ebay

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, donated an autographed set of the seven books to the XP Support Group to auction on Ebay. Ms. Rowling learned about the charity through Kate Middleton whose seven year old son David has XP. XP is Xeroderma Pigmentosum. It is a rare genetic disorder that causes people to be very sensitive to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

The author had presented David with quite a few gifts for the XP Support Group. It is the third charity to benefit from her generosity. The Ebay auction will be held from Sunday, November 30, at 8:00pm, to Sunday, December 7.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Have you ever wondered if what you know about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
You can see that there's practical value in learning more about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Can you think of ways to apply what's been covered so far?
The historic success of Harry Porter is not without a reason. It is proved that the series of Harry Potter has broken various other records of the books written in the past. Keeping the legacy of the Harry Potter books all the novels have their distinct charm and interests which has appealed to the readers all over the world. In the 7 book series, the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets come in the second number. This popular book was published on 2 July 1998 and it has remained one of the most popular works on fantasy. This popular book deals with another interesting venture of Harry Potter who has now turned into his 12th summers. The readers can look forward to see a much matured Harry performing his skills.
Those who have the taste for adventures and fantasy can count on this wonderful tale of a child hero who shoulders the responsibility of protecting the entourage from the evil intervention. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets find Harry to be a bit matured individual with more polished thought process and ability. The story starts with the anxiety of Harry for not receiving any news of his friends during the unusual summer vacation. In the initial stage of the book we are made aware that Harry will be in mortal danger once he returns to Hogwarts. The readers felt sympathetic towards Harry Potter when he was being forcibly pent up in the room.
This adventure packed book is considered one of the indispensable parts of the Harry Potter Series. The story revolves around the Chamber of Secrets, in which the vindictive monster is there with the aim of destroying the people. Seeing the terrified Hogwarts’ students, Harry took the initiative to purge the academy from the monster. In order to escape that adversities some solutions was to be found. Harry was able to discover the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets with the help of Ron and Moaning Myrtle. As he enters the Chamber he finds an unconscious Ginny inside it. The story of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets reaches its climax when Harry slays basilisk, with the sword although his arm was pierced by the creature's fang. But at the end Harry was able to destroy fragment of soul of Riddle.
At the end of the story, author portrayed the victory of virtue over vice and attributing all the courage and merit to the protagonist. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets the readers find Harry Potter to have accepted much graver challenges and a more powerful opponent. The ventures taken by Harry make the book more interesting and adventurous. The Chamber of Secrets Book of Harry Potter has been made into films, which maintains the conformity with the details mentioned in the books. The children and the lovers of fantasy have ranked this book as one of the best of the series. This novel leads to some other fine Harry series, where we await some more adventures and conflicts of Harry Potter.
This article's coverage of the information is as complete as it can be today. But you should always leave open the possibility that future research could uncover new facts.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. But don't be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

The 5th novel in the Harry Potter series is the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K Rowling. This book being the longest book in the Harry Potter series was released in 21st June 2003. This book begins with Harry and his cousin Dudley being attacked by the Dementors in the park. The members of Order of the Phoenix took Harry away following this and Weasleys, Hermione and Sirius Black joined him. Harry comes to know that Voldermort, in order to achieve a weapon and is trying to build an army. In the mean time Harry is accused of practicing under age magic and following this trial Harry was upset that he was not made a prefect just as Ron and Hermione were.

Harry, Ron and Hermione realize to their surprise that the official of the Ministry who has presided on Harry’s trial turned out to be their new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione is made the High Inquisitor and she goes around imposing rules arbitrarily and develops hatred for the half-breeds. She fires Sybill Trelawney and puts Hagrid on probation.

In the story Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry continues to have distracting dreams of trying to open a door in Department of Mysteries in the Ministry and another night he dreamed of Ron’s father facing a snake’s attack and actually Mr. Weasley is injured by snakebites and Harry fears of possession by Voldermort. Snape tries to help Harry block his mind from such bad feelings but the session comes to an end due to their common feeling. Hermione forces a yellow journalist to write a good article about Harry in order to prevent the campaign against Harry and Dumbledore by the Ministry. The article about Harry is published in Quibbler and Umbridge bans it but the story of Harry witnessing Voldemort’s return was already spreading and this brought in more support for him. The Ministry of Magic tends to fear that Dumbledore is preparing his army and on the other hand Harry teaches the Defense Against the Dark Arts to a few students who take the responsibility of protecting the other students. Umbridge after becoming the headmistress fires Hagrid and in protest the Weasley twins let out magical chaos in the school and the rest of the staff don’t help Umbridge on purpose.

Harry again has a vision as he sees Sirius being tortured by the Mysteries Department and Hermione feels that this is a trap. While trying to contact Sirius, Harry is caught by Umbridge who revels that she had sent the Dementors to attack Harry in order to silence him. Hermione amidst all this claimed that Dumbledore has a secret weapon hidden in the Forbidden Forest. In the forest they come across the centaurs and Umbridge insults them and thus she gets abducted by one of the angry centaurs. In a ambushed attack by the Voldemort’s army on the Hogwarts’ students Sirius is dead and the death eaters are caught except for Bellatrix Lestrange who tries to kill Harry but is saved by Dumbledore. Dumbledore reveals the lost prophecy which stated that either Harry or Voldemort must die at each others hand. According to Dumbledore, Voldemort attacked Harry unlike Neville Longbottom as Harry was a half blood like Voldemort. Dumbledore also revealed that he used to send Harry to stay with the Dursleys for the summer holidays because while his mother who died protecting him it initiated a magic spell that works as a shield, which even Voldemort can’t overcome. Harry finds out from the other characters in Hogwarts that who ever has died are found just behind the veiled arch and while Harry goes back to his uncle Vernon’s place for the holidays Moody warns Vernon not to ill treat Harry else the school authorities will intervene in the issue.

Is there really any information about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that is nonessential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Imagine the next time you join a discussion about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. When you start sharing the fascinating Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed.

Truthfully, the only difference between you and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban experts is time. If you'll invest a little more time in reading, you'll be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The story of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling is known to be the 3rd novel from the Harry Potter series and this book was published in the year 1999 on 8th July. This novel bringing the fantasy world to life is known to have won the Costa Book Awards and the Bram Stoker Award in the year 1999. This fantasy novel was released in the UK on 31st May 2004 and in the US and few other countries it was released on 4th June.

The novel of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling begins with Harry Potter spending one more dull and sad summer with his uncle Vernon Dursley and his family. While staying with the Dursley’s Harry tends to over hear about Sirius Black’s escaping from the prison and to top it all his uncle’s sister insults him about his parents and Harry makes her float in the air giving vent to his anger. Harry while escaping from his uncle’s place lands up in the Knight Bus as he encounters a black dog keeping an eye on him. The Knight Bus takes Harry to the Leaky Cauldron and on his way to this place Harry comes to know that Sirius Black has a record of murdering 13 people with one curse and is known to be Lord Voldermort’s supporter. Harry over hears Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s argument regarding whether to warn Harry about Sirius Black or not.

The 3rd year sessions for Harry begins with Hermione attending twice the number of classes she used to attend. Two more wizards join the teaching batch by the name of Professor Remus J. Lupin to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts and Rubeus Hagrid to teach about caring of Magical creatures. People took to enjoying classes by Lupin and on the other hand Hagrid’s classes soon attained a dark and depressing nature. Draco Malfoy in the 1st class tends to provoke the Hippogriff Buckbeak, which is a half horse and half bird animal to attack him, and in return Malfoy’s father brings a complaint against Hagrid. The guards of the Azkaban prison tend to keep track of the happenings in Hogwarts while Albus Dumbledore protects Harry from falling down from his broomstick during a Quidditch match though his Nimbus 2000 is destroyed due to collision into the Whomping Willow.

Harry attains the Marauder’s Map from the Weasley twins after Christmas. This map shows the location of every person inside Hogwarts. Harry through the map finds out that Black was a friend with his parents other than being the legal guardian to Harry. Being the Secret Keeper of Potter, Black revealed the secret of the whereabouts of the Potters to Voldermort and killed their friend named Pettigrew including 12 others. Harry and friends come to know about the execution of Buckbeak. In the process of saving Buckbeak’s life they come across the fact that Lupin was capable of turning himself into a wolf and Harry also comes across Black in a confrontation but realizes that Lupin and Black are friends. Lupin admits about his ability to transform into a wolf and Ron’s mouse Scrabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew who is Voldermort’s servant. Pettigrew is known to have betrayed the Potters and Black was trapped in Potters’ murder. Once Pettigrew was brought back into his human shape by Black and Lupin they try to kill him but Harry stops them.

Lupin on a full moon day again turns into a wolf and Black takes the shape of a dog to protect Harry, Ron and Hermione from Lupin and is badly injured in the process. While the dementors move closer to Black, Harry sees a figure coming to protect, which he believes, is his father’s spirit. Hermione tells Harry that due to her time traveling device she was able to attend too many classes at a time and with Dumbledore’s help Hermione and Harry travel 3 hours back in time where Harry realizes that the mysterious figure that had protected Black was not his father but it was himself. Harry had created a powerful Patronus to repel the dementors and Black was rescued as he escaped on Buckbeak while the time device goes back to the normal time.

Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Share your new understanding about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with others. They'll thank you for it.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Most of this information comes straight from the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you'll know what they know.

The reputation of the Harry Potter Series cannot be denied. Those who are lovers of fantasy and those who want o experience something beyond the crudity of the realistic world fall back on the stories of Harry Potter. The author J.K. Rowling is credited for creating Harry and making a string of events taking place centering on Harry. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which is also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is the first novel in the Harry Potter series. The main protagonist Harry Potter is portrayed as a young wizard on whose actions and struggle the whole plot stands on. This is the beginning story of the series of events that will take place in the coming days.

Published on 30 June 1997, the book is recorded to have sold around 107 million copies worldwide. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a widely accepted book since the readers got the taste of world of sorcery after a long time. If you go through the pages of this book, you will be able to realize that the book deals with the background of Harry and the incidents that led to his orphaned state. We are introduced with the characters like the Dark lord Voldemort and the Hogwart’s Castle of Witchcraft Academy. We also got to know Harry’s two best friends, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom. The characters are so well portrayed that the readers can identify themselves with them.

The whole story of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone deals with the attempt of Harry to stop Snape from stealing the Philosopher's Stone. Snape was in search of a chance when he can steal that stone so that the evil power of the Dark Lord Voldemort is restored. In the beginning, we learnt about the sad plight of Harry’s parents, Lily and James Potter who were killed by the Lord Voldemort. The story slowly revealed that Harry is blessed with magical powers which work as his shield on his way to confrontation against the evil powers. The readers will be taken to a trip to a magical world where you can surely contemplate on the beauty of the sorcerer’s world. The movie is also a good option where you can see the excellent picture and sound effects.

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which is also made into a successful movie, we find Harry Potter to be a child, who is yet to master the art of sorcery. Although he has some magical powers, but the juvenile fallacy of a human is there in him. The suffering of Harry at the hands of his distant relatives and the receiving of the Invisibility Cloak belonging to his father is depicted in this story. The arrival of the mysterious letter addressed to him on his 11th birthday and his admission to Hogwarts are all portrayed in the book. As we journey through the books we get to find Harry’s encounter with Quirrell and the second encounter with Lord Voldemort. The book ends on a happy note with the defeat of vice.

There's a lot to understand about Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

So what is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire--info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

So far, we've uncovered some interesting facts about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the 4th novel by J.K Rowling from the Harry Potter series. This novel is known to have won a Hugo Award in the year 2000 and this book was made into a film that was released on 18th November in the year 2005. This novel begins with the elderly caretaker of the Riddle manor named Frank Bryce who comes across light inside the house that’s abandoned for a long time. In that abandoned house Frank comes to know of the deadly plan of Lord Voldermort and Peter Pettigrew. They plan to kill Harry and at the same time Harry wakes up disturbed with the visions of his murder and he also realizes that the scar on his forehead was hurting.

Following this Harry, Ron and Hermione leave for the Quidditch World Cup and after this match the Death Eaters who are the servants of Lord Voldermort tend to haunt the camp where they create a lot of panic. Harry, Ron and Hermione escape to the forest where they see the Dark Mark, which is known as Lord Voldermort’s sign. The head of the Department Of International Magical Co-operation blames the trio but later finds out that elf Winky had stolen Harry’s wand and Crouch becomes angry and hence Winky is fired.

In the story Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Professor Dumbledore, during the Welcoming Feast announced that Hogwarts would host the Triwizard Tournament. The Goblet of Fire is known to choose a student from each of the schools that were competing and the students have to be of 17 years old in order to be able to enter into this competition. Cedric Diggory is selected as the champion of Hogwarts and Fleur Delacour is chosen as the Beauxbatons Academy while Viktor Krum is known to represent the Durmstrang Institute. Surprisingly Harry is chosen as the 4th member despite being an under age for entering this competition and Ron thinks that Harry cheated to enter this competition. Professor Alastor Moody being the new teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts is known to have helped out Harry in the tournament. Harry got high marks with advice from Hagrid, Moody and Hermione and depending on the danger involved in the task Ron realizes that Harry didn’t cheat.

Harry is a bit late in finishing the second task and while saving Gabrielle he earns points regarding moral fiber and attains the first place at the Cedric Diggory. For the 3rd task the champions needed to go through a large maze that’s filled with obstacles that are dangerous. Harry also comes across the memories of professor Dumbledore and he saw a trial where Barty Crouch Jr. being a death eater was sent to the prison of Azkaban by Crouch Sr. During the 3rd task Pettigrew had killed Diggory and had tied Harry to the tombstone. Then he used Harry’s blood, and through a strange ritual that brought back Voldermort in his full form and power. Voldermort came out more powerful as the magic protecting Harry since his childhood as now Voldermort now was having Harry’s blood in his body. Voldermort reveals that all this was pre planned and invites Harry for a competition unaware of the fact that the magic wands belonging to both of them are twins. As the streams of the wands interlock with each other the echoes of the spirits of Cedric Diggory, Bertha Jorkins, James and Lily Potter, and even the Muggle Frank Bryce come out of Voldermort’s wand and Voldermort is distracted momentarily. Harry escapes to Hogwarts with the body of Diggory.

Harry returns to Hogwarts thanks to the portkey and he comes to know that Moody was behind the conspiracy of involving Harry into this competition and that he ensured that Harry won. Dumbledore, Snape and Minerva McGonagall protect Harry as Moody is reveled as Crouch Jr. The Minister of Magic arrives in Hogwarts and doesn’t believe that Voldermort is back to Hogwarts. Crouch Jr. looses his soul to the Dementor’s kiss and Dumbledore revises the order of the phoenix against the order of the Ministry and tells the truth of Cedric’s death to the students and also that Voldermort has returned. Harry being the winner of the competition is gifted with 1000 Galleons that are passed on to Ron’s twin brothers to fulfill their ambition of opening their joke shop.

Now you can understand why there's a growing interest in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. When people start looking for more information about Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, you'll be in a position to meet their needs.