New Mexico church plans Harry Potter book burning

ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico - A New Mexico church plans to burn Harry Potter books because they are "an abomination to God," the church pastor said on Wednesday.
Pastor Jack Brock said he would have a "holy bonfire" on Sunday at the Christ Community Church in Alamogordo in southern New Mexico to torch books about the fictional teen-age wizard who is wildly popular with young people.
"These books encourage our youth to learn more about witches, warlocks, and sorcerers, and those things are an abomination to God and to me," Brock, 74, told Reuters.
"Harry Potter books are going to destroy the lives of many young people."
The books, written by British author J.K. Rowling, have been runaway bestsellers and a movie, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," is currently a blockbuster hit.
Brock, whose said his Christmas Eve sermon was titled "The Baby Jesus or Harry Potter?," described the book burning as part of an effort to encourage Christians to remove everything from their homes that prevents them from communicating with God.
The books have come under fire in a few U.S communities for supposedly encouraging devilish thoughts among the young, but Rowling in an earlier statement issued by her publisher Bloomsbury called the criticisms absurd.
"I have met thousands of children now, and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, 'Ms. Rowling, I'm so glad I've read these books because now I want to be a witch,'" she said.

"New Mexico church plans Harry Potter book burning"

(Reuters, December 26, 2001)

	"New Mexico church plans Harry Potter book burning" (Reuters, December 26, 2001)
ALAMOGORDO, New Mexico - A New Mexico church plans to burn Harry Potter books because they are "an abomination to God," the church pastor said on Wednesday. Pastor Jack Brock said he would have a "holy bonfire" on Sunday at the Christ Community Church in Alamogordo in southern New Mexico to torch books about the fictional teen-age wizard who is wildly popular with young people. "These books encourage our youth to learn more about witches, warlocks, and sorcerers, and those things are an abomination to God and to me," Brock, 74, told Reuters. "Harry Potter books are going to destroy the lives of many young people." The books, written by British author J.K. Rowling, have been runaway bestsellers and a movie, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," is currently a blockbuster hit. Brock, whose said his Christmas Eve sermon was titled "The Baby Jesus or Harry Potter?," described the book burning as part of an effort to encourage Christians to remove everything from their homes that prevents them from communicating with God. The books have come under fire in a few U.S communities for supposedly encouraging devilish thoughts among the young, but Rowling in an earlier statement issued by her publisher Bloomsbury called the criticisms absurd. "I have met thousands of children now, and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, 'Ms. Rowling, I'm so glad I've read these books because now I want to be a witch,'" she said.