Harry Potter Illustration Offends Many Orthodox
by The Editor on August 30, 2009
The front page of the August 30th Dallas News Points section featured an illustration which is offending many area Orthodox Christians. The illustration accompanies an article by Michael Paulson, a religion reporter for the Boston Globe. Many Orthodox Christians are deeply saddened or even outraged at this depiction.
Many who do not hold icons sacred — as the Orthodox do — may not see this as a big issue. To the Orthodox though, this is sacrilegious and offensive in the extreme. Orthodox Christians are trained from an early age to “read” icons, and the halo with a cross background surrounding a figure is iconography’s way of saying: “This person is God.” Picking up the Points section of the paper, many Orthodox react as if the headline reads, “Harry Potter is God.”
The article is available online at the Dallas News
While the illustrator may not understand the theological ramifications of this image, educated Orthodox do. Icons are sacred, and a blasphemous illustration is, wittingly or unwittingly, a mockery of Christianity.
Take a moment to speak to your church leaders about this topic and consider writing the Dallas News
7 comments:
This is an outrage.
This is truly offensive and disgusting. As creatures created in the Image of God, we are called to grow in His likeness...to become Holy as He is Holy. Icons are more than photos or pictures of holy ones or of holy events, they are reflections of the Holiness of God Himself in the person depicted. The word "saint" in Greek is “Agios” which is interpreted HOLY. When we call someone holy, it means they have grown in the Likeness or Holiness of God, Himself, by their free will and choice to do God’s will. To depict this fictional character as a saint with his hand blessing in the name of Christ (ICXC) is blasphemous.
You said it, Anonymous! It's outrageous, and blasphemous, and truly offensive and disgusting! I can't find the article to comment upon in the Dallas News. But this came from other places, too - it's all over the place.
Obviously, I'm not a Muslim, but had something similar happened to Muslims, we'd be seeing blood in the streets.
The offending illustration has been removed from the web edition.
The artist is Scott Laumann, and his e-mail addy is:
scott@scottlaumann.com
I have written to him to express my outrage (nicely - I don't think he realized what he was doing) and my hope that he would not do this kind of thing again in the future.
For the Dallas News to have published a picture this week of Harry Potter, depicted as Christ in an icon, crosses the line of journalism to its lowest possible scatological level.
The Dallas News should know better than to publish such a picture, as it is sacrilegious and an insult to Christ.
I believe that the writer of this article, who included this picture, as well as the editor of the Dallas News who authorized the publication of this picture, should both be terminated immediately by the publisher of the Dallas News. No ifs, ands, or buts accepted!
Wow, the responses on this blog are incredibly different from those on this one: http://southern-orthodoxy.blogspot.com/2009/08/harry-potter-is-uh-omg.html
Please read all of the comments on Fr. Joseph Huneycutt's blog. One of them is from one of the editors of the Dallas News. This one is mine:
I am happy about everyone's comments so far. Although our Lord taught us to turn the other cheek when offended, we far too often play the "victim" card and seek attention and reparations in the public arena. Maybe the Orthodox will set a new trend of letting things just roll off.
And it is encouraging to see such merciful attitudes toward the "artist" who most likely photoshopped this image, thinking he/she was doing no harm. Yes, it is sad that our culture pays less and less respect to sacred objects and people. However, why get upset about someone defiling an image of God when each of us daily defiles our bodies and minds, the living, breathing, walking images of God? I am glad to have found in Orthodoxy a group of people who are more concerned with removing planks from their own eyes than they are with voicing public opinion and pointing out faults in everyone else.
Not a big deal. Our Tradition has never been one of idolatry. Yes, we venerate icons, but we never lift them above the truest icons: humans. Such hypocrisy in American Orthodoxy ... to protest an artist's image but to turn the great need of people in need. What is offensive is the Orthodox arrogance that passes as humility. Pharisees flood our parishes; even more waste blogs. Do you rant like this when you see a pregnant teen in need, an amputated veteran, a gay person? These are true icons, not some paper that decomposes.
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