Yes, they are real. The results aren’t.
The Catholics, who are only gung-ho about the Vulgate Bible, are a strange bunch, as are so many of the rest.

I remember one of the priests at the Catholic church I attended as a kid was a huge Harry Potter fan and would sometimes mention it in his homilies. I guess he accepted it as a work of fiction and the rest was moot. I don’t remember anyone up in arms about it. But this was California, not Tennessee.

They may be an international child raping cartel but at least they believe in evil magic spells.

To be fair, the argument, as I remember it from medieval, Renaissance, and Puritan literature, and apparently perhaps too from Reverend Dan Reehil in the article, is that spirituality boils down to Catholic God, and The Devil, and pretty much any non-His-Church-authorized hocus pocus therefore is on The Devil’s side of things, and a slippery slope down.

Apparently even reading Harry Potter…

Three cheers for the binary thinking and intolerance for everything not primitive Catholic . . ! Hip Hip . . .

Magic spells are real. I’m not so sure about Tennessee.

I am understand how in our current political climate and society in general why you could believe this but no unfortunately it’s neither leviosa or leviOsa it’s just dream crushing reality.

No.
They probably also believe that Jesus rode around on a dinosaur, if they even believe in dinosaurs.
No, the only magic wands are machine guns, and the spell is called “Dakka Dakka”.

As a Catholic, to me this pastor’s actions are offensive and unconscionable. I would pull my child from the school and complain to the Bishop.

This priest is not in any way representative of the Church or its teachings.

Its not JUST Catholics. Many people call it witchcraft and being for children, think its inappropriate. If you think Catholics are hardcore, you dont know Southern Baptists.

They are afraid that presenting spells in a humorous fictional setting will cause people to view prayers and religion in a similar way. It could be that deep down on a subconscious level they know that religion is BS and are being overly defensive.

@LostInParadise good point. I remember attending a Christmas Mass in college with friends; one of the priests was walking around the chapel with a swinging incense holder that was emitting some holy smell.

If that isn’t a throwback to incantations and spells, I don’t know what is.

@KNOWITALL That must be true because my father always told us stories about Southern Baptists. And I thought my Irish Catholic mother was WAY out there…

@kritiper Southern Baptists/Fundamental Baptists are hardcore. No drinking, no smoking, no dancing (in many). I had to wear shorts under my dresses until age 14, and no ladies could wear pants to services. At least in the 80’s in Missouri.

Maybe it’s changed now but when I was converting to Catholicism in the 90’s, I was surprised when I saw everyone leaving giggling, smoking and the rectory had an amazing liquor cabinet. A few girls wore mini-skirts to church. And all the gold and ostentatiousness of the church was even surprising.

Nothing at all similar to the stark, literal bible preaching of a So Baptist church. They have very strict rules of conduct, even outside the church. Catholics are the fun-loving Christians, trust me.

I went to church with mom on Mothers Day this year, good old So Baptist church. The preacher decided Mothers Day was the day to discuss how wrong Adam & Steve were, instead of Adam & Eve, so I told mom I couldn’t go anymore. She isn’t anti-LGBTQ at all, so it shocks me she still goes there tbh.

The image of the austere, severe, guilt-emphasizing James Joyce-ian Catholic church is still pervasive in many people’s minds and I’m sure it is still like that in some places, but that was certainly not my experience growing up in the Church. It was my own homosexuality that caused me to start to move away from the Church and religion in general, but I never felt that oppressive hand of Church that it’s stereotyped as having. The kinds of people who banned books and such I pictured in my mind (as a Catholic kid) as something relegated to the Protestants of the Bible Belt.

@KNOWITALL what you wrote made my chuckle.

I went to a Catholic university in the 1970s. (I know, nice Jewish boy at a Catholic school. I was one of two Jews on my dormitory floor).

Anyway, our college had RA (resident advisors), but also RJs (Resident Jesuits) who were supposed to be providing Jesuit guidance to us residents in the dorm. As it happened. the RJ lived on my dorm hall, about two doors down from me.

He had a liquor cabinet like you wouldn’t believe. And if you went to him for spiritual guidance (my roomie did) then you were offered your choice of booze.

Oh… the 70s… what an interesting time….

@elbanditoroso haha, and all the kid’s loved him right? lol, smart way to get them in, I suppose.

I was born in 1973, so I only caught a bit of the 70’s. Mom said the cops came once and I said “Mom the pigs are here!” Some interesting memories!