For years, evangelical leaders proclaimed that Christians shouldn’t read Harry Potter or watch the movies. Lest his superpowers provoke our children to become witches and wizards. (Curiously, the moralists aren’t outraged by the magic in Chronicles of Narnia or the powers of Superman.)
The real issue is a lack of imagination. The ring in Lord of the Rings isn’t really about the ring. The Veggies in VeggieTales isn’t really about the vegetables. The magic in Harry Potter isn’t really about the magic.
It’s art.
Art (and stories) often use symbolism and metaphor to communicate something else. This is what makes the fantasy and superhero genre so popular. People enjoy searching for meaning. And there’s plenty of it in Harry Potter.
That said, I’m not going to say yes or no to Harry Potter. I’m not a moralist. I’m a Christian. I would say go with your conscience.
I do believe God is a big God and that every story, intentional or not, is wrapped up in his story. We just need the eyes to see it.
Besides, the real danger of Mr. Potter doesn’t lie in his magic.
It lies in his influence on culture through fashion:
The dark-rimmed glasses.
Its obvious there’s a grand conspiracy and no one is safe.
Especially the hipsters.
This atrocity must stop.
For the sake of the children.
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Hello friend. Glad you stopped by.
My name is Jason Salamun and I created this space for two reasons:
- To help folks live and tell better stories.
- To serve as a playground to share what I'm learning about the art and craft of storytelling.
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I find it interesting that the ultimate in people who should be spirit based (Christians) want to totally ignore that a spiritual world exists.
Harry Potter, Bewitched, etc are all fads that capture the attention of the public capitalizing on the the spiritual world. And yet Christians want to pretend the spiritual does not exist.
God exists in the Spirit world, and yet we choose to ignore it, so those who seek the spirit world will look to those who speak to it – generally, non-Christian.
Jeff
Hahaha…. I laughed so hard at the glasses part.
In all seriousness though, thank you for posting your thoughts on this. I absolutey agree and it needs to be said more.
Just stumbled across this blog today. I find it funny that many christians say that Harry Potter is occult and the magic is evil, but then overlook the pagan gods that show up in Narnia. Baccus, Silenus, river gods, wood nymphs etc. They are things used as a literary device.
I think the magic in both books is used to show that anything you can use or do can be used or done in the wrong way. There is nothing wrong with television, its what you watch. There is nothing wrong with speaking, it is what you say. The magic reflects that.
I think the overall moral themes in Potter and Narnia ar very similar. Honor, bravery, sacrifice, forgiveness. Yes Harry lies but he is told that truth is better than lies. Do people forget about Rahab?
Hi Jason
My daughter has just been captivated by Harry Potter. I have never watched or read any of the series, as they were considered ‘a no no’ in my Christian circles. That was a few years ago before I was a parent. So with much trepidation, we have watched 1, 2 and 3 (sorry can’t remember all the titles). It amazes me that Christians would be so up in arms about this and yet girls watch Barbie into oblivion. What Barbie teaches about body image, ambition, beauty, heart is further from a life filled with the spirit. So for now, she can watch HP and we can talk about it.