When the Harry Potter books and movies came out a few years ago, you might remember the outcry from fundamental Christians, who claimed that reading the Harry Potter books was akin to sinful witchcraft. There many articles and websites devoted to steering 
Christians away from the dangers of the fantasy world invoking wizards, creatures, magic, and spells. Why is it that other fiction stories like Cinderella, Aladdin, Pokemon, etc… do not invoke such a response? Nobody seemed to cry out against Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings… oh yeah, those books were written by Christian authors, so that makes it okay. Even though, those books contain the same fantasy elements as Harry Potter. Now, where are all the Christian nay-sayers?
I think a lot of hyped died down because there is a sense within fundamental Christianity that is reactionary. They typically give a knee-jerk reaction to anything remotely questionable. These Christians really operate in fear of things that apparently threaten their faith. Also, the hype died down because Harry Potter became very mainstream and proved to be harmless. Once Christians saw that Harry Potter was really just a story and not an evil left-wing plan to subvert Christianity, I think most hard core conservative Christians said, “Oh, its okay now because my minister said it was not evil.” Author and Minister, John Killinger wrote in defense of Harry Potter that you should take a look at. As with most Christian reactionary movements, the people of the movements usually do not spend time reading, studying, or watching the material they object to.
The Christian reversal of Harry Potter was in part due to the very nature of power of the series. When I say “power”, I mean the ability for the story of Harry Potter to transcend age, race, class, economic status, and gender. The Hardy Boys series was interesting for a lot of boys growing up, but girls had Nancy Drew. The Potter story involves so much more then the typical children’s gender targeted books because both girls and boys enjoy them. In addition, Harry Potter’s story has become a cultural staple of children’s literature.
Here are the top 3 enduring powerful qualities of Harry Potter that over shadow the magical wizardly elements and led to Christian acceptance:
- Good vs. Evil. In our society, our children get trophies for being on sports teams. I know, I got one for playing ice hockey even though my team finished 5th place. It is great to encourage children and we should support children, but we need to teach them the reality of society in a healthy way. Learning the struggle of good and evil is important for children to understand morally what is wrong and what is right. Harry Potter is always fighting evil in all its forms. Our children (hopefully at the right age) are learning that we should strive for goodness (and hopefully for Christ, too) and not for things that harm people physically or emotionally. Harry Potter is constantly in a struggle of doing the right thing, which sometimes makes him unpopular. Our children and youth need to learn how the world functions. And, as Christians we should teach our children how the world should function. The key with Harry Potter for Christians is for parents to talk about the book with their faith.
- Relationships. Harry Potter has a tight circle of friends and he always looks out for his friends, and sometimes is compassionate towards enemies. It is good for children to see this type of relational attitude in the world. Children need to be reaching out to those who are the outcasts, as Christ did. Harry Potter is in some ways the outcast, and yet, he reaches out to others. Christ did the same thing.
- Love. Children and youth in Sunday School learn about Christ’s love and talk about His love in scripture. The question for children is, “What does that look like? How do I do that in my world?” Reading about a boy’s selflessness in a world full of people looking to fulfill their own needs helps children understand the value of love.
The crucial part of understanding Harry Potter as Christians is to become involved in guiding children through a children’s story. The Harry Potter books contain magical themes, but the essential focus of the books is not magic. The focus of the books is a boy who grows and learns that he can do good for the world and learns what really matters in life. Our children see fantasy and it broadens their mind and opens new possibilities.
We as parents and Christians can teach the difference between fantasy and fiction. Fact from reality. We cannot make our children live in bubble. We can shelter our children against harmful things, but how many kids became Wiccan after Harry Potter? I don’t think many at all. I do not believe the “Harry Potter leads into occult interest” line either. Interest in the occult comes from horror movies and not Harry Potter. There is a difference between magical fiction and interest evil occult practices. Harry Potter clearly falls into the magical fiction category.
As one Christian film critic put it:
The real magic of the Harry Potter series comes not from spells and potions, but from the sustaining friendships of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
10 Comments
Interesting take on Harry Potter. I have to disagree with the following statement:
“Interest in the occult comes from horror movies and not Harry Potter.”
This is possibly the most ridiculous statement I have read in a long time. This is a perfect example of the #1 problem in our society…a lack of parenting.
Parents look for excuses to the problems their children face. No child will find interest in the occult from a horror movie unless there is a lapse in parenting. A child that is neglected might find acceptance in the occult when he or she is unable to satisfy that need for acceptance at home. No horror movie is responsible for this change in behavior/belief. The responsibility lies with the parents and the parents alone.
If the foundation at home is not strong enough to withstand a Harry Potter movie or a horror movie then there is a problem with the foundation built by the parents. It is masking the problem to blame the behavior on something as meaningless as a movie.
We have to stop searching for excuses and take responsibility for our children.
You really seem to be focusing a little too much on that statement… you are taking out of context. I am separating HP from the rest of magical fiction… The two last paragraphs are focused on parenting and how parents need to be involved in their children’s lives and books. I will say I have counseled many families who are good families and who’s children grow up with good morals. But, they have one child who gets in trouble.
As for the occult, read the journals and studies about the people who join and you will see their interested was image based in movies like Friday 13th, Jason movies, etc… My home can be strong, but I don’t want my 12 year old seeing R horror movies.
To be fair, a better statement could have been “Horror movies have generated more interest in the occult than Harry Potter.”
Thanks for you comment.
Alan,
I must apologize. A few years back I wrote an article about school shootings. I was working for a newspaper at the time, and it was a large editorial. The research was exhausting and when it was all said and done, I came to one conclusion. The children were neglected.
During this process, I read a great deal from polticians, news sources, and “experts”. They blamed video games, movies, gun owners, etc…The only common thread I was able to establish was that most of the children did not feel loved, had no foundation, and were crying out for help long before they went to the extreme.
So yes, I did take your comment out of context and it was unfair. I just have a hard time with the statement that something as trivial as a movie or video game can overcome years of parenting, morals, love and support. It just seems ridiculous.
Thanks for the reply. My apologies for the lack of restraint.
I agree with you that there is often a tenancy to blame a public entity (movies, tv, etc…). Parenting has lapsed in situations where there are deadly or costly consequences. My intent was not to “blame” fiction as the basis of occult, but horror movies, TV, etc… can serve as a gateway. Most parents would pick up on the gateway (whatever it is) and direct their attention away from it. I think that is what you are getting at, is the responsibility of parents. Many Christians were arguing, in the past, that HP was a gateway that led to evil. I thought that was an extreme thought. As a parent, you want to limit the “gateways” but as I said:
“We as parents and Christians can teach the difference between fantasy and fiction. Fact from reality. We cannot make our children live in bubble.”
Again, parents are key. My goal in writing the post was to say that the Harry Potter books are relatively harmless, by themselves.
My point which mirrors what you stated is simply that the foundation and support a parent provides should be stronger then any “gateway” or distraction. So I think we are on the same page.
Hey Alan,
Interesting piece on Harry Potter. However, I do still find it difficult to blindly allow for magic and witchcraft fervently. The connection between Narnia and HP is a bit of a stretch in that one (Narnia) is clearly allegorical with positive direction toward Christianity, and the other (HP) is not. It is a mixed bag of apples and oranges. As for LOTR and HP, I will admit far less of a connection, yet there are similar circumstances that keep them aligned. Again, with LOTR, the idea is still an allegorical view of the Holy, yet the audience is not as “child” friendly as Narnia or HP, so the imagery of magic is far more closely tied to HP than Narnia. I admit I still have difficulty with HP and the masses being blindly attracted to the works simply on the account that it gets kids to read. Thankfully, my oldest thought the books were stupid, and the jury is still meeting on whether or not the second child will be attracted to the mystique that is HP. I’ve ruffled plenty of feathers by questioning the purpose of reading such books. What if HP were a footballer and sent to a special school to learn drills, only to be thwarted by his own kin because they play chess? I doubt it has the same marketing response and overwhelming following. The truth is that kids are intrigued by magic. As a Christian, what should our response be? It is a healthy discussion, and I appreciate your ability to treat it fairly, but blindly accepting it because it feels proper doesn’t seem to be the correct approach. As a good Calvinist, I don’t think it influences kids one way or the other, which is why my kids can choose or not choose to read it. But I’ll promise you they’ll have discussions with me about what things mean and don’t mean. Perhaps what intrigues me most is how it develops such a huge cult in its wake. I think that says more about culture than the lack of reproach from the church. Certainly I’m not calling for a book burning, or a ban on the existence of magical works. However, escaping to a place where we can do what we want to do, and have powers over other people can be a dangerous place. If our faith in the Holy is grounded historically, we recognize and know only one entity can and should have that type of extra-human power. The attractiveness of these works allow students to think there is something to the idea of conjuring spirits and casting spells. Myth or not, we should tread lightly in view of how our faith allows us to mingle culture in any realm; closet stairs included. Not trying to be a fuddy-duddy, but I think we should tread lightly. I look forward to your retort.
Mark,
Wow there is a lot here… let me reply to the major points you had
“I do still find it difficult to blindly allow for magic and witchcraft fervently.” – I do not purpose to “blindly follow” anything. When you read the books, magic is really a secondary issue. The bulk of the literature is about the characters. I think 99% of the children out there do not fervently involve themselves in magic because of these books. By the way, you use blindly a lot. 🙂 No one is telling kids to blindly follow HP. I think a lot of Christian parents have ask the question, “Do these books have a high possibility of harming my child in some way?”
Another point in the post is that the parents have to be involved with the reading process, which you clearly are. Parents need to be able to talk about the books with their kids.
The only thing I remotely take issue with is
“However, escaping to a place where we can do what we want to do, and have powers over other people can be a dangerous place.” That is what imagination is all about. I think grouping all fantasy (even the one that involves magic) together is not being fair to certain books. Where is the public outcry against Twilight? Vampires? There are a lot of magical stories that our kids read but we do not object to them because we deem them to be harmless. What about comic books? We all ready comic books growing up where people had limitless powers… or that they used magic to good and evil.
I really think we have to take books on a case by case basis. Yes, you can open the door to the occult by reading magical books, but it really depends on how the fantasy is presented.
If there is one thing I took away from Harry Potter, it was the “power of obsessive love.” In the books, love is the most powerful magic known to wizards and defeats all other magic. It is ONLY through this amazingly unselfish love that we can truly “conquer death,” which in turn is not to defeat it at all, but embrace it, because we know that it is not truly the end. 1 Corinthians 15:26 (and Harry Potter book 7): “The last enemy that shall be conquered is death.” If all you can see when you read Harry Potter is the magic, then maybe you need to be reading deeper. Magic is only the method used to tell the story, not the story itself. And the story is a brilliant one, with many Christian themes and symbols that have truly helped me become a better follower of Christ.
Willy, thank you for your helpful thoughts.
Well, I am an occultist, and I can pretty much tell you. Harry Potter interests me a hell of a lot more than any horror movie.
I am unsure whether you are trying to imply that we have a fetish for ridiculous lust for murder and blood?
Most “occultists” are borne from children rebelling against their parents in a Christian context. These are usually angst-ridden teenagers, whose parents love being the controlling holier than thou type.
There is a difference between a real search for knowledge, and the aforementioned teenage phenomenon. There is a good book on this called: Satanic Panic — you will do well to try and get this book. But doubt you will.
But back on point. Movies with magic as theme is much more interesting to the occultist than horror; I mean seriously, that is logical.