Beginning in June of 1997,
many parts of the world witnessed a phenomenon rarely seen in the
world of book publishing. A relatively unknown author by the name of
R.K. Rowling publishing the first in a series of seven children's
books know as the Harry Potter Series. Over 40 million
of just the first four books in the series have been sold making them
the fastest selling children's book in U.S. history. The books
are being published in multiple languages including Chinese, German,
Icelandic, Korean, Basque, and Serbo-Croatian to name a few.
Needless to say, the media has taken notice and has given the books
front cover stories in Time and Newsweek. Further yet,
the Potter series have been #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List
for many weeks, the USA Today Bestseller List, and winner of the
National Book Award (UK). And finally, the book series will soon
to be featured as a motion picture by Warner Brother films.
The interest in these books has
attracted the imagination of both children and adults and has created
a considerable amount of controversy, especially with Christians who
have mixed reviews regarding their content.
For this reason, we need to approach the subject sensitively, first
by withholding judgment on those believers who disagree with us while
at the same time praying for biblical discernment and objectivity.
Nothing will be gained if we pre-judge others before first examining
the material in question. Neither should we "judge a book by
it cover." Therefore we will first present a brief description
of the Harry Potter series and then offer some observations and a
summary critique in light of God's Word, the Bible.
The Harry
Potter Storyline
Book one of the Harry Potter
series (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) begins at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dursley where they discover their
one-year-old nephew, Harry Potter, in a bundle of blankets on the
doorstep. He had been left there shortly after his wizard parents
had been murdered by the evil wizard Lord Voldemort (referred to as
"He-who-must-not-be-named" throughout the series) who
also attempted to kill the infant Harry without success. Lord
Voldemort succeeds in scarring Harry's forehead with a
thunderbolt symbol but looses much of his power as a result of the
battle. The arrival of Harry at the Dursley's is not the
typical orphan story though. Upon arriving there are feasts and
parties, shooting stars, and flocks of owls among the witches and
wizards who celebrate the infants victory over Lord Voldemort. Harry
also comes with a remarkable prophecy that "He'll be
famous- a legend- …there will be books written about Harry-
every child in our world will know his name!" (P.13).
In spite of all of the
celebration, Harry is forced to live with his cruel relatives, in the
world of the "Muggles" (non-magical folks or non-witches)
who either do not believe in Witchcraft, regard it as evil,
dangerous, and/or demonic, and maintain a "medieval attitude
toward magic." On his 11th birthday things begin to
change for Harry Potter. He receives a letter (by an owl messenger)
of admission from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
a residential school located in a 1,000 year-old castle somewhere in
the north of England that offers a seven-year course in magic to a
handpicked group of young people who they feel have great magical
potential. Thus, Harry becomes aware of his true identity- he
discovers that he is "a wizard of great fame, someone who once
conquered death and crippled a devilish foe." While at
Hogwarts, Harry makes friends with Ron a fellow wizard, and Hermione
the smartest girl in the class.
The Harry Potter series are
designed to capture the heart and adventures of young Harry as he
grows and matures as a wizard over a seven-year period. And so each
book builds on the previous book until Harry turns 17 years old when
he will have come of age in the wizarding world, and ready to leave
the Dursley's at last. Moreover, as each book is published, the
themes get darker and darker so much so that the author at times
becomes frightened!
Harry Potter and the Critics
For the most part, many who have
read the Harry Potter books find them well-written, wonderfully
imaginative, engaging, wholesome, fun, and on par with other popular
fantasy books such as The Sword in the Stone, The Legend of King
Authur, Peter Pan, A Christmas Carol, and so forth. Some have
compared the books to C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, J.R.R.
Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, or to the writings of George
MacDonald, and G.K. Chesterton. One leading evangelical Christian
magazine calls the series a "Book of Virtues with a
preadolescent funny bone."
In an article published in the Presbyterian Layman, the
family interviewed (summoned expert witnesses) found that the books
were not only delightful reading, but also "useful in teaching
morals" and contain numerous examples that "a Christian
message is in the books."
There seems to be no doubt even by the staunchest critics of the
books, that they speak of unconditional love, courage, and
compassion, of true loyalty and friendship, and even self-sacrifice.
Be that as it may, it may come as a surprise to some that the book
has been challenge in at least thirteen states to remove the books
from library shelves and classrooms, to ban the reading aloud of the
books to certain age groups, to remove them from display in
elementary school libraries, and to use them for book reports.
Obviously, there are a number of parents concerned with the
contents of these books and why they may not be suitable for younger
children.
As mentioned above, few fault the
Harry Potter books for their display of virtue and for that matter,
the role of the characters in sublimating their desires to serve the
greater good of fighting evil. However, the series raises some
serious questions at least in two major areas: the influence of
witchcraft on young and impressionable minds, and the seeming moral
ambiguity throughout the books.
Let's begin with the subject
of witchcraft. There's no doubt that the subject of witchcraft
is the main focal point of the series. Harry is a wizard sent off to
a school to be trained in the finer points of witchcraft and
wizardry. At first glance, the fictitious world of witchcraft seems
rather harmless as Harry and his friends learn the ABC's of
making potions, casting spells, or learning to ride a broomstick.
However, the problems begin when young impressionable minds begin to
assimilate Harry's world into theirs, and begin to play out
their own fantasy. That is not to say that children reading Harry
Potter are running off to join the nearest coven of witches or that
they are in the kitchen creating potions or spells to cast at their
enemies. The real problem is that kids are being drawn in to a
fantasy world that, as one writer puts it "puts a smiling mask
on evil." In other words, while children are drawn into a
make-believe world of witchcraft, it blurs the distinction of what
really does represent the real world of witchcraft, which is
powerful and harmful. The great fault of theses books (and the real
danger) is they are desensitizing our children to the real world of
witchcraft and the occult practices! And so while we would agree
with those making distinctions between magic as "mechanical"
as opposed to magic which is "occultic," the Potter books
make no such distinctions and are therefore, dangerous especially to
those children who have no biblical knowledge upon which to make
critical evaluations!
Another area of concern is the
obvious lack of any real moral authority. And so we find throughout
these books the characters doing the wrong thing for the right
reason. Harry and other characters often do not respect authority and
vengeance and hatred are fostered to produce desired results.
Moreover, characters in these books often lie, cheat, and break the
rules in order to save the day. Besides these concerns the books
illustrate dark themes, with numerous references to blood, murder,
and death.
Conclusion
For the reasons mentioned above,
alone with other concerns, we would not recommend the Harry Potter
books to children or for that matter, to adults. While some would
make the case for the popularity of the books and the pure enjoyment
of reading fictional material, we recommend other books such as the
C.S. Lewis material which stimulate the mind and heart and which have
moral and spiritual principles from which to live by and which point
to a message of redemption through Jesus Christ.
We live in a time where the world
is becoming increasingly anti-Christian and more and more receptive
to New Age ideas and in which books like Harry Potter fosters
interest in witchcraft and the occult (real or imagined) to the
masses. From elementary school to our colleges and universities our
kids are being bombarded on every side not only with literature
tailored to new age thinking and ideology, but as well through the
medium of movies, trading cards, and television programs which
present witchcraft and the occult practices as fun and rather
innocent. The Bible is clear- rather than participating in or
supporting these practices, we are to expose them for what they are
(Eph. 5:12). Moreover, the practice of witchcraft and the
involvement in occult practices, for curiosity, fantasy, or for real,
is condemned in Scripture (Deu. 18: 9-14; 2 Chron.33:6; Isa. 8:19;
Gal. 5: 20).
The worldview, fictional as it may
be in the Harry Potter series, is not the worldview the Bible
portrays. The Scriptures present us with the stark reality that
while we live in a real physical world, there exists a real world of
the supernatural where there truly is a battle being waged. Only, in
the biblical worldview, it is not a battle fought by the manipulation
of good magic over evil. It is a battle that has been fought and won
by the person of Jesus Christ. And while the victory is ours in
Christ, the very real message in Scripture is that Satan and his
emissaries exist and are intent upon corrupting the minds of men,
women, and children for the purpose of deception- to lead them
astray, to worship and serve false gods. We mustn't take the
devil for granted- we are to be aware of his devices (schemes) and
stand firm in the power and authority of Jesus Christ. Our duty as
parents, is to direct our children in the ways of the Lord and to
teach them to make biblically informed decisions as they grow.
The challenge before us as
Christian parents is to educate our children at home- ground them in
the Scriptures, present moral guidelines, and smother them with God's
love praying always that they will remember your guidance and advise
throughout their lives. And if we do this in the spirit of love and
concern, when the phenomenon of Harry Potter or any other subject
comes to your home or school, both you and your children will be
prepared to meet it with the mind of Christ! May the Lord protect
our children and give us all discernment and wisdom to meet the
challenges of the day!
DRS
