I finally have a day off from both cleaning and working downtown! In my free time, I've been reading several books here and there, and just now, as I was looking at my shelf, the book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix caught my eye. It's too long of a read for me to do in one day, but seeing it made me remember how much I love those books which then got me thinking about how I've met many Christians who don't, in fact, enjoy the books and have negative opinions and perceptions of the story. So, I was like, "Hey! I should write a blog post about that!" So here we are.
When I was younger, I had zero interest in reading the Harry Potter books or in watching the movies. The story, characters, and theme had no appeal to me. My brother read them all when he was 15 or 16 and absolutely loved them. Then, of course, he started pestering me to read them. The pestering didn't stop and soon some of my good friends who also loved the series joined in on pushing me to read the books. So, in my sophomore year (I think... I can't remember exactly the year...) I decided to make the plunge and read them all. I listened to some of them as audiobooks and read the rest of them. Shortly after finishing the series, a friend of mine surprised me by sending me the complete collection of the movies in the mail. So, of course I proceeded to watch them all (and proceeded to be let down by all the details from the books they left out.)
All in all, I loved the story. I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it and had to admit to defeat when it came to telling Nathan how much I loved them and that he had been right all along. Like I said above, I have some friends who love the series as much as Nathan and I do and, as Christians, have no problem with the content or storyline. But, with that being said, I have some other good friends who, also as Christians, have big problems with the Harry Potter franchise as a whole. Please do not get me wrong, this post is not meant AT ALL to bash those who disagree; I just find the debate curious and wanted to share my thoughts on it. :)
So, let's get into it. The first main argument I hear people use against the Harry Potter series is the fact that it contains witchcraft and black magic. I'm not going to deny this, it does. I mean, the whole story centers around a young, male wizard, so it goes without saying that magic and sorcery are heavily used in the story. However, I think the claim that it contains witchcraft is not a means to justify Christians not reading the books. If you're a Christian reading this and you don't agree with the Harry Potter books, let me just ask if you've ever read The Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia series? I ask because these books contain a great amount of magical content as well, some of it being very dark magic. I'm also assuming that in the same breath you would say that the Narnia and The Lord of the Rings books contain loads of Biblical analogies and metaphors. I would agree with you, for sure they do! My point here is that I don't see Harry Potter any differently than I do these other books.
I'm not denying that the Bible is clearly against black magic and evil witchcraft. But, the Bible also doesn't deny that these things exist and that evil forces are very real and active in this world. Within all three book series mentioned above, black magic and wicked forces are clearly evident, yet are always portrayed as distinctly evil. The presence of magic and spiritual activity, both good and evil, does not make a story or book inherently wrong to read or unbiblical. In fact, it makes it all the more realistic to the world we live in, both physical and spiritual. And here we get to the core of the argument: I think the real problem comes in when books, movies, music, etc. begin to blur the lines between the distinctions of good and evil.
As an example of what I mean, take the Twilight book series and the Vampire Dairies. These came out several years ago, and, while they never were an interest to me, many people loved them. I can't speak to the details and specifics of the stories because I never read or watched them. But I didn't have to because my issue with them was apparent from the surface. The main plot line revolved around “evil” characters only progressing into further wickedness, and the stories praised and promoted this evil progression. The characters weren’t actively trying to pursue goodness, morality, or any sense of virtue. They only grew in and conformed more to their evil identity.
Ultimately, these two stories took evil characters and portrayed them as good, as relatable, as attainable. This I have a problem with, and I think most all Christians would agree. The Bible is overly clear about the dangers of conforming to the world, praising its practices, and believing evil is actually okay. In Harry Potter, the lines are not blurred. Good battles evil and, in the end, (spoiler alert) good triumphs over all. This is Biblical and aligns with Truth. Therefore I have no issue with reading and enjoying it.
Secondly, another argument I’ve heard Christians use against Harry Potter is that it encourages teen rebellion and teaches children bad lessons. Honestly, this argument doesn't stand, and if it did, you'd have to apply it to practically every story you could ever read about people and then deem them not acceptable to read either. Now, do I think cheating in school, sneaking away to explore somewhere or do something with friends, or seeking out mischief for the sake of attention are all wrong? Of course, but I think adding them and other scenarios into the Harry Potter books made them all the more realistic and helped J.K. Rowling make the points she was going for. (And no, I didn't feel the urge to go and try these things myself, LOL!)
Using that same line of reasoning, we probably shouldn't be letting kids read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe because Edmund was pretty rebellious and sneaky, which might encourage our children take up the same type of attitude. Or what if they watch Cinderella and start to act like the two, evil step sisters?! (In case you didn't get my sarcasm there, I think this argument is pretty pathetic.) I’ve never met anyone who has quote-on-quote “learned bad lessons from Harry Potter”. I think the lessons of bravery, love, selfless sacrifice, wisdom, and integrity far outweigh any other trait the books portray. Plus, one of the reasons I love J.K. Rowling’s writings is because she makes a story very relatable and believable. By creating characters with flaws, rebellious tendencies, goofy quirks, or occasional conflicting consciences, I believe she perfectly illustrates how human nature works.
Now, for the last point: I often hear people say, “Christians shouldn’t read Harry Potter because it’s not a Christian book”. Okay, that's true, it's not. But once again, I think this is a very shallow contention to make. If we as Christians are only confined to reading solely and explicitly Christian content, our intellects, reasoning skills, and discernment abilities will hardly have any chance of growing and being refined as we interact with the world around us. In my senior year of high school, we read a lot of ancient greek, pagan literature. If there's one thing I learned from reading these books, it's that Biblical Truth can be found anywhere. Who would have thought that reading about the crazy and countless greek gods would teach me more things about my God?! Well, it did, and I was amazed.
Similarly, I think you’d be very surprised by the incredible scriptural parallels that are within the Harry Potter books. I don’t want to ruin the story for you, but know that analogies and actualities of resurrection, sacrificial love, a holy spirit, a good, all-knowing father, the blood of one who loves another saving that person, and many others all exist in the different books. I was honestly shocked with how genuinely Biblical the series was, and it seems the more I read it, the more underlining Truths I find. I think you, like me, would be very fascinated by how scripturally accurate several aspects of the books are. Sometimes God can teach us amazing truths through subtleties that aren't always just spelled out for us.
So, can Christians love the Harry Potter series? I think absolutely they can. Personally, I love the fact that pagan, secular, worldly, or whatever else you want to call it, books, music, and other content can still contain strong and clear hints towards Truth. Many times it is unintentional by the authors or directors, but as seekers and believers of God's Truth, I think part of our duty in discernment is to extract and appreciate truth, goodness, and beauty wherever we find it. Everything in God's creation has fragments of His character and His Truth. And I think Harry Potter is an excellent example of such fragments. I know personally many parts of the story pointed me towards Christ, and, as I've described above, some of the Biblical analogies and imageries within the books simply can not be ignored or go unnoticed by the believer. <3
That's it! What are your thoughts? :)
Thanks again for reading!