Harry Potter: Wholesome Hero or Dangerous Influence?
I suppose it had to happen. With the worldwide success of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books and movies, a backlash of criticism from the Christian community has followed. Many Christians believe that children should not be exposed to Harry and the magical world of Hogwarts. The critics argue that reading the Potter books violates the Scriptural injunctions against witchcraft (including Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:10-11). Of course, the backlash spawned a defense of Harry from other Christian thinkers, like Connie Neal, who started reading the books to in order to tell her children why they couldn’t read them. She ended up on Harry’s side and wrote a book to explain her perspective to Christian parents.
Chuck Colson stated on his radio program, Breakpoint, that parents who were concerned about the tales might be relieved to learn that “the magic in these books is purely mechanical, as opposed to occultic. That is, Harry and his friends cast spells, read crystal balls, and turn themselves into animals—but they don’t make contact with a supernatural world.”
I’m not sure what Colson’s exact definitions of “mechanical” and “occultic” magic are, but I think he’s right that the spells Harry and his friends learn to cast are learned skills rather than communing with spirits. In fact, the magic is their schoolwork—something they have to master in order to enter the adult world and get a job someday! While I think it’s not exactly true that the books contain no evil spirits—Voldemort can inhabit others’ bodies, for example—what is clear is that Harry, Dumbledore, and the other “good wizards” take no part in such practices. For them, there is good magic and there is bad, and never the twain shall meet.
In my opinion, Harry Potter’s world is a moral one, in which the struggle between good and evil takes center stage, and the fate of both wizards and Muggles often depends on the decisions of a schoolboy. The books are often compared unfavorably to C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yet did you know that after the Narnia books were published, they were condemned as unfit for children to read because they contained so much spell-casting and wizardry?
Many of the anti-Harry brigade hold that Lewis’s work is appropriate for Christians because, unlike Harry, it is an allegory of the Christian faith. As a lifelong Narnia fan, I wholeheartedly endorse the Chronicles, yet must point out that only The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Last Battle directly mirror Scriptural events; most of the other books have plenty of action and characters that reflect spiritual themes indirectly, if at all (such as the Naiads and Dryads, Dionysus from Greek mythology, and the Dwarves; Lewis seems to have put them in just because he liked using characters from traditional folklore). Furthermore, the other acceptable-to-Christians work of fantasy, The Lord of the Rings, is not a direct allegory either, since there is no single character that corresponds to the ultimate power of good (that is, God). Tolkien was writing an epic story about the struggle between good and evil—a theme that both Lewis and Rowling can claim for their works.
Now that I’ve started writing about this subject, I find (like some preachers) that I have more to say than when I started, yet no space left to say it in. If you’re interested in discussing this topic beyond what I’ve mentioned here, please feel free to comment and I can post more thoughts later tonight or next week (for example, what I think the HP books are really about more than magic). I value your considered opinions.
Chuck Colson stated on his radio program, Breakpoint, that parents who were concerned about the tales might be relieved to learn that “the magic in these books is purely mechanical, as opposed to occultic. That is, Harry and his friends cast spells, read crystal balls, and turn themselves into animals—but they don’t make contact with a supernatural world.”
I’m not sure what Colson’s exact definitions of “mechanical” and “occultic” magic are, but I think he’s right that the spells Harry and his friends learn to cast are learned skills rather than communing with spirits. In fact, the magic is their schoolwork—something they have to master in order to enter the adult world and get a job someday! While I think it’s not exactly true that the books contain no evil spirits—Voldemort can inhabit others’ bodies, for example—what is clear is that Harry, Dumbledore, and the other “good wizards” take no part in such practices. For them, there is good magic and there is bad, and never the twain shall meet.
In my opinion, Harry Potter’s world is a moral one, in which the struggle between good and evil takes center stage, and the fate of both wizards and Muggles often depends on the decisions of a schoolboy. The books are often compared unfavorably to C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yet did you know that after the Narnia books were published, they were condemned as unfit for children to read because they contained so much spell-casting and wizardry?
Many of the anti-Harry brigade hold that Lewis’s work is appropriate for Christians because, unlike Harry, it is an allegory of the Christian faith. As a lifelong Narnia fan, I wholeheartedly endorse the Chronicles, yet must point out that only The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Last Battle directly mirror Scriptural events; most of the other books have plenty of action and characters that reflect spiritual themes indirectly, if at all (such as the Naiads and Dryads, Dionysus from Greek mythology, and the Dwarves; Lewis seems to have put them in just because he liked using characters from traditional folklore). Furthermore, the other acceptable-to-Christians work of fantasy, The Lord of the Rings, is not a direct allegory either, since there is no single character that corresponds to the ultimate power of good (that is, God). Tolkien was writing an epic story about the struggle between good and evil—a theme that both Lewis and Rowling can claim for their works.
Now that I’ve started writing about this subject, I find (like some preachers) that I have more to say than when I started, yet no space left to say it in. If you’re interested in discussing this topic beyond what I’ve mentioned here, please feel free to comment and I can post more thoughts later tonight or next week (for example, what I think the HP books are really about more than magic). I value your considered opinions.
posted by Alison at
7/13/2007 10:32:00 AM
5 Comments:
My considered opinion is that you are absolutely right and I couldn't say it any better!! I will only add that what I find so truly funny is that (and this happens time after time) all the hubbub about not reading HP has only driven sales up and inspired at least as many other books about HP (I think you reference at least 3)! The truly lucrative thing to do is think up some subject matter that people want to feel outraged about! Something where it wouldn't be enough if they just quietly chose not to read it or purchase it for themselves. Something they want to go out and purchase just so they can burn it!! Does anyone have any ideas? I want to write that book and use the proceeds to fund the books I want to write that won't be bestsellers!
I'm a huge Harry fan. I didn't know too much about the book in it's early stages, but I received that mass email about how Rowling was a devil worshiper. A friend of mine was reading the books and I told her about the email. She told me that I couldn't judge unless I had actually read the book myself. Not even half way through the book, I was hooked! I can't wait until next week for the final story!
Marjorie: I've always been amused by that too: people buying copies to burn them--leading to increased sales by others who are curious as to what all the fuss is about. Have you ever seen that list of books that have been banned at one time or another? Some of my all-time favorites are on it.
Kim: Good for you (and your friend) for thinking for yourself! It's pretty clear to me why the Harry books are so successful--they're really good books, well-written and suspenseful. You bet I'm going to be reading the finale myself.
ali... i def. agree w/ you, although i will point out that even the wicans will tell you there are 'good' and 'bad' witches. wicans practice 'white' magic will necromancers etc. practice 'black' magic. (yes these people really exist)
sooo i think the argument that the HP books are not typical of actual 'magic' practices is false. (not that you made that per say)
as a christian i would consider the practices of wicans to fall into the biblical category of 'witchcraft' which is specifically decried. just because the magic may be 'good' doesn't make it any less the practice of magic. just because they follow the druids command of 'an ye harm none, do what thou wilt' doesn't change the fact that it is in fact evil.
this is where some of our brothers and sisters stand on the HP issue... i think it's wrong of them to label anyone with a dissenting opinion as a heretic, but i can fully understand the position. 'avoid the very appearance of evil' and whatnot. the fact that they find it necessary to write numerous books (none of them good) etc. to decry the evils of HP i think is a complete waste of time and effort.
i wouldn't have any problem with my son reading these books... i do think i'd make him wait until he was about 10. and then only if he really showed an ability to comprehend the diff. between fantasy and reality.
Well, I am admittedly a Harry Potter fan. The books, the movies, the wizard rock bands (yes these bands are real)...I like it all. Why? Because fundamentally, Harry Potter's journey says more about the human condition than the world of witches and wizards. He is "just a boy" as Professor McGonagall seems to constantly remind us throughout the books. So, bear with me on my rant.
The core of the stories is that of good versus evil, growing up in a (post)modern world where families are broken and the world is not the fairy tale of the 1950's. Is it Christian? No. Is it bad? No. In fact, I would argue that it's good. But the following is just my opinion.
For me the key to understanding why I think Harry Potter is a good thing for literature and for public consumption is that Rowling takes an honest look at the good and evil that we all have the potential to embody. The books are brutally honest on many levels. She writes frankly about hormones, rage, depression, selfishness, even lying in hopes of protecting our loved ones - but also about friendship, loyalty, honor, family.
And love. In the Goblet of Fire, we are given a strong reminder that it was Harry's mom's sacrifice - her love for him - that saved him. And that theme of how love conquers death and evil is repeated over and over again...even when we seem to lose a lot, and sacrifice much of what we hold dear, in the end it is love that helps us through it all. I remember some scripture about being willing to lay down one's life for a friend, yes?
Now, if that thematic refrain is evil or wrong because the literary construct is that of wands, robes, silly words, and everything British...well, I don't want to be right. Jesus [often accused of being a wizard himself!] said that the most important thing was to love. And if we can't see the value in a set of stories that teach us to choose wisely, to love, and to resist evil...
We become Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic from The Order of The Phoenix - who was so dominated by FEAR, that he stuck his head in the sand and did nothing. And it almost destroyed everything. His character is seemingly a metaphor for any of us who choose not to accept, to believe, and to judge those around us who are trying to do the right thing. And who wants to be the religious version of that guy?
Not I.
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