A Christian Response to Harry Potter

Engaging popular culture without embracing it.

Note: Click here to see my updated post on this topic on my other blog.

First, let me make it very clear. I am not suggesting that Harry Potter is for everyone. I am not denying that there is a very real danger for some people to read Harry Potter books and other books of the fantasy genre. Parents should be on the front line, standing between their children and the junk the world is throwing at them. This should be true not only for books, but more so for TV, movies and video games.

I am not going to deny that magic and witchcraft are real. There is a very real movement in American and throughout the world. A movement that claims to have roots that are very old – as old as the earth itself, but only recently has been recognized as a religious movement. I am talking about Wicca. Now, there are many good resources on Wicca from a Christian perspective, and I will not go into great detail here. If you feel that this might be an issue for you or your family, I would advise you to stay away from all forms of fantasy that use magic and occultic images as story elements, including the fiction works of Christian writers such as C.S Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein, secular works such as the “Dragon riders of Pyrn” series, or the movies of George Lucas and Stephen Speilberg.

For those who are still with me, I hope you will hear me out. As Christians, we are to stay away from all appearances of evil. However, I don’t think that means we should be ignorant of what goes on in the world around us. Jesus himself engaged the culture around him while never getting sucked into it. He gave us an example in the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. For Jews, being seen with a Samaritan was out of the question – talking with one even worse. Jesus not only approached a Samaritan and talked to one, but a WOMAN besides. As a result of that encounter, many people heard about Jesus and I imagine many found salvation.

There is no question that Harry potter is HUGE. The books have spawned movies, clothes, toys, games, you name it. Now as the book series comes to a close, “Pottermania” is bigger than ever. How should the Christian community respond? First, let me tell you the wrong way.

Some churches have held Harry Potter book burnings. Now, I feel that everything a Christian does should bring people to the Cross. A general rule should be, if Hitler tried it, maybe go another way. (My apologies to comedian Brad Stein for stealing that line!) Where did these churches get the books they burned? They bought them. Did this keep the books from the hands of others? No, they just made more and sold those. What good came of these burning parties? What kind of statement did that make? Well, for those outside the church, all it really did was make us look like ignorant fools. I believe that any reaction to anything in the popular culture that does not bring people to Christ is the wrong reaction.

I also don’t think it’s appropriate to go too far the opposite extreme. Should we become “fanatics” and learn everything there is to know about the books and movies? No. Christ should be the center of our lives and everything we do should bring us and other closer to Him. Any “mania”, whether it be Harry Potter or Star Wars or even Chronicles of Narnia, that diverts your attention away from Christ is not a good thing.

So, what should we do? How do we respond to Potter-mania? Like Jesus approaching the woman at the well, approach, engage, and talk about it.

Read the books. It’s important to know what they are about. Yes, they talk about ghosts, and wizards and witches and magic. The books are not ABOUT magic. There is no where in any of the books that gives you a how-to on performing any real-life magic. The magic in the books is story book magic, fairy tale magic, just like the magic in the writings of C.S. Lewis, JRR Tolkein and the Wizard of Oz. A better parallel might be comparing the magic in Potter to the Force in the Star Wars movies. Some people can “do it” others can’t. While not set in outer space or Middle Earth, Harry Potter lives in a fictional world where some people are “magic folk” while others are “muggles” (non-magic folk). Unlike real magic (Wicca), where anyone can supposedly learn to do it, given the right tools and training, the magic in the Potter books is an in-born ability that only some of the characters have.

So what are the books about? The story is written from the perspective of someone following Harry Potter around and eavesdropping on his thoughts. Imagine Harry having a video camera on his shoulder and we are watching what the camera sees. Harry is an orphan that is living with his Aunt, Uncle, and extremely spoiled cousin Dudley. When we meet Harry, his room is the crawlspace under the stairs. He is lonely and basically neglected. He is unwanted and unloved. On his eleventh birthday he finds out that he does not belong in the cruel love-less world he is living in. He receives an invitation to attend “Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry”, a school where “magic-folk” learn to use and refine their natural abilities. (Note: only “magic folk” are invited to Hogwarts, it is not a place where “muggles” –people who can’t do magic – can learn to do so.)

The “vehicle” of the story is what happens to Harry while he’s going to school. The story itself is your typical good versus evil line. Vader vs. Skywalker, Aragorn vs. Sauron, Aslan vs. the White Witch, it’s all the same. The bad guy is clearly defined and you want to root for the good guy. In the Potter books the bad guy is an evil wizard named Voldemort. Every book covers a year's worth of school culminating in a showdown between Harry and Voldemort (or one of his henchmen). Again, the focus is not on magic.

What happens along the way is a story about building friendships, alliances, and finding your place in the world. Very little is said of the mechanism of magic and much is said about Harry Potter’s relationships with those around him. The books are about who your true family and friends are and not about mixing potions and casting spells.

I refer you to a much deeper literary commentary on the Potter books than I am able to present here. Go to your library or Christian bookstore and ask for “Looking for God in Harry Potter” by John Granger. While this book has been as much bashed as the Potter books themselves, the author gives a very deep analysis of the books as literature without endorsing them. (Though he does admit enjoying reading them.) You can also check out his Blog at: http://hogwartsprofessor.com/?page_id=2 (this link sends you to the “about” page so you can learn about Mr. Granger’s point of view before deciding if you want to read more about what he has to say.

In closing, let me just say once more that I do not endorse the Harry Potter books or movies for every family, every child, or every situation. However, as Christians, we can’t ignore it and shouldn't bash it without at least understanding a little of it. As with everything we should “test the spirits”, know what you’re up against and don’t let an opportunity to share the gospel slip by.

I did nothing to bring this upon myself...

My good friend Adam posted this link on his blog (See "Igneous Quill" to the left). I am sick to death of hearing about this perversion of the gospel and I thank Adam for providing this link and others on the topic.

http://www.christianstandard.com/articledisplay.asp?id=597

God will bless those He chooses to bless, He will heal those He chooses to heal. My illness is not a result of my lack of faith. My financial problems are not a result of not claiming wealth. If this so called prosperity gospel is true, why are those who are teaching it the only ones getting rich? Why isn't Joel Osteen's church bursting with millionaires? If health is a matter of faith, why is Billy Graham dying? (Some may argue, "well, he hasn't claimed healing, his faith isn't strong enough" - that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.) I don't see any miracles of Jesus where He healed someone of poverty. I see no parables where He says we will be wealthy in this life.

And while I'm on the topic, isn't wealth relative? As an American who owns 3 televisions and 4 computers, I am wealthy, by comparison to 99% of the rest of the world. But, since I live in a country that is dependent on the automobile, corporatized retail, and institutionalized medicine, I am seen by those around me as poor, because I don't have enough money to keep gas in my car and pay my doctor bills. So what kind of wealth are these people talking about? The wealth of a villager in the middle of Africa who lives in a grass hut, but has many chickens and cattle (basically, everything he needs)? Or the wealth of Donald Trump (basically WAY more than he needs)?

I am dealing with this unknown thing that is slowly causing my body - specifically, I believe, my nervous system - to deteriorate. I pray daily for healing. Since I can't work, I spend much time studying the scriptures and listening to radio and podcast teachings (usually critiquing what is being said!) Does this show a lack of faith that has caused me to be sick? I am no way claiming that my faith is greater than anyone else's, I'm simply saying that I strive to practice and live my faith. My faith has nothing to do with my health or finances.

Thanks, Adam. I look forward to your future posts on this topic.

Better later than never-er -- or something like that....

Here's the senior pictures I promised about two months ago...

Another Update

Well, now we're on the path of no return. We've leased the land, we've put the down-payment on the house, and we've signed all the contracts that need signing. Now we just have to wait for the house to show up.

We've officially become trailer-trolls.

Now don't get me wrong. The house is really nice, it is brand new after all. But it's a trailer. I'm thrilled that after almost 20 years of marriage we finally have a house we can call our own, but it's a trailer. Once it's moved onto the land we can add on to it, build a nice deck, make it look like a "real" house. But it's a trailer.

As I said in a previous post, this has become our only option, so it's obvious that God has lead us down this path, and I should be grateful. But 7 kids in three bedrooms - man that's cozy.

But anyway. We're still looking at the expenses of hooking up the utilities, water, electricity, propane, phone - so we are still in need of money. Those of you who are the praying type, please pray that we can find the funds to make this happen.

A brief update

Well, we're still looking at moving, but things are looking a little brighter. This isn't the ideal situation for us, but it's come to be the only option. We've gotten financing for a house - a trailer to be exact. I know it's not the best long term investment, but neither is renting.

The good news is, if we get it all lined up, it will be cheaper in the long run because between the house and the land it will be less than we are paying for rent right now. The bad news is, we need $5000 down, plus the deposit on the land, plus pay for all the hook ups. So, total moving in we're looking at closer to $6000.

The good news is, we have some money coming in. My disability is changing from short term to long term and I should be getting the last short term and the first long term checks at the same time, so between the two, that's about 2000. Also, since my employment status is changed to "inactive", they will close out my 401K, that's about 2700. So, that gets us most of the way there. But the bad news is, it's not all the way there. And if we use all that, that doesn't leave us anything to live on.

So, please be in prayer for us that we can pull this off. We're looking into some options to get a little extra money. If we have anything you might want to buy, please give me a call!

Can I just explode for a moment? Then I'll be ok.

Ok, so some of you have heard by now, but others we haven't talked to in a while, so let me catch you up.

What promised to be another "normal" day (that is, me sitting around trying to deal with my chronic pain, the kids saying 'I'm bored, I'm bored' and Anna counting the seconds until school starts) - turned out to be the emotional equivalent of a punch in the gut.

The phone rang at about 8:30am. It was our land lord. Not in itself any real surprise, they do call us now and then just to check in, but that's not what they wanted today. "We hate to do this", the voice on the line said, "but we need you to move out by August first, we need the house back." Then the floor folded up and the world turned inside out.

We'd come to find out later that they are having "family issues" and that someone who is "like a son" would be moving in. Also, they are mortgaging the property and using the money to help him with his problems. But, out of the kindness of their hearts (though only time will tell if that's true), they said we could use July's rent to help us get into a new place.

This is where I got mad, something I am not prone to do. And not just mad, fuming, furious, punching the wall and throwing things mad. What about me? What about my problems? What about my finances? What about my kids who really are my kids and not just "like my kids"?

The problem is, we don't really have a legal leg to stand on. Our lease agreement is month to month and in New Mexico they only need to give tenants 30 days notice. It's their house, they can do what they want with it. Now, granted, they didn't give it to us in writing, and if we wanted to push it, we could. But, then they would just push back that we didn't pay our rent in July (we didn't get that in writing either). Either way, if we went before a judge, they wouldn't put seven kids and a handicapped father out on the street, unless we had a place to go, but we really don't want to go that far. We want to do the right thing, we want to do the better thing, we want to do the Christ-like thing.

So, we're looking. We're scrimping, saving, scrounging. We're calling everyone we can call, we're checking every lead we can check. We're going to every agency we can find, calling every charitable organization we have a number for. So far we haven't found anything. Nothing. Bupkiss. Nothing to rent, nothing to buy, nothing. Not that there's not anything out here, but they're either too small (1-2 bedrooms) or just barely big enough (3 bedrooms) but ridiculously expensive (a single wide trailer, squeezed into a lot that doesn't even leave room to park your car for $1500 a month). Really, I'm not kidding. If we could buy, though, there's a ton of places, but we would need a down payment, which is a lot more than July's rent.

What should we do now? I don't know. When I think about it, my head hurts more than it already does, I see red and I want to break something. Right now everything is up in the air. My disability insurance may be ending, which means I'll need to go to Social Security, and who knows how long that will take. Anna is working at the church, but she barely makes enough to cover our current rent. We keep looking for options, we keep talking about the options we have. Do we try super hard to stay in this area? Is New Mexico really worth going through a lot of hard work to find a place to live? Or do we give up and go back to the midwest? At what point do we conclude we've done all we can to stay here and then go back? I'm just so tired and in pain and angry and frustrated and I don't know what else.

We want to do the right thing. Not just for us, but for them. We understand that our land-lords are trying to do what they believe is right for their family. Maybe that's an inconvenience for our family, but we trust that if we trust and pray and do the Christ-like thing, then our needs will be met. Maybe that's naive, but my faith won't let me do otherwise.

So, if anyone out there has any suggestions, a place to rent in New Mexico, or a large sum of money they can loan us, then let me know.