The Harry Potter™ books:
Positive responses by conservative Christians
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Breakpoint radio program:
Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship said in 1999 that although the books contain dark themes, they show
the difference between good and evil -- and good always wins. He said that the characters "develop courage, loyalty, and a
willingness to sacrifice for one another. Not bad lessons in a self-centered world." He referred to
the practices described in the books as: "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….
[It is not] the kind of real-life witchcraft the Bible condemns." 1
Editorial in Christian Century:
In a 1999 editorial, they stated: "Rowling is not the first fantasy writer to be attacked by conservative
Christians. Even the explicitly Christian writer Madeleine L'Engle has taken heat for the 'magic' elements in 'A Wrinkle in Time.' Such
critics are right in thinking that fantasy writing is powerful and needs to be taken seriously. But we strongly doubt that it fosters an
attachment to evil powers. Harry's world, in any case, is a moral one."
2
Christianity Today:
This is North America's
most popular Evangelical Christian magazine. Its 2000-JAN editorial
recommended: "We think you should read the Harry Potter books
to our kids. The literary witchcraft of the series has almost no
resemblance to the I-am-God mumbo jumbo of Wiccan circles. Author
Rowling has created a world with real good and evil, and Harry is
definitely on the side of light fighting the 'dark powers'...Among the
laugh-out-loud scenes are wonderful examples of compassion, loyalty,
courage, friendship and self-sacrifice." [Author's
note: In the 'I-am-God mumbo jumbo' intolerant comment, the editor
appears to have confused Wiccan theology with New Age beliefs]
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Comments by Alan Jacobs:
He is a professor at Wheaton College. He
believes that the books promote:
"a kind of spiritual warfare…A struggle between good and evil…There
is in books like this the possibility for serious moral reflection…[and] the
question of what to do with magic powers is explored in an appropriate and
morally serious way." 3
Review of the first Harry Potter movie by
Mike Hertenstein
Mike Hertenstein is a conservative Christian who is an
investigative reporter for Cornerstone Magazine. He reviewed the movie
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone:
As it happens, I'm generally pleased with the quality of the
writing and I think the occult-cops have bigger problems than not knowing
the difference between a film and a book, among them not knowing the
difference between fact and fiction....
Ms. Rowling...seems to have no end to imaginative invention
— which is why the Potter books will always have something more and
different to offer than the films, and why kids will keep on reading
them....
Critics make much of Harry's rule-breaking. And while I,
too, am uncomfortable with the easy resort by Potter kids to fibbing as a
means of covering their various shenanigans, I recognize that most of their
behavior fits into that tradition of schoolboy rule-breaking of which Huck
Finn is the prime exemplar. I also understand that within the grammar of
myth, especially myth involving young people, the adventure lies outside the
established order, and you may have to break some rules to get there.
Finally, much of Harry's rule-breaking, it should be noted, involves the
principle of disobeying a lower law to keep a higher one — not to say he's
Rosa Parks, but who could criticize Harry's violation of the no-fly rule to
broom his way over a bully and stand up for his friends?...
Harry Potter is to the "real occult" what Fred Flinstone is
to real anthropology — and what the Lucky Charms leprechaun is to the
ancient Celtic god Lugh. If the Potter critics were consistent, they'd give
us charts connecting sugary stars and moons to ancient Babylonian symbology.
But critics fix on just such surface phenomena — in the case of Harry
Potter, terms like "divination" — without a clue as to what's going
on below the surface. What is going on below the surface of the Harry Potter
stories — to use Tolkien's phrase — "is at the furthest pole from the
vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific magician." Meanwhile, the
laborious and scientific efforts to divine the secret evil origins and
meanings of a fairy story like that of Harry Potter is (along with End Times
"prophecy") the closest contemporary equivalent of "divination"
I'm aware of....
Jeremiah Films in particular is making a heroic
effort to perpetuate The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind 4
in their Pythonesque connection of Harry Potter's thunderbolt scar
to the Nazi SS. What makes such efforts less laughable than genuinely scary
is the real connection they make with the tradition of Medieval
witch-hunting, an even more scandalous tradition of religious ignorance —
one accompanied by violence. 5
Review of the second Harry Potter movie by
Mike Hertenstein
Mike Hertenstein is a conservative Christian who is an
investigative reporter for Cornerstone Magazine. He reviewed Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets:
There is a conscious contrast in this film of those who are
willing to sacrifice self and those who refuse because they are too much in
love with themselves — notably Malfoy and Gilderoy Lockhart, a fraudulent
and fame-hungry teacher of Defense of the Dark Arts who has no defenses to
offer. Despite its slower and darker story, the film picks up at the climax
as Harry's identification with classical images of Christ figures shows the
moral center of this series is dead-on, faithfully offering up mythic
furnishings no moral imagination can do without. The monomyth is in play,
the hero of a thousand faces this time out is Harry Potter, and he continues
to learn Hogwart's most important lesson: that the evil power which must
first be defeated is not in the Other, but within oneself. That Mr. Lockhart
can be cured of his vanity only by forgetting himself demonstrates that
ignorance can be Divine, and why self-centered Muggles 6
know so little about wonder....There was a poignant moment in Harry
Potter & the Chamber of Secrets in which beloved-actor Richard Harris as
the Merlin-like headmaster, spoke in his final on-screen moments to a
newborn Phoenix, just hatched from the ashes of his aged and immolated self.
It's impossible not to think of the phoenix legend as a Christian symbol,
which it has been since the early church fathers recognized this ancient
pagan myth of death and resurrection as an image of Christ. Likewise, the
not-so-ancient myth of Harry Potter reminds us that innocence is preserved
only by self-sacrifice and rebirth. Harry's lessons at Hogwarts continue to
fulfill the ancient and worthy task of mythic education; the stakes will
only rise as adolescence continues to unfold its dangers and temptations.
One hopes the Harry, his stories and films, are up to the task of preserving
wonder and goodness as they face even greater dangers ahead, along with
greater possibilities for choosing the right. 7
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Recommendations by the UK Evangelical Alliance:
On 2002-NOV-21, the Evangelical Alliance, a British conservative Christian
group, published an article on the Harry Potter phenomenon. They suggest that "Christians
to view the Harry Potter phenomenom as a significant opportunity to engage with
society and present the enduring Christian world view as a positive alternative
to the fantasy realm of Harry’s world." Director, John Smith, said that the
books and movies contain expression of Christian values, such as love, loyalty,
trust and sacrifice. He said: "As Christians we should avoid the knee jerk
rejection of this piece of fantasy literature outright without thinking through
the implications. Rejection on the basis of using magic as a literary device
must also call into question 'Lord of the Rings' and the 'Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe' – not to mention much that our children watch unsupervised on TV.
Neither is it consistent to reject Potter whilst retaining Gandalf and the White
Witch, simply because their creators were professing Christians. In doing so we
run the risk of reinforcing the stereotype of the Church as negative and
completely disengaged from modern living." The Alliance recommends that
parents and teachers read at least one of the books and then "exercise
careful, indeed prayerful, judgement." The also recommend that Christians
should not "ignore the potential dangers of the stories as an unintended
apologetic for the occult." 8
Review by Russ Breimeier:
Russ Breimeier reported in a 2005-NOV commentary on Christianity Today's web site that
he has observed a softening of opinion among conservative Protestants concerning
Harry Potter by the end of 2005. Some are even writing in support of the books
and movies. He notes that:
Breimeier, referring to the Lord of the Rings
and The Wizard of Oz, etc. concludes:
"To borrow a phrase from The
Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, none of these classics are
perfectly "safe," but they're all very good. We just need to learn
how to respond to books and movies, distinguishing between fantasy and
reality—and I daresay that some adults seem to have a harder time with that
than their kids."
"Harry Potter admittedly blurs the line between fiction
and reality because its heroes are denoted as "wizards" and "witches." But
an understanding of fictional magic as opposed to real
occult practices helps clarify the context of the series, and can thus
lead to some rewarding interpretations and discussions for readers and
filmgoers of any age." 9
James Dobson misquoted:
Reporter Jacqueline Salmon incorrectly described the position of James
Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, a fundamentalist Christian
advocacy group in Colorado Springs, CO. She wrote in the Washington Post for
2007-JUL-18 that: "Christian parenting guru James Dobson has praised the
Potter books."
Focus on the Family Action posted a CitizenLink daily update on
the next day. It states:
"This is the exact opposite of Dr. Dobson's opinion -- in fact, he said a
few years ago on his daily radio broadcast that 'We have spoken out strongly
against all of the Harry Potter products.' His rationale for that statement:
Magical characters – witches, wizards, ghosts, goblins, werewolves,
poltergeists, and so on – fill the Harry Potter stories, and given the trend
toward witchcraft and New
Age ideology in the larger culture, it’s difficult to ignore the effects
such stories (albeit imaginary) might have on young, impressionable minds."
"Ms. Salmon has not only acknowledged, but apologized for, the mistake and
has promised the Post will correct it Friday. It seems she simply repeated
misinformation that appeared in a less high-profile publication; she
acknowledged she should have contacted us directly to make sure the
assertion was true -- and we appreciate her humility and professionalism in
saying so."
"The correction will also be offered to papers that subscribe to the Post's
wire service and which may have also published the piece." 10
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- Chuck Colson, Breakpoint program for 1999-NOV-2. He was quoted in ReligionToday for 1999-DEC-1
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"Wizards and Muggles," editorial, Christian Century, 1999-DEC-1
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Alan Jacobs, cited in Berit Kjos, "Harry Potter lures kids to Witchcraft - with praise from Christian leaders," at:
http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/
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Mark Noll, "The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind," Eerdmans, (1995).
Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store. The
author attempts to prove that Evangelical Christianity currently has a strong anti-intellectual bias.
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Mike Hertenstein, "Innocence and Experience: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets," Cornerstone Magazine, at:
http://www.cornerstonemag.com/imaginarium/
- A muggle is a non-witch in the Harry Potter™ series of books.
-
Mike Hertenstein, "Innocence and Experience: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets," Cornerstone Magazine, at:
http://www.cornerstonemag.com/imaginarium/
-
"Think twice before engaging in Potter witchhunt says Evangelical Alliance," 2002-NOV-21, at:
http://www.eauk.org/
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Russ Breimeier, "Redeeming Harry Potter. The initial Christian outcry against the boy wizard seems to be dying down. Maybe that's because
more and more of us are discovering multiple redemptive themes in the series." Christianity Today, 2005-NOV-15,
at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/
- "Editor's Note," CitizenLink daily update, Focus on the Family Action,
2007-JUL-19.
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