My wife and I just watched “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two.” It was a good ending to quite a series. When it was all said and done, I looked at Julie and said, “You know, I’d like Harry Potter a lot more without the witchcraft.” Yes, I am aware that’s akin to saying I’d like water more if it weren’t so wet, but I couldn’t help it.
When the series first came out, I was a jr. high youth pastor, and I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. After all, I needed to know what to say when parents asked me if it was ok for their kids to read this series. So I started reading. When I was finished, I knew I had to make a decision: pro-Harry Potter or anti-Harry Potter?
Results: Well, as far as literature was concerned, it was a great read. JK Rowling is a fantastic writer, and she’s created wonderful characters who struggle, for the most part, to do what’s right. HP got the thumbs up in this category.
But what about the witchcraft? It’s not like you can read the story and gloss over the magic. As you already know, I don’t like all the witchcraft. I believe true-blue witchcraft is dangerous and leads people down a path to destruction, deceived the whole time by evil spirits. That’s why God hates witchcraft so much.
In all fairness, Rowling’s brand of witchery, according to the true-blue witches and wizards I’ve read, isn’t true-blue witchcraft – it’s fantasy magic. Even so, these Wiccan members were happy for the good exposure. I suppose after being burned at the stake several hundred years ago, this is a nice switch.
Yet as innocent as Harry Potter’s magic may be, it’s true that as Harry Potter’s audience grew, so did the interest in witchcraft. Who wouldn’t want to disarm his strongest foe with an “expelliarmus” spell? Or change your identity and trick your friends by mixing the perfect polyjuice potion? Or clean a room merely by uttering the right incantation? I remember when I was a kid, the TV show “Bewitched” was popular, and I often tried to wrinkle my nose just right so I could make magic happen. Kids copy and explore what they see and experience.
Doesn’t this mean Harry Potter should be tossed into the banned book pile?
Well, before we go there, let’s think twice about two other extremely popular series: The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.
- Do they contain wizards and witches? Yes.
- Are these witches and wizards good or evil? Both
- Do they contain magic, spells and incantations? Yes.
- Is this magic good or evil? Both.
- Would average Joe Blow kid who reads CS Lewis know the true meaning of good magic in Narnia? No. He/she would just recognize the magic.
I think that if we toss out Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and Narnia are both on a slippery slope. Not that Tolkien and Lewis should determine our standards on witchcraft, but we need to at least recognize what’s at stake.
Alright, so what’s my decision: pro-Harry Potter or anti-Harry Potter?
If only it were that simple. I am not going to fall into either of those camps, but I do have some definite guidelines regarding Harry Potter. Here’s what we decided (drum roll please):
We decided it was ok for our kids to read Harry Potter with guidance from us.
- They cannot consume them one after the other so that all they think about is Hagrid and Buckbeak and the proper spell for getting rid of a Boggart.
- No pretend casting of spells.
- We tell them the truth about witchcraft so they know what it really is
- We continually look for opportunities to teach both about the power of God and the slipperiness of witchcraft.
- The later HP books are pretty intense, so we haven’t allowed our youngest son to read those yet.
I thought about banning Harry Potter in our house because of the witchcraft. My kids will be the first to tell you I’ve removed other books because I was not comfortable with the content. But I think there’s a danger in that too, specifically with this series, because Harry Potter is everywhere. Unless we choose to live under a rock, we cannot hide our children from Harry Potter. If we do not help them understand the themes of this series, somebody else will.
That’s my two cents. I’d love to hear yours.
Is reading Harry Potter dangerous? What do you think?
If you’d like to go on a fantasy adventure through the first nine chapters of the Bible, pick up a copy of my book, Jak and the Scarlet Thread. 12-year old Jak Hamelton gets thrown back to a particular garden paradise where he meets a man and a woman who get into trouble with a snake (sound familiar?). The comments coming back to me from kids, parents and ministry leaders are overwhelming and humbling. Would love to hear what you think!
If you’d like to go on a fantasy adventure through the first nine chapters of the Bible, pick up a copy of my book, Jak and the Scarlet Thread. 12-year old Jak Hamelton gets thrown back to a particular garden paradise where he meets a man and a woman who get into trouble with a snake (sound familiar?). The comments coming back to me from kids, parents and ministry leaders are overwhelming and humbling. Would love to hear what you think!
