Harry Potter seems to be quite a contraversial character for many Christians. I have to admit that I've not really been quite sure why. I mean, I know that it's about witches and magic and stuff, but call me a thicko, I just don't see the automatic link between a novel with wizards and witches in it, and the idea that it should not be read by Christians. Sure there is stuff in there that you wouldn't want your kids to copy. Sure there are some values held by characters that are questionable. Sure the author is not writing out of a Christian world-view. But that's true of loads of books - most in fact. Of course there are issues to be thought through regarding witchcraft, but there are plenty of other issues too which we often don't think of at all - like lying for example, as Conrad Gempf notes in a post called
Harry Potter and the Habitual Liar! One of the things that worries me when people say we should not be reading these books is that I wonder whether we are just seeing witchcraft here and thinking 'The devil could lead people astray through this' as though he couldn't and doesn't through all kinds of other books/stories/writings. Do I ever read books in which the hero does something wrong? Yes. Do I ever watch TV where a character displays traits or attitudes that are bad? Of course! Even (or especially) Tom and Jerry would be in that category! When this issue arose in a church I used to be in, the response of one friend of mine was to say that frankly he would be more concerned about his kids watching your average soap opera than reading HP. And that must be the point. Not that soaps should all be banned, and Harry Potter burned, but that Christians should always be discerning and weighing what they read and watch. All of it! Tom and Jerry, the Tweenies and Postman Pat! Characters in TV programmes often have values that can be just as damaging in the hands of the devil as he tries to persuade us that this kind of view of the world is 'cool' or whatever. In some ways that is more insidious because we can copy sinful attitudes on EastEnders more easily than we can mix potions and fly on broomsticks!! It is easier and therefore more tempting to copy the wrong attitude of a 'normal' character than a fantasy one. These things need to be noticed and recognised for what they are. When watching CBeebies with my kids, there have to be times where Em or I chat through with them how someone in the programme behaved and whether that was good or not, and I must continue to do this for myself. Laziness means that often I don't. Too frequently we switch our brains off when we are enjoying various media, because we are 'relaxing'. Of course, I am not saying that we should all be making extensive notes with our clipboards whilst watching 'The Bill' or reading the latest Grisham novel, but we should be able to develop a questioning mindset that is alert to ideas that are not right or that serve an worldview against our own. Phil Johnson makes some of these observations much more eloquently than me in a post he made a while ago on this (scroll down below his 'blogspots' to find it). He helpfully points out that 'Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians' Acts 7:22, and Daniel was taught the 'learning and tongue of the Chaldeans' Dan 1:4. As Phil says, ALL works of secular fiction should be read with the utmost care and discernment! And lots of Christian works of fiction too!
A number of reviewers have observed the positive values that are to be found in the stories of young Master Potter. I sometimes wonder if they stretch it a bit far sometimes, but still. Issues such as loyalty and love being more powerful than evil are often noted. Mark Greene makes some of these sorts of observations in an article in Christianity August edition. I can't find this article on the web at the moment, but here's an older one about the issue of Potter and how to read in general.
All this is not to say that there aren't some books/TV shows/films I would not want to expose my children to - and myself! Some may cross the line when they are directly and deliberately undermining faith. I've not read them yet, but it sounds like the Philip Pullman novels may be in that camp. And if something touches on an area of weakness, then steer clear! So if you have dabbled in witchcraft and find HP makes you really want to slip back into it, then you should run a mile. But if not, read the story; note the good and the bad; if kids are reading it, ask them about it - and enjoy it! It's a good yarn!
Is that fair enough or am I missing something?