Okay so I know I'm about, oh, ten years late on this debate, but oh well. Michael and I recently saw the final Harry Potter movie at the dollar theater. It was the culmination of several weeks of watching all the HP movies in chronological order. Having not read the books, the movies were entertaining and it was fun to see the kids growing up in each movie. Anyway, watching the movies brought to mind the past outcry from many Christians about the series. "Burn it!" and "You and your children shouldn't be within 500 miles of it!" seemed to be the sentiment of many. I didn't really agree with those ideas at the time the debate was raging fiercest, but having watched all the movies now and gained a better sense of the themes and story arc, I can safely say that I still disagree.
The series was rejected by many Christians because of the witchcraft and wizardry contained in the story, and of course there's the appalling fact that those kids drink butterBEER! Gasp! Now granted, I absolutely agree that there are numerous and very clear commands against witchcraft, consulting mediums, etc. in the Bible, but my goal isn't to exegete those passages to figure out if the HP series truly qualifies as witchcraft or practicing it, etc. (By the way...I don't think it does) I personally believe that this, like many things, is a matter of Christian conscience. As such, here are my two main thoughts about the whole thing.
First, the overall themes and elements of the HP series seem to be quite universal to any and every epic story - good vs. evil, courage, redemption, grand quests, friendship, learning from your mistakes, pressing on in the midst of adversity, etc. The HP series even includes the more overtly Christian theme of self-sacrifice for the good/salvation of others. So to me, HP really doesn't differ much from most grand tales with which most Christians have no problems. Specifically, the HP series did not seem much different (in theme and scope) to those other two works HIGHLY venerated by most Christians - The Chronic - WHAT! cles of Narnia (sorry, couldn't resist) series by C.S. Lewis and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. Witches and wizards and magic and supernatural arts are central to those series. Why then is the HP series verboten and Lord of the Rings celebrated?
I think the answer to that question is related to my second thought, which is that this whole debate raises the larger issue of Christians and media. I could rant for hours about the often arbitrary "sacred"/"secular" lines Christians draw when it comes to movies, tv, and music, but I won't. I'll just say that I think it's taking the easy and let's be honest, lazy route to take one look at something and throw it on a "Christian - good" shelf or a "Secular - bad" shelf. Obviously there are certain things that are firmly in one camp or another, but I generally think that more of us Christians could be more discerning and think more critically as we evaluate things around us to determine the bad and good in something. To ponder the elements that can be redeemed and used for loving others around us, and/or how those elements can help us further awe in and glorify our creative, beautiful, and just God.
2 comments:
I agree. I always wondered why Harry Potter was cast down upon, while LOTR was exalted among Christian populations. If I am not mistaken, Gandalf and Saruman deal some with magic, so what's the BFD??
We all need to chill out!
This is a great post. I also find it interesting that Lewis, when asked, denied that he set out to create a Christian allegory when he wrote The Chronicles. The analogies and symbolism came through because of his belief, but it wasn't intentional. I've read and listened to interviews with J.K. and she speaks very openly about how much Christianity influenced the way she closed out the HP series. She grew up in the Anglican church and is now in the Church of Scotland. It's funny to me that she says the kinds of Christians who criticize her books as being demonic are basically the equivalent of Islamic Fundamentalists...and I agree.
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