The Evils of Harry Potter
Some Christians have taken a strong stance against the Harry Potter series. Somehow they’ve become convinced that the Harry Potter series is somehow tied to evil and witchcraft. I think if you are going to declare war on Harry Potter because it is about wizards and witches then you need to toss out your TV, your VCR, your DVD Player, any Gaming systems, your magazines, your newspapers, your computers, your radio’s (including in your car), and any other thing that may contain something that the Bible speaks against. You will also need to close your eyes while you are driving to work so that you don’t accidentally see a billboard or bumper sticker that is evil. The arguments against the Potter series seem silly to me. I think the controversy surrounding these books is not as much about the fantasy of witches and wizards. I am convinced there are people out there that just want to jump on a bandwagon.
The other thing that I have a problem with is the fact that almost all of the people who are haters of Harry Potter do not have a problem with Lord of the Rings. Maybe they don’t realize there are a couple wizards in Lord of the Rings and the elves perform magic! Seems to be a contradiction to me. Some have even tried to justify wizards in the LOTR series by saying, “Well, Lord of the Rings is written by a Christian author.” Does that make sense? Harry Potter is a wizard and the movies and books about him are labeled as evil, yet Lord of the Rings also contains some wizards and hints of magic, but because it is written by a Christian author it isn’t evil? This begs the question: should we really band together as Christians in our blatant inconsistencies?
In my lifetime I have watched a good many cartoons that contain some form of magic, violence, or other things that we like to blame for our children’s problems. Where were the angry Christians then? No one ever spoke up and declared poor Merlin the WIZARD from the sword and the stone to be evil. Yes, as a small child I watched such retched filth as Wizard of Oz, The Sword and the Stone, and I even watched Wile E. Coyote trying to blow up the Roadrunner BEEP! BEEP! and not to mention bugs bunny dressing up like a girl. But funny thing is, I never wanted to grow up and be a wizard. Watching Merlin the wizard never put the thought in my mind that I too can become a wizard, watching bugs bunny never made me want to dress up like a girl and I have yet to attempt the destruction of my enemies by knocking them off cliffs. Why? Because I knew it was make-believe. Never once did I learn karate and kick booty like the teenage mutant ninja turtles, nor did I ever run off into the forest looking for the Smurfs to protect them from the WIZARD Gargamel. Even as a child I knew that those things were not real. Harry Potter is fantasy, just like these other cartoons and shows that I watched, and it won’t take long for your child to figure out that their broomstick does not really fly and their pet owl will not really deliver any mail.
There is no doubt that we have to be careful about what we watch and read and what we let our children watch and read. Parents should certainly be cautioned about letting their younger children watch and read the series. Mainly because the books and movies get darker and are increasingly geared towards and older audience as the series progresses. There is no doubt that parents should be cautious. On the other hand, as believers I think we should put a little more thought into it. At least come up with a better argument rather than condemning the books on the sole basis that they contain witches and wizards and therefore the series must be evil.