I'm late to the Harry Potter party. I finally gave in and read the first one this past week. Rowling is an excellent writer. I'm glad I finally gave in to Kara's prompting.
What is about Harry Potter that has everyone so intrigued? First, Rowling's creativity is unprecedented for modern popular work. C.S. Lewis once wrote, in an essay, that the chief sin of modernity was its war against the imagination of adult Westerners. Harry Potter dares the reader to see things upside down and sideways. Second, Harry Potter is a story of good and evil and we, as humans, seem to be drawn towards stories with clear heroes and obvious villains. We want to know that are lives are a part of some larger cosmic struggle. Third, people are drawn to Harry Potter because they need a person like Harry Potter to exist (common but virtuous, daring, and powerful). Potter is not superman per se, but he is a normal teen with limitless potential. Deep down we all want to believe that we can become more than we already are. Fourth, in Potter (at least the first novel but I'm guessing this is true all the way to the end)...love wins. Power, greed, deception, and even magic have their limits. But love breaks through the barriers and limits...love always wins.
That some Christians refuse to allow their children to ready Harry Potter is beyond me.
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I have found this quote from Yoder to be one of the most succinct statements concerning Jesus in all of New Testament scholarship.
Jesus was not just a moralist whose teachings had some political implications; he was not primarily a teacher of spirituality whose public ministry unfortunately was seen in a political light; he was not just a sacrificial lamb preparing for his immolation, or a God-Man whose divine status calls us to disregard his humanity. Jesus was, in his divinely mandated prophethood, priesthood, and kingship, the bearer of a new possibility of human, social and therefore political relationships. His baptism is the inauguration and his cross is the culmination of that new regime in which his disciples are called to share. Hearers or readers may choose to consider that kingdom as not real, or not relevant, or not possible, or not inviting; but…no such slicing can avoid his call to an ethic marked by the cross, a cross identified as the punishment of a man who threatens society by creating a new kind of community leading a radically new kind of life (The Politics of Jesus).
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28 comments:
"That some Christians refuse to allow their children to ready Harry Potter is beyond me."
I don't like the idea of younger children reading the books. It views witchcraft in a positive light. I view it the same way I view Halloween.
David,
Ah...yes...we disagree once again (he writes with a smile on his face).
I ask the following question with sincerity: Have you read Harry Potter? The only reason I ask is because I know parents who vehemently argue against it, and have not read it.
Just curious.
Let's dialog about it. I want to learn from you.
:) I'm so glad you liked it. My bookshelf mourned its absence.
Too much depth for the Harry Potter books...I am sure that all your reasons are why all the little kids like them too...
David: If your against Harry Potter than your against A LOT of different texts and television.
....and the Old Testament!
-a different anonymous
Play nice kids. Different viewpoints are valued here.
Josh,
I'm not one that's hard and fast against Harry Potter. However, when you've seen an albeit tiny glimpse of how real and powerful witchcraft is in this world, and then you hear about what a great marketing tool Harry Potter has been for that community, it's very understandable that many Christian parents don't want their kids spending time with H.P..
I struggle with Harry Potter just like everytime October 31st rolls around. I always question whether I am harming my children by allowing them to participate in Halloween festivities. (Yes, I will be at trunk-r-treat this year.) Christians actively participating in Yoga classes is another tough act for me to swallow.
Call me inconsistent because I have peace in letting my kids watch Star Wars (not episode 3, yet) and reading/watching C.S. Lewis' fiction. I just don't have peace when it comes to good ol' Harry. For now, I choose to err on the side of staying away from H.P. Perhaps when they are older this will change.
My hypothesis is this: "those who lean more towards a belief in cessationism are more likely to allow their children to read Harry Potter. Proportionately, those that lean more towards a belief away from cessationism are less likely to allow their children to read Harry Potter."
For me, the many millstone scriptures (Mt 18:6, Mk 9.42, Lk 17:2)make me shake in my boots as I raise my children. There are many areas in my life where I don't fear the Lord enough, raising my children is not one of them.
Before anyone gets their feathers russled, please remember that I'm speaking for me and my family only. I don't have a clue how you should raise your kids. We all have to work out our own parenting like our salvation - "with fear and trembling."
Enough fodder from me...
I have read some of Harry Potter. I am not a fan of fiction to begin with except for the Left Behind series and some Peretti books.
The whole idea of children casting spells and being in a secret society like that is a dangerous idea in the minds of children. The problem is that they read fiction, and the line is often blurred between that and reality SOMETIMES. I think it's also why There are very real sects in our society that practice witchcraft and paganism.
I know someone at my church whose ex-wife is pagan. His children have really struggled with some serious issues because of the conflict with what their parents believe. I know many will disagree with me, but I believe that spiritual warfare is real.
The real problem that I have with Harry Potter is that it leads to other things. Will the kids feel that Ouiji boards are alright? Fortune tellers and palm readers? There can be a bad progression if we aren't careful.
That said, I don't have a problem if older teens want to read the book. They already have some discernment and are able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. Their minds are already made up and molded.
It's just wisdom in my mind, Josh.
"David: If your against Harry Potter than your against A LOT of different texts and television"
My parents sheltered me from a lot of stuff when I was younger. I am no worse for it. Children need boundaries. If and when I become a parent, I will not be afraid to set them.
"....and the Old Testament!"
I don't find many ties between Harry Potter and the Old Testament. Please enlighten me!
I don't allow my children to read Harry Potter books or even watch the movies for that matter. Pretty much for all the same reasons that David described. Maybe when they are older and can understand, I might be more incline to allow it.
All the books were given to us as gifts, but it's not on our top priority to read. Even as adults. I've read the first one, didn't care to continue on.
I think there are some much better things in our lives that we can devote our time reading, rather than something based witchcraft, and is fiction.
Wow. Who knew Harry Potter would be more controversial than Yoder. I go to one funeral and I come back to a lively discussion.
I appreciate (most) everyone's spirit of dialog.
I agree that discernment is in order and that literature must be appropriated towards maturity, development, etc.
I know disciples of Jesus who read Harry Potter with their kids and disciples who do not. Each are equally committed in their devotion to raising "holy and blameless children before the Lord."
Dave, Brenda, and Eric--I value your wisdom and insight and I trust your sensibilities regarding the issue.
Dave--I think the OT parallel was the "unchained" or "dangerous" spiritual world that is depicted in the OT compared to the neutered notion of spirituality in the West.
Eric--I'm pretty far away from being a cessastionist, and while I don't have children, I feel pretty good about the possibilities of Harry Potter in teaching, capturing imagination, etc. But, in general, I think your observation is an interesting one. I'll have to chew on that...
Having said that, I too will contradict myself. I'm not a fan of Halloween. Nor am I fan of telling our children that Santa is real (like Jesus is real) only to tell them, "Just kidding. Santa's not real, but Jesus is. Honest."
I don't have it all worked out. I'm learning from all of you.
Are there any parents out there who have raised (are raising) their kids and have integrated Harry Potter into their reading formation?
My kids and I have read Harry Potter aloud together. It's been a great experience (slow at times because of the aloud part; and it's hard to read HP slow because it's so action-packed)
I value discussing current issues with my kids, and Harry Potter is certainly current in their world. I want to expose my kids to the world through the lens of our Christian faith, incrementally, as they are ready for it, and I tend to think earlier is better than later on most subjects because of the current culture in which we live (for example, I talked to my kids about sex much earlier than some parents do). We didn't start the books with them until we thought they were mature enough to discuss it with us. And, I was a central part of their HP experience so I could guide them through it rather than letting the outside world do so. My husband has read Chronicles with them and engaged it in the same way through the Christian faith. So, maybe he's the spiritual one and I'm the worldly one! Joke.
By the way, as a family, we come at the spiritual warfare and witchcraft perspective in an interestng way since we lived in Uganda where those things are more blatant than in the American context (most of the time). We didn't find the type of "witchcraft" in Harry Potter to be at all similar to what's real in Uganda, but that's just our experience. I don't really know much about witchcraft in other places except some bizarre newspaper stories I read occasionally.
Anyway, goodbye Yoder. Hello Rowling. That's the theology for today Josh.
My 2 cents, here we go,
I have a hard time with reading what the Bible says about witchcraft and applying it to a book or movie characters such as Harry Potter. When the authors of the Bible wrote those thoughts, the witchcraft depicted in those times were night and day different from the witchcraft depicted in Harry Potter! In fact, modern-day witches are nothing like them either. We call this modern day witchcraft "New Age", which is more about connecting with the earth and one's health is tied to one's aura. No broom sticks, no pointy hats, no green faces, no Hogwarts, no golden snitches. In fact, most will tell you that they HATE the stigma of the "cartoony" witches. So, I guess HP is shunned from both sides!
One of the reasons we have the "classic" depiction of a witch is from a 1929 movie called "The Wizard of Oz".
And if we're going there, let's talk about out our "classic" depiction of Satan. A red guy, with horns, a red pointy tail, with a pitch fork. Now, where in the Bible does this depiction of "the Devil" arise? Nowhere . . . until the last couple of centuries. One exception, there is the "dragon language" in Revelation- which is interpretive language. . . maybe we should avoid letting our kids watch anything dragon-related too. (Good bye, Lord of the Rings!)
I think one of the reasons many people have a hard time believing in a spiritual world is that we've turned everything into a cartoon. Then, as Christians, we proclaim the cartoon evil. Not sure how we can reconcile that.
Now, some of you are already thinking . . . "It's not the cartoon. . . it's what the cartoon is based on- magic." Then, why tell our kids about Santa and flying reindeer? We're lying to them aren't we? We must be consistent.
The point of the Harry Potter series isn't simply to tell a good story, but to prove that it's not about Harry's developing powers that save him in the end. It's the power of sacrificial love. Does that concept of sacrificial love remind anyone of a TRUE story somewhere? I can't say the same for other popular fiction stories.
Now, I understand some parents waiting until their children are a little older to start them on HP. There's some difficult concepts like the deaths of loved ones and coming to terms with that loss. There are issues with identity and struggles with bigotry that are a little abstract for some children to comprehend. So, I understand waiting . . . but to declare HP as something "good Christians" should avoid is a little judgmental and shallow.
Now, most people aren't saying that. AND most people aren't saying that on THIS blog for that matter. Again, only my 2 cents- only my opinion.
SIDENOTE: It's hard for me to swallow the Left Behind series. It is about as far from the biblical truth as J.K. Rowling is poor. In fact, I feel it is just as dangerous as "The Da Vinci Code" in blending truth with fiction. So, let's avoid something that muddies real Truth (capital T) in this discussion.
I openly admit to being an HP fan, and I am annoyed by feeling like that's taboo. I like the story, and I love the strength of the writing. I have studied a lot of youth-oriented literature (not an expert. . .just an enthusiast), and these books fall into some of the best categories for teaching character development and personal discernment.
Some of what is always said about HP books is untrue. It does not just view witchcraft positively. . .as with life, there is good and bad, there are choices to make. It's hard to teach young children life skills in difficult areas until they experience it, and we can't afford to wait until they are too old to be molded. If I can help them experience a little bit of difficulty with tools like good literature, why wouldn't I?
Christians use parables and the cautionary tales of the Bible to do this same thing all the time. (And, yes, we should not muddy the waters of truth and fiction with our children if we can avoid it, but that does not negate the usefulness of the fiction.)
Imaginative books are written with the intent to invite readers to look at hard things through manageable filters. In HP, over and over again, love is the only right answer. It trumps magic, bad decisions, mean people, everything. If you (or your children) don't enjoy fantasy literature, you aren't going to like an entire genre that exists in good books right now. That's okay, pick different books to read, but please don't assume that one unsavory characteristic for you is the best descriptor for an entire category of childhood reading.
I wonder sometimes if the same critics of books like HP have also removed "Anderson's Fairy Tales" from their shevles, because the mermaid didn't get her legs through hard work or from Jesus, and the wild swans' sister didn't transform them without a little happy magic.
Guidance and consistency are the keys. . .not fear or assumption.
Harry Potter: The Next Cultural Debate of our Time.
Eric, I thought a little more about your cessationist comment. I think you are on to something. I really do.
I also wonder if many in the American Charismatic world have bought into a reductionistic understanding of charismatic gifts, and the Holy Spirit. The spirit only works in these ways and if you don't believe that then you are clearly missing the boat.
Of course, that's not what Eric is saying in his post but it does raise the question that a worldview is always limited by the situatedness of the person holding said worldview.
Translated.
HP is open to the spiritual world in ways that make (all) people uncomfortable. But it is also open to the spiritual world in ways that resonate with many. I'm seeking to know "why"--what is it that draws people to the story? Is there something deeper? Is that "something" worth talking about.
Like Paul, who knows the religion of Greeks so well he can preach a sermon to them in their own language without even quoting Scripture (Mars Hill, Acts 17).
The discussion has been great.
Allow me to sound a bit like Paul in 2 Cor. -- in other words, it will sound like I'm bragging. I have two doctorates, am a fierce and proud believer in the Bible, and have seen the dark side/occult up close and personal both overseas in mission work and in the US.
I enjoyed reading the Harry Potter books. They are so far removed from real witchcraft and demonology that most occultists have little time for them. One commenter seemed to think HP was a gateway drug, of sorts, to darker things. I'd love to see the research on that. (and remember, quotations and assertions are neither evidence nor argument)
I would be appalled to find one of my buddies absorbing the Left Behind nonsense (bad theology, bad writing, ludicrous plot development) but if they are reading the Chronicles of Narnia (never could get through them), the Dragonriders of Pern or the Harry Potter books I wouldn't subject them to disdain. They are letting their minds play, and minds need to play sometimes. All work and no play makes Jack a boring legalist stick in the mud. I'm just saying...
SGB: Thanks for brining African spirituality into this. Many people have a false understanding of spirituality as it is understood and experienced in other regions of the world. Plus you have kids so people listen to you more.
Dana: Girl, you can write. Thanks for chiming in. I'm guessing this will come up in your line of work...ha.
Chris: good point regarding "Left Behind," etc. It is, in my estimation, as dangerous as "DaVinci Code"--loved the Rowling line.
PMiddy: Good stuff. That's why I put the line about "C.S. Lewis once wrote, in an essay, that the chief sin of modernity was its war against the imagination of adult Westerners."
Hold down the fort in Oak Ridge!
I love the dialog here! I am sorry I'm coming in late...
For me, HP is purely narrative with some great truths about mankind/good vs. evil/and I think we can even find truths about God in some of Rowling's writing. Josh, you mentioned a theme of love that is seemingly rampant in the series...and it is! Love, truth and goodness are all a part of God's nature. And we find the characters in HP dealing with those 3 things (and more) throughout the whole series. I don't think it's wrong to find truth/Truth in story. Story was created to show truth/Truth: Jesus and His parables, for example.
As an English major I HAVE to be objective about (most) everything that I read. Perhaps that is why I don't see a problem with HP at all. To me it's just a great story that was written well. And while there are so many great pieces of literature out there, I realize that there are going to be those works of art that drip life into us. Literature is timeless, universal and was meant for us to connect with. So, maybe, I can see how/why a parent would be careful about their children reading such texts as HP.
But then...I can't help but ask what happened to the beautiful craft of story? Have we become so subjective that we lose sight, value, or the enjoyment in one of the greatest arts?
I've thoroughly enjoyed the HP books. But truthfully - I enjoyed the Left Behind series as well. Just wondering - many of you have expressed the thought that this series is dangerous. I admit - I don't have the same impression (and feel "Left Behind" AR AR!) Can you share some more thoughts on that? I would agree that it doesn't tie to what my understanding of Revelations is - but it's Fiction. It portrays the Lord God as Almighty - and Satan as a liar, and ultimately defeated.
But it was encouraging for me. Just as the Frank Peretti novels have been. I appreciated how those challenged my perspective - from thinking of Angels as these milky, passive fluffy cotton like things - to some "kick butt" Ninja angels who do God's business!
Love the topic!
Courtney: Thanks for the comments. Your literature perspective adds to the discussion.
Lynda: I think the reason some Christians reject the "Left Behind Series" is simply becuase they disagree with the theology that the book espouses as the "way things will surely happen."
I know people (believers and non-believers) who have been challenged because it forces people to live with a greater awareness of God's return.
But to reduce Revelation to a book that is only concerned about the sign of the beast, thousand year tribulation, etc. is what eats at some people.
Thanks for thinking out loud. Your perspective is valued.
I agree with Lynda; I read the Left Behind books shortly after I first became a Christian, and while they might be an exaggerated and highly fictionalized version of the events in Revelation, they were still pretty compelling little novels. It certainly opened me up to studying Revelation. At time that I was read ing those books, I had not yet done any study of Revelation whatsoever, and I learned a lot due to the questions that those books sparked.
I've heard a couple of you guys in passing mention your (passionate?) distaste for them... how come?
haha, I think you posted that last comment about a second and a half before I left mine. Nevermind! :)
Well, Chris was telling me yesterday about his comment and I had a chance to read this today. What a great discussion. I will admit I have never read any of the HP books. (Just not my thing.)
However, I think Sara has the healthy approach. I don't think the main issue (when dealing with children) is "to read" or "not to read." The problem is that too many parents set their kids loose and never really engage them about what they are reading, watching, listening to, etc.
I guess my comment is bigger than HP. My frustration is that many parents are fairly oblivious to what their children/teens are absorbing. Thank you, Sara, for being a parent that is willing to allow your children to think, grow, and learn about a variety of viewpoints with your guidance.
I read the first of the Left Behind series and was left feeling that it was dangerous because it takes place after the rapture but before the end of times. I don't believe this is acurrate from a Biblical perspective and it may give some people the liberty to live as they want now because they can either give a death bed confession and make things right in the final hour or if they are alive when the rapture happens then they have this 2nd chance to get things right. They can do as they please now and then use the rapture as their wake up call to straighten out.
I believe there will be A DAY of judgement and on that day the wheat will be separated from the chaff. There will not be a 2nd harvest.
Having said all that I would not condemn anyone for reading the series if it promotes study or discussion but if folks are reading in isolation and not reading the series as fiction then it becomes troublesome.
Oooh discussion! I’m jumping in too!
The Harry Potter debate is certainly a larger question than the world of Harry Potter, or really, the issue of witchcraft. Witchcraft is quickly joining the media trifecta of sex, violence, and drugs. The trend is to discount media based on the mere presence of these elements, without keeping an eye toward context. However, I think it’s important to recognize the fact that authors (filmmakers, etc) are building a literary world. If it’s truly good writing, all of those things are deliberately used as a narrative device. I don’t think this is a disclaimer that makes all media kosher and beneficial, but I do think it places the responsibility back on the reader rather than on the media itself.
I may be nitpicking and/or playing the semantics game, but I would say that to evaluate media is not to be objective (Courtney), but to be deliberately subjective. Acknowledge that good fiction sucks you in; it refuses objectivity. You just need to use filters. The question that everyone’s asking, I think, is: “Are children capable of imposing adequate filters on their own, or is it their parents’ job to do it for them?” And it’s probably both; there is clearly a time in life where children just aren’t able. But ideally, parents are teaching their kids how to form their own filters rather than handing down preformed filters; this counteracts discernment. The process and time of this transition varies from family to family just like it varies from person to person.
Gerard Jones says this in the context of violence, but I think it can apply to witchcraft, sex, what-have-you as well: “We don’t help children learn the difference between fantasy and reality when we allow their fantasies to provoke reactions from us that are more appropriate to reality…We teach them that pretend shooting makes adults feel threatened in reality, and therefore their own fantasies must be more powerful and more dangerous than they thought. The result for the child is more anxiety and self doubt, more concern over the power of violent thoughts, less sense of power over their own feelings, and less practice expressing their fantasies – a combination far more likely to lead either to behavioral problems or excessive timidity than safe self-enjoyment would be.”
I’m with Patrick: Minds need to play sometimes.
Naomi,
Great thoughts.
I really like what Jones says about the connection of fantasy and reality. I've heard Lauren Winner, and C.S. Lewis both say that their understanding of literature (and fantasy, in some way) is what allowed them to understand the Incarnation.
Josh, I wish I had seen this blog sooner... I don't check in very often, but I'm glad I caught this. Let me also say that I did NOT read most of the comments here! But I do want to give my thoughts... which come from the mind of a lifelong avid reader, English major, and general student of literature:
I've found almost no other story that captures my whole heart and mind the way that HP does. And more than that... I've found almost no other story that contains the pure goodness and obvious parallels to Christianity that HP does. I just cannot find anything in the overall story that points in any way to real-life, evil witchcraft. It is a complete fantasy (although I can admit I wish sometimes it was real!).
Every story has its hero and its villian... from the very foundation of the world until today! HP is no different. It is one of the best. I'm excited for you to read books 2-7. Each is more powerful than the last!
I cannot wait for my kids to meet Harry, Ron, and Hermione someday.
An interesting factor has just come into light.
Dumbledore is gay. Jo Rowling just announced it in an interview last week.
Does this change anyone's opinion of the books and whether or not children should be reading them?
-Emily
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