In Defense of the Boy Who Lived: Why Christians Should Consider Reading Harry Potter

At speech and debate nationals this year I received the Mars Hill Impromptu topic of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II. Because I was giving this speech to a largely Christian audience in South Carolina, after my introduction, I let my judges know I was aware of the controversy over this topic and the witchcraft. I decided to not go the obvious route and discuss the witchcraft in the series and instead explore the values and ideas presented in the book. All three judges thanked me for not taking the easy way out.

However,

I would still like to talk about why Christians should take the time to read Harry Potter. First, I'm going to spend most my time refuting the two major arguments against Harry Potter. Second, I'm going to talk about how the controversy started (you might be really surprised). Third and finally, some additional reasons as to why the books and/or movies may even be beneficial.

Please read this with an open mind. As a Christian myself, I tried to line up every argument with God's Word and remain humble and respectful to others opinions. As a scholar, I tried to back every claim and statistic with reliable sources. I'm not saying you have to read it, only that you consider it a viable literary option. 

Major arguments against Harry Potter:

1. Children shouldn't be reading about witchcraft.

I agree we should set our minds on what is good, what is right, and what is holy. There are many, many redeeming messages in these books that support that. (See the last section for my advocacy). But we can't just ignore the magic issue.
The "magic" in Harry Potter, although term "witch" is used to describe a female wizard, is not satanic. It resembles something more like The Wizard of Oz, the Sorcerer's Apprentice, the fairies and magic of Disney (all of which contained witches and wizards). Levitating objects is something more like The Force from Star Wars than an evil ceremony, and the wand light even looks like Lightsabers. Its cool. Stuff blows up. Funny things happen. However, nothing in Harry Potter resembles Wicca, Satanism, or devil worship. Spells are as innocent as Hocus Pocus and Bibby Bobbidy Boo (see footnote four for a longer explanation, the spells are actually jibbled Latin).
Don't Forget that the Chronicles of Narnia, the beloved Christian series, also features witches and wizards, magic, spells, portals, and potions which are used by the "good guys". Even Aslan himself. Why does no-one want to use the word "witchcraft" when talking about the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where the wizard magician were the heroes. A common argument is that Chronicles is a Christian allegory. What's really cool, is  so is Harry Potter. Harry Potter also has the same theme of courage, doing right, and sibling love. More on that later.
My mom always made it clear to me, even after watching the Wizard of Oz, that, "in real life there's no such thing as a 'good' witch." We have to remember there's a line between fantasy and reality as well. 
I understand if you still think its inappropriate for Christians to not read something that glorifies magic. I know families who don't watch the Wizard of Oz for the same reason, they hold the same standard for everything. I respect their believes and I'm glad they're sticking up for what they believe in. But if your standards of "no magic" only applies to the Harry Potter series, I ask you to reconsider.

2. Violence, Swearing, and Romance.
To begin, and to add to my earlier argument, if you have watched or allowed your kids to watch Pirates of the Caribbean, the Hunger Games, and/or Star Wars then Harry Potter shouldn't be a big deal at all.
I'm not advocating that kindergarteners watch or read the entire series. My mom has a house rule. Movies one and two are for all ages. Any movie after that, you have to read the book to get earn the right to watch the movie. The books get progressively thicker, and so far no one under eight in my house has seen the third Harry Potter movie and no one under eleven has seen number four and up. Every kid is different, however, and every parent understands different children's tolerance levels. Most of these movies are PG, though, and are super fun for family movie night.
Any fan will tell you that the first two Potter movies were the most kid-friendly. They were directed by Cris Columbus, who is a fairytale kid-movie genius. Anyone from babies to grandparents would enjoy them. No swearing (unless you count one or two exclamations of the British use of the word "bloody"), the violence is silly pratfalls and romance is nonexistent.
I will admit, the third movie is slightly scarier. Alfonso Cuaron became director and gave the movie a quirkier, although more realistic feel.
Movie four has a much, lighter, fun feel with a really awesome battle ending. Its my favorite movie. With wizard sports, dragons, mermaids, and the humor was at its best. Probably because Mike Newell took over.
Movie five and beyond are David Yates. They're a bit darker, a bit more violent, and over the span of four movies there are four kisses I remember counting. Still, it absolutely doesn't come close most superhero movies or dystopian movies coming out now.

How this whole thing started:

On July 26, 2000, the satirical online newspaper The Onion published a piece titled Harry Potter Books Spark Rise In Satanism Among Children. (1) The Onion is, in other words, is joke site whose more recent pieces include How To Successfully Sue Other Moms Who Steal Your Parenting Tricks and Obama Still Hasn’t Figured Out How To Adjust Height Of Oval Office Desk Chair.

The piece went viral. Some mistakenly thought it was real while most others questioned whether the issues brought up in the article, although satire, could eventually occur. The is frightening, of course, but unrealistic because nothing in the books reflect Satanism or specifically demotes Christianity in any way, in fact the opposite, which I'll get to later.

I know that there were probably some concerns before the Onion published this article. But its what got everyone thinking. In other words, the incident inciting the debate was not actually children doing witchcraft.

What Harry Potter is about is a book about love. Not romantic or fleeting love, but real love between friends, family members. Its about being brave, standing up for whats right, that being the odd kid out is hard but not always bad. Its about justice and mercy and Harry's sacrifice undeniably ultimately echoes Christs. JK Rowling even revealed in multiple interviews that Harry Potter is ultimately a Christian allegory. (2)
 

Why should you read Harry Potter?

Harry Potter is the best-selling book series in history (5) with many awards and recognitions. Its well-written literature that is engaging and has encouraged reading in children around the globe, being listed one of the top one-hundred recommended books by teachers. (6)
Its uplifting, encouraging, crazy awesome, and spells (look I made a pun ;) ) out some of the best life life lessons you will ever learn, consistent with Biblical teachings.
 
So what is Harry Potter actually about?

The first book is about a child who is mistreated by relatives and grows up without loving parents. His name is Harry Potter. He learns he has magic powers and meets friends who are quirky, sweet, and awesome. One of them is a girl who is teased for being a nerd but her knowledge ends up saving everyone. Her name is Hermione Granger. One is a boy who is one of seven children and is teased for being poor and an outcast, but ends up being one of the truest friends one could ask for. His name is Ron Weasley. One boy stands up against his own friends to do whats right. Harry rejects the opportunity to join the Dark Side and instead chooses love.

The second book shows the love of the Weasley family and their strength and unity, proving that status isn't everything.

The third book shows how there is always light in darkness.

The fourth is about what true friendship means and what honorable competition looks like.

The fifth tells us to fight through our anger, our hardships, and our loss for something worth fighting for. It tells us that when bad seems to have overcome all, good will rise up against it, and that we have to be leaders in our society.

The sixth is about love, about loss, about the temptations of evil and about the courage it takes to overcome them.

The seventh is ultimately about sacrifice, redemption, and Love overcoming all.

If you have any questions, concerns, or counter-arguments, please let me know. I'd love to hear them all :)



Citation Page --


1.http://www.theonion.com/article/harry-potter-books-spark-rise-in-satanism-among-ch-2413

2. http://www.christianpost.com/news/harry-potter-author-reveals-books-christian-allegory-her-struggling-faith-29749/

3.  Norman-Culp, Sheila (23 November 1998). "British author rides up the charts on a wizard's tale". Associated Press Newswires.
Reprint at Accio Quote! (accio-quote.org). 24 February 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
Common myths about Harry Potter that just aren't true:

 4."The spells in Harry Potter are from the actual Book of Wicca."
 I heard this from a friend of mine in person. I still love her very very dearly :) <3 I'm not sure where this is from, but  (almost all) Harry Potter spells are slightly tweaked Latin, with a few in French, Arabic, and some just distorted English (Descendio makes things descend.) Why? Because JK Rowling was the top of her class in English in High School, took French in college, and before becoming and famous author was a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International. (3)
Harry Potter spells are as harmless as Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boo. Most are nonsense or tweaks of a language we already speak. Fun fact, many of the unusual names from Harry Potter are constellation names.

5. The BBC on Harry Potter: "The Harry Potter novels have sold more than 450 million copies through Bloomsbury in Britain, and Scholastic in the United States." (23 June 2011)
 
6. National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". Retrieved 19 August 2012. 

Sixty-Two Mistakes

So, I've been thinking a lot about mistakes. I don't mean little mistakes like snapping at someone or missing a test question. I mean those huge mistakes. The ones you don't really want to think, much less talk, about.
The problem is even if you've been forgiven, those mistakes still have consequences. Those mistakes are scary. My fear is that I will make the same big mistakes over and over again like I do with the little mistakes. Or that little mistakes will snowball into bigger ones.

This fear has haunted me for awhile. Pretty soon, I'm going to have to make some big choices. Where to go to college, where to get a job, what to major in. Lately, I've made mistakes in relationships. I haven't been the friend, the teammate, the sister I could be. Just being honest.
I watched the movie Home today. One of the characters states that their society has a rule, nine big mistakes and you're out. When asked how many mistakes he'd made he replies,
"Sixty-two."
I am the girl with sixty-two mistakes.
Eight hours later I couldn't tell you the plot without forgetting half of it, but I remember the number sixty-two.
Sitting here, I got the urge to look up Psalm 62.
Psalm 62: 2
"He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved."
Psalm 62: 6
"He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved."
That's right Psalm 62: 6 and 2 (KJV) say nearly the same thing.
𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦.
That is a pretty big deal for me. I've been in competitive speech and debate for four years. I know what it means to defend something. I know the work, the passion, the conviction, the steadfastness of what it means to properly defend something. I'm not afraid to say the Lord knows how to speak directly to my heart.
Not that God defends my mistakes, of course.
I imagine myself on trial for all my mistakes. I can see the evidence against me rising. How could a just God defend someone so guilty? Someone has to pay the price for those mistakes.
And Someone already did.
And therefore he can stand in my defense. He is my lawyer, if you want to think of it that way. He calls me his child. Because of him, my verdict is "not guilty". I am free from those mistakes.
"He is my rock and my salvation."
For the first time, even though I've been a Christian since childhood, I've finally grasped how important that word 'salvation' is.
But the Lord also gives us this command, that we be the windows the Light shows through;
Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)
"Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.'
And today I realized, every moment I spend breathing and following that command, my mistakes amount to nothing compared to letting Him use me for the work of His Hands.

Edit When George Strait Sang Me the Gospel: Or How God Never Gives Up

  There was a time, a year or two ago maybe, when I really started to question who I was and what I stood for. Looking back, I feel really silly and sad for my year-or-two-ago self. Then again, I don't think I'd be where I'm at without that person.
    I started wondering if this whole "God" thing was just too much. I mean, why was he expecting me to be all perfect all the time and live up to these impossible standards? And if he loved me sooo much why was it He never told me? I mean, I had these religious fanatics everywhere telling me He did. The Bible said He did. But was it too much to ask he tell me in person, face to face? Why was it whenever I was suffering, hurting, or feeling lost all I felt was his absence and not his presence like all of my Jesusfreak friends boasted about.
    It's kind of crazy, because prior to all this I considered myself one of those Jesusfreaks. But I just hit this wall when I wondered, if God is sooo close to my friends why does he feels so distant from me? What if it's all in their heads?
    Truth was, I really wasn't pulling my own weight at that time. I didn't pray that often, maybe not at all except at meals. I didn't touch my Bible. My mind drifted in church. Every time I saw one of my friends post a Bible verse on Facebook I just kept scrolling.
    It was like the farther I drifted the more I realized how completely surrounded I was by God. You'd think I'd realize that was God trying to talk to me. Trying to get me to listen to Him. To realize His presence and His power. I just called it all empty words and went on my way.
    I never really stopped believing, I still called Jesus my Savior, but I was as far from God as I'd ever been. And I was miserable.
    I missed Him. But I had blocked off all of the ways God usually spoke to me. I alienated myself and I blamed it on God. Then I had a Jonah moment. I realized how far God would go to keep me in His arms. I didn't realize until then how hard it was to try to run from God.
    I was supposed to be reading my Bible for school. But I just didn't feel like it. It didn't help I was assigned one of those really long, dull "And Hezekiah begot Barthlemew who begot…" chapters. I was stumped as why I should care about these old dead guys.
    It was at that moment I remember casting my eyes up and thinking very loudly God, I know you love me. And if you are all that You say You are than I love you, too. But right now I feel like I'm talking to the dust on my ceiling. Talk to me. Say anything, say something. Because I feel really alone right now.
    As always, I was listening to my iPod. Now, I don't usually listen to country music. But I had let it play whatever songs and I wasn't paying attention enough to skip anything over. So I feel like it was a legitimate miracle the minute I was done with my prayer, Write This Down by George Strait started playing. In case you don't know, it starts like this,

    I never saw the end in sight; fools are kind of blind.
    Thought everything was going alright, but I was running out of time.
    'Cause you had one foot out the door, I swear I didn't see
    But if you're really going away, here's some final words from me.
   
    Now, when you ask God to speak to you and He says, in George Strait's voice, "If you're going away here's some words from me" YOU LISTEN. I froze in my seat and listened with perfect awe-inspired rapt attention.
   
    Baby, write this down, take a little note
     to remind you in case you didn't know,
    Tell yourself "I love you and I don't want you to go"
     write this down.

    And I started bawling. I cried all over my Bible. Teardrops fell in my coffee. I'm not a crier, so that's a big deal.
    I grew up in Christianity. I never had that mountaintop moment. Until then. But God wasn't done yet.

    Take my words, read 'em every day,
     keep 'em close by, don't you let 'em fade away,
    So you'll remember what I forgot to say, write this down.
   
    There I was, Bible right in front of me. I had a pen and school notebook, too.
    I couldn't believe it. I'd asked God to tell me he loved me and he did just that, and more. So I said, out loud during the instrumental break,
    "Honestly? I just can't believe…you love me that much? I just..I can't…I don't deserve…"

    I'll sign it at the bottom of the page, I'll swear under oath
    'Cause every single word is true, and I think you need to know,
    So use it as a bookmark, stick it on your 'frigerator door,
    Hang it in a picture frame up above the mantel where you'll see it for sure.

    If you don't think God speaks to His people, that He loves them, and that He hears every word we pray, let me tell you with absolute certainty. He does.

    Oh I love you and I don't want you to go, baby write this down.

    I haven't wavered, haven't doubted since then. I pray I never do. I don't mind if this goes unread and unheard. But I do believe God works in cool ways, so if this helps anybody, if I can be anybody's George Strait and let God use me to tell His people He loves them, that would make my day.