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.
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