Harry Potter - what
should our response be?
NEW - July
2007:
The film of the fifth Harry Potter book
Harry Potter and the Order of
thePhoenix was released in
July 2007.
The seventh, and final, book in J K Rowling’s series about
Harry Potter, titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
, was released on Saturday 21 July 2007.
As with the other Harry Potter books and movies, we are concerned about the
promotion and practice of witchcraft in these books/movies.
New articles and reviews:
Film: ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix’.
Click
here for
the MOVIEGUIDE review of the new film - ‘Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix ’.
KJOS Ministries has another insightful analysis of the Harry Potter movies.
The Deadly Magic
of Potter Movies - The Order of the
Phoenix is not "just
fantasy!"
Berit Kjos - 2007
KJOS has a review of the book behind the movie ‘Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix’. Click here.
KJOS has an overview that compares Harry Potter and the occult – this has
been written by a man who was a member of an occult order.
Overview and
Application (Books 1-3)
Overview
and Application – ‘Order of the
Phoenix ’. (Book 5)
The influence of Harry
Potter on feelings about Christians?
Harry Potter
and anti-Christian bigotry
World Net Daily, July 18, 2007
More articles and links follow 'Our
Analysis'...
_______________________________
Our
Analysis...
Harry Potter seems to be everywhere .... Six
books have now been written by J. K. Rowling and one more is planned. The books are on
the New York Times bestseller lists. Harry Potter
films have now been released and parents are under increasing pressure to allow their children
to see the films and read the books. Schools are frequently reading the books
in class and encouraging students to engage in 'related activities'.
Commercial operations have used the popularity of the
film to sell
a wide range of merchandise
- including toys, food and drinks. The newest 'toy' is a potion mixing kit. Related
merchandise and books capitalise on the growing interest in witchcraft.
What should our response be as
Christians?
The question most people ask is: "Is there a link between the Harry Potter
books and witchcraft?"
From our reading and research, and reading selected sections of the books, we
believe that the books expose children to the world of magic and occult
practices, although parts of the books are written in a fantasy setting. This
may lead them to explore actual witchcraft, especially when linked with viewing
TV programs such as Buffy- the vampire slayer and Charmed or
reading books of spells or witchcraft.
The books describe the use of occult practices such as divination, astrology
and the casting of spells. As Christians, we must remember that God tells us to
have nothing to do with witchcraft, or sorcery or divination.(Deut.18: 9 -
11)
The author, JK Rowling, admitted in a 1999
interview on
The Diane Rehm Show that she researched pagan and witchcraft practices to
make the books more realistic. She said more than one third of the practices are
based on actual occult practices.
Toni Colllins, who has read the books, and who
experimented with witchcraft before becoming a Christian, notes that of the
commentators who supported the Potter books, "virtually none of them had ever
experienced the occult" but "almost every commentator I read who had experience
with the occult found the books disturbing, almost as if they were primers on
witchcraft." (Article
at Envoy Magazine)
Some particular areas of concern:
1. Harry is a wizard (his mother
was a witch, his father was a wizard) and is training to use supernatural occult
powers of astrology, alchemy, divination, spell casting and so on.
2. Characters who have magic powers are
portrayed as being 'cool' - others, the 'muggles', are considered inferior.
3. The characters have unethical behaviour
such as lying and rule-breaking. When they are caught, they are often not punished. When those
who support the books say that Harry protects his friends, they often overlook this
poor behaviour.
4. Many of those who support the books say
they show 'good' versus 'evil',
with Harry fighting Lord Voldemort. However, Harry uses witchcraft to overcome
the enemy wizard Voldemort. Their powers come from the same source.
Christian commentators have taken differing
views of the Harry Potter books and films:
Richard Abanes has anlaysed the series
and describes the concerns in his book Harry Potter and the Bible
(see below) with additional comments
on his website.
Connie Neal,
in her book What's a Christian to do with Harry Potter, explores
ways of using the books to discuss
Biblical truth. However, part of that includes suggesting that Christian children could read the books. Click
here for her website.
We are concerned about the influence of Harry Potter
on children, and believe that Christians should be
very cautious and not allow their children to read these books, see the
film or purchase the merchandise.
If your children have read the books, we recommend that
you review the books with
them, discussing with
them how they do not meet the standards set for Christian behaviour
in the Bible and sharing with them how the Bible warns us to have
nothing to do with witchcraft.
We have listed resources for sale and articles on the
internet for you to read:
Resources Available from SALT
SHAKERS
1.Harry Potter - Repackaging Witchcraft: Making Evil Seem
Innocent.
An excellent video from Caryl Matriciana and Jeremiah
Films
www.jeremiahfilms.com
Available from
SALT SHAKERS for A$29 plus A$5 p & p.
2. Harry Potter and the Bible -
Richard Abanes' comprehensive book.
Richard Abanes provides an
excellent analysis of the four Harry Potter books, including summaries of each
book and detailed explanations of the occult activities and unethical behaviour
of the characters that appear in each book.
Available from Salt
Shakers for A$25 plus A$4 p & p.
Articles on the
web
Here are a selection of linked articles on the internet
which we have read. We recommend them for further reading:
Recent articles, following the publication of the sixth
book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...
Harry Potter and the Lavender
Brigade
Douglas Phillips of Vision Forum asks "Is it
scriptural to favourably present immoral behaviour in fantasy stories. Detailed
article analysing the arguments for and against the Harry Potter books -
concluding that they are unbiblical.
Click here
.
Harry Potter: Politically
Correct Paganism
Jan Markell, Olive Tree Ministries.
Click
here.
For
a list of other articles about Harry Potter on Olive Tree Ministries
website, click here.
_________________________________
Previous
articles...
* Berit Kjos' website Crossroad
has a
number of articles about Harry Potter.
Full index of articles - click here .
-
Twelve Reasons not to see
Harry Potter Movies
-
Harry Potter and the
Power of Suggestion
-
Bewitched by Harry
Potter (1999)
-
Harry
Potter Lures Kids to Witchcraft
* Pastor David Meyer was a witch prior to becoming a
Christian so he speaks from personal experience in his article:
Harry Potter -
What Does God have to say?
* Kathi Sharpe, a former witch,
was involved in witchcraft for ten years before becoming a Christian. Her
article reveals some of the problems in the Potter books and warns Christians
not to be involved in such activities. She recommends Richard Abanes book in her
article.
Potter
Problems
* William Schnoebelen was a wizard and freemason before
becoming a Christian, so he also speaks from experience as he exposes the
dangers of the Harry Potter books and movie.
Straight Talk on Harry
Potter (8 pages)
* Crosswalk - Teens Channel editor Olivia J. Johnson says
"Many opinions exist on Harry Potter, but all I care about is what the
Bible has to say."
What'
s the Bible Got to Say About Harry Potter?
* The Problem of Harry Potter - LifeSite in Canada has a page on their web site with a range
of links to various articles on Harry Potter.
Michael O'
Brien
, a Canadian Catholic novelist, has written a
thoughtful essay exposing serious problems with the Potter books. This
site also includes articles two women (
Toni Collins and
Clare Merkle ) who were once
involved in the occult.
The Problem of
Harry Potter
* HARRY POTTER AND THE STONE THAT
WAS ROLLED AWAY
A Paper by Dr David Logan, Pastor of
Armidale Community Church, Armidale NSW.
David explores the themes and
content of the Harry Potter books and warns about reading the books and seeing
the films. He says “However, I return to my previous statement and say again
that The Bible declares that there are TWO spiritual kingdoms --- not three or
more. If the supernatural is involved, then the source MUST be the Kingdom of
Light (God’s Kingdom) or the Kingdom of Darkness (Satan’s Kingdom).”
Click here for his article.
___________________________
The following two articles from Focus on the Family 'Plugged In' take a slightly different view
and say we need to engage in the culture rather than dismissing the whole
discussion on Harry Potter. They reveal some of the dangers but also highlight
how Christians can engage in the culture through such books.
If parents have already let their children read the books or watch the film,
these articles may help them discuss some aspects with their children.
1. Film
Review by Lindy Beam of Plugged In (Focus on the
Family).
2.
What shall we do
with Harry? by Lindy Beam.
_________________________________
For an overview of the Harry Potter issue, with both sides of the debate
explored and links to many sites and articles, click
here
to go to the 'Apologetics Index' Harry Potter site. Author: Jenny Stokes | Modified: 31 January 2008 |
