Harry Potter Is Here... and He's Not Going Away!

Excerpted from
What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?
By Connie Neal

The fact that you've picked up this book speaks to the impact the Harry Potter series has had on the Christian community. Perhaps you share some of the curiosity, confusion, fear, enthusiasm, or even anger that discussion of the books has generated. Perhaps you just want to know what all the hubbub is about. The debate over Harry Potter has caused dissension, factions, confusion, strife, and enmity within the body of Christ. This is not as the Lord would have it, even though valid concerns exist.

In the following chapters, I will help you sort out facts from fiction, reality from rumors, and provide trustworthy information to make you knowledgeable about the Harry Potter stories and the related debate. I will aim to help you become clearheaded, calm, confident, and peaceful with regard to the issues being raised about Harry Potter, whatever your personal convictions may be now or after you finish this book. I do all of this within a scriptural framework that upholds the truth of the Bible and our devotion to Gods Word as the absolute standard for our lives and choices. I aim to provide all you need to obey Romans 14:5, which says, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."

Why should a Christian even enter this discussion? For several reasons, hut perhaps most obviously because Marry Potters influence-on both our culture and Christian community-is truly phenomenal.

A Predictable Surge of Cultural and Spiritual Influence

Harry Potter has settled over the literary and cultural world with unprecedented coverage. No other book or series has seen such immediate publishing success (sales top forty-eight million copies sold within four years), worldwide fanfare (with editions in 110 countries and nearly forty languages), or literary acclaim (awards too numerous to mention). The series' impact has awakened a love of reading among children unparalleled in this generation. Once awakened, fans of all ages find themselves passionate about Harry Porter.

Harry Potter and his author, J. K. (Joanne) Rowling, have star status! The woman who wrote the books is arguably as popular with this generation as the Beatles were in the 1960s. Harry's face has been on the cover of Time magazine. Rosie O'Donnell is a huge fan. Harry has been-and is-covered in every major news magazine and respectable news venue online and around the world. When a teen accidentally bought the fourth book before the anticipated release date, she made CNN's Headline News and Talkback Live. Harry is a cultural icon able to eclipse major world events, and his influence and popularity will surge in the near future as surely as springtime turns record snowpack into rushing rivers.

Perhaps this immense popularity makes you a rad nervous. You might share the concerns of many in the Christian community over how kids might be influenced. Some ask: might kids be lured unsuspectingly into occult involvement? might kids come away with the belief that there is such a thing as good witchcraft?

Prepare for the Cultural and Spiritual Impact

• Might kids learn disrespect for adults and authority?

• Might kids come to believe that witches and wizards are cool, while non wire lies and nonwizards are not?

• Might kids, who make heroes of Harry and his friends, cut themselves off from the real world and begin associating with other kids who practice or celebrate the occult with disastrous results?

These concerns and controversy over Harry Potter arise along with the cultural influence and growing popularity of the stories. The debate, accusations, fears, rumors, worries, and arguments about Harry Porter have an impact all their own. Christians do not easily sidestep such discussions, nor should we. Indeed, every parent and Christian educator, and any Christian who cares about children or remaining culturally relevant, will need to face the Harry Porter phenomenon and the debate it generates. We need to do so in the right spirit, in light of God's Word, and in light of the facts, all while exercising godly wisdom and sound judgment.

Whether we like it or not, Harry Potter is here to stay. There is no such thing as untelling a story. Think about it. His stories have already entered the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world. Long before the media hype, kids were talking about Harry Potter and recommending the books to their friends. Online Harry Porter clubs and chat groups proliferate. They are some of the most popular destinations on the Web and are unifying Harry Porter fans worldwide. This bond satisfies something in the hearts and minds of those who respond to the stories with unbridled enthusiasm. There is simply no way to ignore or avoid Harry Potters influence. The series is not a fad that will be gone by next Christmas. It is far more.

You may have noticed such enthusiasm when fans-perhaps friends or relatives-have recommended the hooks. Perhaps you're wondering if you should allow your children to read the books or watch the movies. In order to make responsible decisions, you need to know what is really in the stories. Besides, many Harry Potter fans are children who love the books and identify with the characters. You'll see them carrying the books, talking about the stories and characters, fully engaged and wearing or toting merchandise with emblems and insignias from Harry Porters world. You may have noticed, especially if you've ever cast a wary eye or made a negative statement about Harry Potter in the presence of young fans, that kids who love Harry Potter take it personally when someone opposes these stories. They're likely to become defensive, even toward well-meaning adults. "Hate Harry Porter, hate me," they seem to say. We need to understand why they feel so passionately about these books.

If we want to have a positive influence and enter into meaningful discussions with kids who love Harry Potter, we'll do well not to show signs of ignorance about what's really in the books while seriously questioning or condemning them. If we take that approach, kids will write us off--especially if we haven't read a story in its entirety and have secondhand or inaccurate information. If we care about a child who is already into Harry Potter, we must realize these stories have already become a permanent part of that child's psyche. This is one reason we need to respond wisely rather than just react. There are many things we can do to make sure children are not misled. There are even many ways in which we can use the Harry Potter phenomenon positively. In coining chapters I will explain these points in depth.

The influence of Harry Potter is not only here to stay, it is also sure to grow. The series will include one hook for each of Harry's seven years of education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first four books were out by 2000, with at least one per year scheduled in 2001, 2002, and 2003. The first movie, produced by Warner Brothers, is due out in the fall of 2001. The second movie is scheduled to be released in summer 2002, with video releases sure to follow. Over Si billion worth of merchandising rights have been sold to dare. These include video games, board games, toys, clothing, mugs, diaries, school supplies, backpacks, key rings-you name it-along with the accompanying media hype.

Noteworthy, too, is the series' growing literary and educational impact. Harry Potter has given rise to literature guides for teachers, online discussion guides, book reports, literary college classes, church discussion groups, essay contests, library and bookstore displays, research projects, and debate subjects. A literary event of this magnitude inevitably changes the cultural and educational landscape dramatically.

Short of cutting yourself and the children you care about completely off from the world, there is no escaping some of Harry Porters influence. But perhaps we (and Gods kingdom) are not best served by trying to escape it. Some people are reacting as if this is sure to be a destructive flood, so they opt to run for the hills. Others determine to spiritually sandbag their homes, fearing the overflow of Harry Potters influence. As you read this book, I ask you to prayerfully consider the possibility that we might harness the cultural energy created by Harry Porter and convert it into a useful form that enlightens our kids to the dangers of real occult practices in our own world, while also teaching them valuable moral lessons. Not all Christians will choose to do this (and that's okay), but I'll show you how this may be a God-approved option for you. Whichever approach you take, you must acknowledge that Harry Potter cannot be completely ignored.