Is it okay for Christians to read Harry Potter?

I used to have a secret fantasy. I wanted to teach History of Magic in Hogwarts castle and finally give life to the sleep-inducing subject. Blame it on the magic of Harry Potter. Was I sinning by reading Harry potter?

If you would allow me to make a sweeping statement, I would divide the major book crazes of this generation into three:

Harry Potter
Twilight
and the most recent, Hunger Games

Another generalization I would make is that Harry Potter is the most widely-read book by both young adults and adults of this generation. You can call me biased, because I myself have devoured the Harry Potter books. Like a true fanatic (and geek), I debated over the political implications of Harry Potter 5 in the fansite Mugglenet.net, I got sorted into a Hogwarts houses through Harry Potter quizzes made by fans (I'm a Ravenclaw by the way), my favorite subject is Charms and Herbology, I find Divination stupid, and I reread the HP books before stepping into an HP movie.

Some fundamentalists and even evangelicals would probably condemn my fanaticism, saying that the HP books delve into the occult, encourage kids into witchcraft and homosexuality (yeah, Dumbledore is gay according to Rowling) and are the products of the devil. After all, the Bible itself condemns homosexuality, and specifically warns against witchcraft.

Some Christian defenders of the Harry Potter books have gone so far as to compare HP to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis' Narnia books which are Christian allegories and have Christian themes. They also cite the messages of love, courage, and friendship found in the HP books as proof of its "Christian message."

I myself would not go into either extremes. I have not gone into a full-length literary analysis of Harry Potter. But I do know that different literary theories could lead us to either conclusion -- HP as satanic, or HP as Christian. Before, I used to look at HP as communist since I was partial to that ideology before I got saved.

My point is that, from a Reader's Response point of view, we can look at books through different lenses. The Lord of the Rings books and Narnia books were written with our knowledge of the author's intention and Christian backgrounds in mind. These have contributed to the literary analyses that the books are Christian allegories. We can even go the way of condemning all fantasy books as demonic just by the characters' use of "magic". Heck, I have read analyses of other Christians condemning the New International Version of the bible as tools of satan!

Can fantasy and faith mix? (photo credit to: fantasybooksandmovies.com)

If we condemn fantasy books as such, then let's throw all other books into the burning pile. Oscar Wilde's classic The Picture of Dorian Gray shows us a hedonistic world. Shakespeare uses witches in his plays, but we don't hear an uproar over his books. And if you argue that witches and hedonists in these books are seen in a negative light, while HP has witches and sorcerers as heroes, then we can do away with Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur and all other books mentioning the "good" sorcerer Merlin. And what do we do with our Greek mythology, science-fiction, the Qu'ran, and The Tale of Genji? They're not Christian at all. They offer a totally different world and faith view.

Personally, I never read HP as a Christian book. However, it espouses values we can call Christian. I love how Rowling, with her own unique storytelling, weaves a tale of good versus evil. These values and themes are not exclusive to HP. We see them in various myths, legends, and other stories around the world. They don't necessarily make Harry Potter exclusively Christian.

Rowling's Hogwarts is not C.S. Lewis' Narnia which has obvious Christian allegories (note: some Christians will still disagree on the Narnia as a Christian allegory premise). But I wouldn't condemn Harry Potter and his friends to the stake either. Books, and things of culture for that matter, are tainted by man. NOTHING created by man is holy or pure. We may focus on elements of HP which are "demonic" and thus, conclude the book to be demonic, or we may look at HP through a Christian lens as other Christian writers have done. Or we may not look at HP from any religious lens at all.  Given the influence of HP, Christians  are more concerned about looking at the HP books from God's lens.

Are fantasy books dangerous then? I agree that these books can be used by the devil to tempt us, as there are numerous ways by which the devil can make us stumble. Even "good" things such as friends and family can lead to temptation. We live in a fallen world, but we cannot put ourselves in an isolated bubble so that we won't get "corrupted".

Our biggest concern should be the state of our hearts and our relationship with God when we read these books. For example, I read the Da Vinci Code before I became Christian. Because the author of this book CLAIMED that everything he wrote was real, and I never read my Bible, I was drawn into believing that the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and other Gnostic Gospels should occupy the same importance as the other Gospels written in the bible. Compared to Brown's Da Vinci Code, Rowling never gave me the impression that her magical world was real. I read it fully knowing that whatever was written there was fantasy. Also, even the Da Vinci Code was used by God in my life so that I could have a firmer stand right now about my own faith. My faith was not made weaker because I learned about Gnosticism. God gave me the choice to believe Gnosticism, but by His grace, I didn't. Now, I could say "yeah I know about that belief, but I still choose being a Christian."

HP awakens my imagination and is a literary experience, but I am also aware that the fantasy is not real. I'm also not "addicted" to it as I was before. I believe it was God who made me realize that He is the only One worth getting addicted to. When I read HP, I admire Rowling's talent and I celebrate its metaphors and its message of love. When I read the Bible, I know that I have the greatest history book, love story and written creative work in my hand. Reading HP does not negate my experience of the Bible.

If we ban Harry Potter, we might as well ban fairy tales and other stories created by man. In fact, we might even ask ourselves, can a Christian read any other book at all without sinning? We might as well ban TV, Facebook, and interacting in the real world which is filled with pornography, violence, real witchcraft, etc. Let's face it, we're not in heaven yet. We are all in a spiritual battle and just like Caspian in Narnia, we need to arm ourselves against the enemy. If a Christian is drawn into witchcraft, astrology, or the occult because of Harry Potter, then maybe he should stop reading it.  This may be a reflection of his heart or his lack of maturity in faith.  Maybe he's still too young to be exposed to such ideas.  Don't take my word for it though. Ask your parents, ask your Christian friends, ask your pastor, ask God.

When temptations happen, a Christian should pray, seek God's help, and read his bible to be reminded of the Good News. No message in any other book, after all, can compare to the message of the Gospel if you have experienced its reality in your life.



Recommended reading regarding this topic:

Harry Potter vs. the Muggles by Mike Hertenstein

A similar debate once raged over whether Christians could eat food that had been originally offered to pagan idols. They most certainly can, insisted the Apostle Paul, provided they can eat with a clear conscience and be mindful of those "weaker brothers" who cannot. But Paul never suggested that weaker brothers must set the limits for everyone.
- Mike Hertenstein

Face to Face: Protestants vs Catholics

      One of my greatest fears is to be blind.  To believe in something blindly that is.   When I was a Communist, I snubbed faith, thinking that it was the surest way to intellectual blindness and stupidity.  Now, with both my whole intellect and soul, I confess that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.

      I am not a theologian or a professional apologist (and I don't really want to be one), but I am aware of the doctrinal debates between Protestants and Catholics.  For the past weeks, these have been  on the pages of my Google Chrome:

• Is salvation by faith or works?
• Should the apocryphal books be included in the Bible?
• Do Catholics worship Mama Mary?
• What is sola scriptura? 
• What is sola fide? (and all the other solas...)
• What is the one true church?

       I read both Protestant and Catholic blogs and websites. The links have taken me to other links including biblical translation, church history, the church fathers and even to debates on whether Lady Gaga is satanist or Christian and whether we should use pi or tau in our mathematical equations. The arguments are enough to condemn me to a lifetime sentence of squinty eyes and neuron overuse.  Not to mention, to make me into an armchair Christian for life (like an armchair journalist who doesn't experience the action but just relies on others' reportage) .

      Looking at the neverending commentaries on whatever commentary there is (you'll be amazed at how the comments can spread like fungus), I can empathize with people who would dismiss faith as man's grand myth, the philosopher's stone, the biggest hoax, or opium for the masses.  I can also understand why some are turned-off by how Christians spew verbal abuse at each other and still call themselves "brother", "sister" followed by the phrase "in Christ".   I was reminded of that local TV show called Face to Face which allows guests to proclaim their dirty laundry in public and go on a cat fight afterwards.  This was Face to Face online!   I was amazed at both the eloquence and the erudition of the language (some literary, some academic and some...well the best examples of slang and text language), but at the same time, I can't help but feel disgusted by all the verbal bashing.

      Then I wondered why I was feeling this way.  Doesn't the Bible itself tell us to test the spirits and warn us of false teachers and prophets? Aren't we just doing our Christian duty when we debate and try to search for the truth?  Shouldn't I also continue my search for the truth, so that I can confirm that my faith is real?

      Doing all this thinking made me stop and think about my personal testimony.  How did I have faith?  How did I know Christ?  How do I know that what I have now is real?  I was reminded of this bible verse:

Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. Luke 6:44.

 A quick Google search showed parallel verses:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Galatians 5:22

My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.  James 3:12

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. James 2:18.

      The bible is very specific about the fruits of the Spirit.   This may be a simplistic view for all other intellectuals out there who are raring to go on lengthy doctrinal expositions.  But when I see the fruits in my life, this is one way I know when I am going in the wrong or right direction. I realized that I was spending all the time poring over the debates, debating in my own head, that I have been distracted from my personal faith race with Jesus. I was also condemning people who were commenting on these doctrines (plus Lady Gaga).

     I  realized that I should also check my heart continuously whenever I go into scholarly study on doctrine or church history.   I understand that each denomination has a form of exclusivity because of biblical interpretation.   I also still believe that we should understand what we believe in.   In the midst of all these debates though, we need God's grace to do things in love and fix our eyes on Jesus who the Bible reminds us, is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

      My task as a Christian is to share the gospel, not to judge, condemn or convert anyone. God will do the rest of the work in that person's life, regardless of his faith.  For those who are going on a faith search, these debates may be important issues which deserve answers.  I trust though that the answers will come from God in a very personal way, edit: I HAD TO ADD THIS to guard against the dangers of putting primary experience over verifiable truth: AND IT WILL BE VERIFIED BY HIS WORD.   I may not give an adequate conclusion to this blog entry.  But I hold on to God's promise. It is not our lowly wisdom which holds the ultimate answer; it is God!

Truth is naturally divisive since it rejects what is false.  But in our defense of the truth, let's not forget that we should do so IN LOVE.  Maybe you will like this cartoon from theophilus.org as much as I did:

For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. Luke 21:15