I’ll never forget being in a bible study in which one of the elders of my church (who was the person giving the study) brought up how he was looking forward to the next Harry Potter book to read with his kid. He said the books encouraged youth to understand good versus evil.
One lady in our packed room raised her hand and then asked him how he could justify encouraging the reading of books that are based in witchcraft and wizardry, especially for children.
I was known for having pretty solid justifications to any position or opposing position brought up in class. However, on this one, the elder looked at me as though I would help defend his position. I smiled and simply shrugged. :-) It was funny watching him recover and justify the books.
These books are entertaining and they do have a good moral to them overall, I feel sorry for self righteous people who let their religious fervor over ride their good sense to the point they can't even read a work of fiction for fear of being contaminated.
The Pastor was right. The setting may be one in which witchcraft and wizardry are used, but clearly the story is about the pursuit of power at any cost, and the consequences of one’s choices for good or evil.