Is Harry Potter merely entertainment?

BP News ^ | 6-3-04 | Phil Boatwright

[BobbyBeeper]

FIRST-PERSON: Is Harry Potter merely entertainment? Jun 2, 2004 By Phil Boatwright

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" Photo courtesy of harrypotter.com

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (BP)--"I love Harry Potter. I think it would be so cool to be a witch," Sharon, age 11, says.

That's my answer to anyone who says J.K. Rowling's adventure series is harmless fantasy.

While the Harry Potter book and film series has held a hypnotic fascination for youngsters, its thematic foundation is troubling. Arguably, perceptive children can view such material without succumbing to the snare of the occult, but it would be naive to think that movies and TV programs containing witchcraft are not aiding the rise of Wicca in our culture.

In a television special titled "Hollywood Spirituality" which aired several years back on E! Entertainment, Raven Mounauni, a professing witch and owner of an occult paraphernalia store, credited the 1996 movie "The Craft" with inspiring young women to explore the world of witches. "I get a lot of teenage girls in here. You can always tell when 'The Craft' has been on TV, 'cause we get a big influx of girls looking for supplies."

Occult practices shouldn't be considered just diverting amusement. Ouija boards, psychic readers and other forms of misleading supernatural entertainment should not be taken lightly. In Leviticus 19:26 we are instructed, "Do not practice divination or sorcery." There are several warnings in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament, making it clear that we are to avoid witchcraft or anything associated with the occult. So if God is instructing us to avoid occult practices, how can we justify using it to entertain ourselves?

This may not be a popular view right now. The first Harry Potter film installment earned $969 million worldwide. J.K. Rowlings' five books on the young wizard have become a phenomenon, allowing the author to become the richest woman in England, with assets beyond $1 billion. That would indicate that many parents find nothing wrong with these children's adventures.

There are even a couple of books out right now exclaiming parallels between the Potter books and the Gospel. One author suggests the books help relate Christian themes and truths, opening the door for talking about things such as right and wrong, the nature of faith, loyalty, bravery and trust. Honestly, I think that's a bit thin. Yes, Rowlings’ themes deal with honor, friendship and self-sacrifice, but the kids in Harry Potter gravitate to sorcery in order to accomplish these attributes. And even if there are positive elements associated with the series, you simply can't ignore the witchcraft equation.

Members of Wicca teach a philosophy that embraces no absolute truth or sin and replaces the patriarchal male creator God of the Bible with a belief in both male and female gods. Its credo instructs members to embrace spirits and conjure spells in order to control their lives and the lives of others. There are millions of practicing witches worldwide. Indeed, Wicca has become one of the fastest-growing religions in the world today.

OK, it's good that children are reading. But what is it they're reading? Shouldn't that be considered? When an author makes $1 billion on five books that have sorcery as a main theme, and renowned secular critics hail the films as incredible filmmaking without examining their occult roots, I question what's really behind this phenom.

Is it merely entertainment? Or is there a dark spiritual source feeding and supporting it? I realize that may sound like a stretch, but often Satan is most deceiving with a glossed-over package. Wouldn't it be a shame if kids got pulled into witchcraft, while their folks thought of the books and films as merely children's fantasy? --30-- Phil Boatwright is a film reviewer and editor of The Movie Reporter, on the Web at www.moviereporter.com. (BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKAB

[Dead Corpse]

Saw the Sci-fi "Lowdown" show on it last night. I'm un-easy as to how much control Vin had over the direction of the movie. It could turn out to be another XXX.

The sets and SFX look tasty however. Amazing the detail work they are putting in to sets these days.

[kevkrom]

You are clearly nothing more than a pagan apologist. I banish thee!

As long as you banish me to the theater tomorrow, I'll be happy to go. (9 of us so-called adults going tomorrow night at 9:40...)

[Xenalyte]

Thou art banished as well! Begone with thee!

[kevkrom]

I have been trying "Lumos" for a few years now and no luck. I still gotta get up and put the damn light on myself.

Now that sounds like a fun idea -- reprogam a "clapper" to respond to "lumos" and "nox" instead of claps...

[Bella_Bru]

Could I get a banshiment too? I really want to leave work early today...

[johnfrink]

If you ever want to read a book that is incredibly dark and twisted and uses Bible verses to all sorts of nefarious ends, read "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy. Easily one of the top 5 books I've ever read.

[Bella_Bru]

Hey, you could make some money off of that one!

[maryz]

If you ever want to read a book that is incredibly dark and twisted

Thanks, but no. Moby Dick was enough for me (if you take a Melville course for distribution requirements, you're sort of stuck with it!). But I appreciate the thought!

[bayourod]

"witchcraft is pure superstitious garbage"

That's your opinion. I'm turning you into a frog right now! See, I told you so.

[DelmarvaMike]

Here we go again! I can't believe that folks are still dragging out this paranoia about the Harry Potter books/movies. Given the huge number of people who have seen the movies or read the books, why do we not have a rash of kids killing themselves by jumping out a second floor window with a broomstick?

I'll tell you why. Because an eleven year old kid has enough sense to know that Harry Potter is not real! It is a shame that a bunch of completely uninformed adults do not have the same level of common sense.

I would truly like to know how many of those who mindlessly bash the HP series have actually read the books. By the way, my family thoroughly enjoys the HP series and always look forward to the next movie or books release. Both my children attend our local Christian school and we all believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The HP books have done nothing to shake that belief. Harry Potter, like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Alladin, etc. is escapist fiction that only a complete idiot would take seriously as fact. I am sure that this won't be the last time I have to address this idiocy on a FR thread. (I'm going to see POA tomorrow, BTW. I sure hope that I'm able to apparate there and back properly ;-))

[bobsatwork]

"I love Harry Potter. I think it would be so cool to be a witch," Sharon, age 11, says. That's my answer to anyone who says J.K. Rowling's adventure series is harmless fantasy. ... It's harmless fantasy. And it helped my older son to get over certain reading problems. And the real message in HP? Harry was given the power to be evil, and CHOSE to be good. Name a better message that can be found anywhere on Nickelodeon. (PS. If you haven't read the books, you should. Really)

[whattajoke]

witches aren’t real. It's just something weird lesbians pretend to be.

Funny and true!

[Xenalyte]

I worship Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, and Bender.

Screw Xena's Guy. Marry me.

[Xenalyte]

Depends . . . how steeped in evil is your soul today?

[Proverbs 3-5]

Need I remind anyone (again) that the well known Christian apologists C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein both had "good" charcters who use magic in their fantasy series?

One difference between Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings is in HP power for good and evil emanate from the same source and there is no real good and evil, its all moral relativism. In TLOTR good and evil are distinct. Also while TLOTR has magic and wizards it is not the main focus, in fact those that try to use the magic of the rings are consumed by the evil and become wraiths and servants of the ultimate evil. What was Frodo's task? To use the magic for good, or to destroy it?

(from an article) ...Christian fans of Harry Potter insist that the series is no different than C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia.

It is true that both authors create fantasy parallel worlds involving young British children who encounter magical creatures. Both develop admirable characters and evil villains. But this is where the comparison ends.

The difference between the two hinges on the concept of authority. From a Christian perspective, authority and supernatural power are linked.

When we read Rowling’s series, we find that she effectively divorces power from authority. There is no sovereign person or principle governing the use of the supernatural.

Magical power is gained through inheritance and learning. It is not granted by a higher authority, because there is no Higher Authority — at least none higher than Harry’s mentor, Albus Dumbledore, and the evil Lord Voldemort. The two are equal, antagonistic and unaccountable to a higher authority.

In C.S. Lewis’ Narnia, power and authority are welded together. That authority is Jesus, in the character of the great lion Aslan — creator and sovereign ruler of Narnia, son of the Emperor Beyond the Sea. Good power is power that is bestowed by Aslan and exercised in accordance with his will. This good power is at work when the children Peter, Susan and Lucy use gifts bestowed on them by an agent of Aslan.

Evil power, on the other hand, is power that is seized or conjured — rather than bestowed — and exercised for selfish ends. Those who resist the temptation to use such power are commended, as was Digory, in The Magician’s Nephew. But those who wield it (such as Jadis, also in The Magician’s Nephew) and the White Witch (in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) are eventually vanquished by Aslan.

Despite superficial similarities, Rowling’s and Lewis’ worlds are as far apart as east is from west. Rowling’s work invites children to a world where witchcraft is "neutral" and where authority is determined solely by one’s cleverness. Lewis invites readers to a world where God’s authority is not only recognized, but celebrated — a world that resounds with His goodness and care.
source: www.family.org/cforum/citizenmag/coverstory/a0019032.cfm

also see
Lord of the Rings' has resounding ring of the Christian Lord, Southern prof says

[najida]

It is the pure creative imagination that I enjoy in the HP stories.

Everytime I read/see them, I find myself thinking "Wow! I would love to live inside the author's head".

[Rebelbase]

"It was Dungeons and Dragons when I was growing up."

Playing Led Zep backwards was the "evidence" in my day.

[Xenalyte]

Given the huge number of people who have seen the movies or read the books, why do we not have a rash of kids killing themselves by jumping out a second floor window with a broomstick?

We DO have it. It's just that the ones who survive are such good witches, they have mind control over us and can make us forget we saw the "unfortunate incidents."

[malakhi]

I have been trying "Lumos" for a few years now and no luck. I still gotta get up and put the damn light on myself.

I have a mystical relic passed down to me by the previous owners of my house. When I approach the garage door, I activate the item, and the door magically opens!

You might want to try the "Clapper" spell.

[johnb838]

"The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe"

I heard it was going to be done by Disney which causes me concern.