I realize that Harry Potter is a sensitve issue in the Christian community, mainly because it deals with magic and witchcraft. However, things like this are not at all becoming of Christians.
Laura Mallory, a mother of four, told a hearing officer for the Gwinnett County Board of Education on Tuesday that the popular fiction series are an “evil” attempt to indoctrinate children in the Wicca religion.
And from this article in the Guardian on the same topic:
Referring to the recent rash of deadly assaults at schools, Mallory
said books that promote evil – as she claims the Potter ones do – help
foster the kind of culture where school shootings happen.That would not happen if students instead read the Bible, Mallory said.
She added that the books were harmful to children who are unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy.
The children, she said, try to imitate Harry Potter and cast spells on classmates.
“They're not educationally suitable and have been shown to be harmful to some kids,” Mallory said.
A few points here.
First, I'm assuming that she's a Christian based on the fact she says school shootings would not happen if kids read the Bible at school. I know what happens when you assume, but I'm feeling pretty safe here. Also, this article about here just comes out and says it.
Second, from the article linked just above this, she says she's never read the books, but has done a lot of research on Christian message boards and Harry Potter web sites. OK, and we all know that everything on the internet is true.
She admitted that she has not read the book series partially because
“they’re really very long and I have four kids.”“I’ve put a lot of work into what I’ve studied and read. I think it
would be hypocritical for me to read all the books, honestly. I don’t
agree with what’s in them. I don’t have to read an entire pornographic
magazine to know it’s obscene,” Mallory said.
So, you don't have time to read the books, but you've got time to get synopses and ideas from a bunch of sites on the internet? Riiiight. I think she's pretty misinformed about the content of the books and what is actually being said in them.
I don't place the onus of whether children read or don't read Harry Potter or the Bible on the school district. That's MY job as parent. I'm not going to go around telling other parents what their kids should or shouldn't read either. I'm the youth coordinator in our church and I know that there are distinct differences between the two main families which have kids in my class. One is more permissive and their kids have read the books. The other is not as permissive and has not allowed their children to read them. Are either of them wrong? Absolutely not. However, I'm not going to tell them that they should or should not allow their kids to read Harry Potter. Why? It's not my decision. I have my opinions (give me a minute) about them, but that has no bearing on what another parent wants to allow their kids to do.
Now, my opinion on them? I wrote about this before, but lost the article in my site upgrade last year. So, here we go again. I don't have a copy of the last one, so I'll just write a whole new one.
Personally I see nothing wrong with them, if your children are of an age and maturity to handle the content of the books. Yes, they are graphic in parts, and quite dark towards the end of the series. What's my expertise? I have them all, and have read each of them at least two or three times. They really are good books from a purely literary standpoint. Great characters, wonderful imagination, spectacular locations. Just really good books.
“But you're a Christian! What about the magic and witchcraft?” you say. I say meh. The magic and witchcraft is a part of that world in the same way that it is part of the world in the Lord of the Rings books or the Chronicles of Narnia, but these books are recommended for kids to read. Why? In the case of Narnia, they are specifically Christian allegories, but they still use magic. It's simply a part of that world. These people aren't pursuing magic, they accept it as normal, much like we accept air travel, the internet, and the fact that the world is round. It's just part of our world.
“But they weren't teaching children to use magic in those books!” They aren't in Harry Potter either. Unless you are telling me that a few magic words here and there and some extremely vague references to instructions compose actual teaching.
“But the Bible teaches that witchcraft is evil!” You're absolutely right. Galatians 5:19-21 specifically adresses it as an act of the sinful nature of man. However, it is the pursuit and practive of witchcraft which is evil, not a fictional representation of it. That same passage denounces envy and jealousy, but I'll be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't practiced that at some point.
One more thing. In the Harry Potter series, the focus is on defeating evil. There is a definite good and a definite bad. Dumbledore has a great line in the film of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. “There are dark days ahead, Harry. days when we will be forced to choose between what is right, and what is easy.” This dovetails perfectly into what Jesus taught about the narrow way and the wide path. Matthew 7:14 says, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Far be it for me to compare Dumbledore with Jesus, and I'm not making that comparison. But for the simple moral lesson that the easy way is not always the right way, I find Harry Potter to be immensely valuable to our current society. With the right parental or adult guidance, one can take the lessons of Harry Potter and turn them into the lesson of Jesus Christ, helping to guide that child towards His saving grace. Isn't that what it's all about anyway?
Boy, that's a long one. I got downright sermonish.
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