Harry Potter, again!

Recently, I had a conversation with a Christian friend about the Harry Potter series (books and movies). My friend argued that he wouldn't let his daughter, who is six years old, watch the Potter movies because of the blatant use of magic. In fact, my friend said that Harry Potter 'promoted' magic and in a sense made it seem like something attainable.

Now of course I disagreed, see my review on the Goblet of Fire. Fundamentalist Christian have shot themselves in the foot, again. The issue with the Harry Potter series is not the use of magic and witchcraft, that's a surface, the deeper issue is whether the Potter series is good literature (or a good story) or not. This is a clear case of focusing on the trees and not the forest.

J.K. Rowlings, for those who have read the book, (in most cases the Christians I've talked to about the series have NEVER read one book!) uses the magic as part of the fictional setting of the book. As Dr Jerram Barrs points out in his talk on Harry Potter,

The magic is simply a part of the imaginative worlds that Lewis, Tolkien, and
Rowling have created. In such an imaginary world, people can become invisible;
animals talk; mythical creatures like unicorns and centaurs exist; and rings and
spells work wonders.

The use of magic and witchcraft is not the main point of the books, and this is were most Christians get stuck. Dr. Barr also points out the following positive points about Harry Potter

1. These books are great fun (just consider a game like Quidditch!)

2. J.K. Rowling has created a delightful world of the imagination. She has
constructed an alternative universe, another dimension (rather like C. S. Lewis’s Narnia or J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth), but, right within our world.For those who have a problem with the idea of fantasy and alternative universes - we need to recognize that almost all children play imaginative games in their minds starting at a very young age and have no difficulty whatsoever in distinguishing between fantasy and reality.

3. The books are well written. Try reading them aloud – this is the simplest test of good writing.

4. The multitude of characters in the books. J.K. Rowling has brought into being an entire portrait gallery of people, adults and also children who are growing up book by book.

5. Additionally, the Harry Potter books send a strong message about moral behavior.There are beautiful and enjoyable human relationships among the characters, and there is a depth of commitment and service among them.The characteristics celebrated in the relationships are friendship, loyalty, integrity, kindness, and self-sacrifice. Harry Potter himself is prepared to set aside his own success, in order to serve his friends. These are qualities in which we can all delight. There is also a very clear portrayal of the distinction between good and evil — Both the appalling destructiveness of evil to human life And the beneficial fruit of treating people with justice, kindness, mercy, faithfulness, and integrity. It is particularly significant that the books recognize that goodness and faithfulness in relationships have a cost. Virtue is rewarded primarily in terms of character development and the increasing depths of relationships among the characters, rather than through the attainment of popularity or success. J.K. Rowling also has a very deep understanding of the folly of those who turn their eyes blindly towards evil and of evil’s destructive consequences.

6. Finally, I see the books as valuable because they consistently include the
three fundamental themes that can be found as a subtext in almost all good
literature: -The beauty of creation -The appalling reality of evil -The
universal human longing for redemption — for a better world -These themes touch
the way the world truly is, the way God has made it

Dr. Barr is not all incompassing in his assessment of Harry Potter, but one would have to note that beyond the magic there is something good about the series. Christians do a disservice by only focusing on the superficial aspects of literature and not on the ultimate questions of goodness, beauty and truth.