I’m confident that Rowling has a very specific Christian agenda in the books. Years ago she was asked by the Toronto Star about her faith and she said she didn’t want to talk about it becuase if she did, “anyone from age 6 to 60 would know the end of the story” and she didn’t want to reveal the end of the story. She’s actually a committed Christian, a member of the Church of Scotland.

Now, with the end of the story completed, it is hard to imagine anyone doubting her intentions. In fact, most people I know think she compromised her story and characters (a little, perhaps) for the sake of the Christian message.

Just curious on your thoughts.

I think you have represented both views fairly and did a good job avoiding emotive writing.

Thank you for your sound biblical conclusion.

I agree with you about some of the TV shows as well. We have much to be vigilant about as we are not battling against flesh and blood….

Blessings

Your research into this subject is impressive. You have laid out your points quite well and I have all the respect in the world for the position you take. Unlike some, I don’t think you engage in knee jerk reactions. I admire your deliberate thoughtfulness.

We have dissimilar ideas about Harry Potter and children in general. I believe that children do have the ability to separate fantasy and reality. I never believed the Wizard of Oz could possibly be real and I don’t think my children do either.

Frankly I’m much more concerned with entertainment concepts like 24 (yes I watch it) which depict numerous acts of violence, torture, and mayhem of various assortments. Set in a supposed real world, rather than a world which is obviously divorced from any day to day reality, I think the harmful effects on children from that type of programming far outreaches the friendly confines of Hogwarts.

Still as I stated earlier I have great admiration for your thoughtfulness and for your family in general, and for your committment to seeking the glory of our God. I pray that he prospers you greatly in your kingdom service.

Thanks for stopping back by. I am not saying that I can not be persuaded to change my mind on this either. I’m certainly not out to condemn Christians who ‘enjoy’ Harry Potter. It is my personal position that I am not going to read them or watch them right now.

I guess it is like my position on Rated-R movies. I don’t watch them but don’t condemn those who do.

Blessings.

I’m happy with agreeing to disagree here – and maybe I’ll change my mind on the series as I read through it. Thanks for responding in any case.

Thank you for your comments. To be fair, I did my best to read Christian sources in favor of Harry Potter as well. I feel that the sources I used represented both sides and that I was balanced in my study of it. However, in my post it appears that I rely heavily on the anti-Potter sources. This is because my evaluation of the pro-Potter sources used very weak arguments and their positions were usually not derived from Scripture.

Regarding reading the books to develop a better evaulation, I don’t think I need to do that. I have family members who have read it that I can speak with about the books. Also, the point in doing research and using secondary sources was so that I wouldn’t have to read the books now. I don’t think I need to see something first-hand to know that it is bad if I have read many accounts of it by Christians. This is a bit of a stretch, but I wouldn’t need to see an X-rated movie to know it is bad. By the same token, I don’t think I need to read Harry Potter to know that it is bad since I know what it is about. There is the possibility that the anti-Potter sources were biased and did not accurately represent the books. However, the pro-Potter sources agreed with the criticisms of the book. They just didn’t think that the criticisms were worthy of condemning the book.

Lastly, I like Narnia. The Biblical imagery is clear. Even my kids can pick up it. As for TLOR, I haven’t decided. And yes, I have read most of both of those series.

1) I am concerned that you have drawn from many obviously anti-Potter sources, but haven’t read any of the books yourself. It seems to me before making such a grand judgment you might actually read what you are judging rather than just taking the words of those who have already judged it. Having read one and one half volumes thus far, I think it is quite a stretch to claim, as Ms. Montenegro has in her quote, that Harry Potter glorifies the Occult.

My challenge to you would be to go read at least a book or two, and then see if you still agree with the condemnations you have quoted here. If so, fine, but at least do some investigation for yourself.

2) How would you respond to or handle books like the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings which both have magic all through them and, especially in the case of LOTR, can be quite dark? Should we avoid them, too, for the same reasons?