Of the three series, Narnia has far-and-away the clearest Christian message. Aslan is very obviously a Christ figure. He sings the world into existence, sacrifices his life to redeem a traitor, and stands in judgment at the end of all things. How much more clear can it be? I have just finished reading all seven of the Narnia books to by six-year-old son. He enjoyed them all, but the second book (Wardrobe) was his favorite. However, I think that was only his favorite because it’s the only one with a movie. Narnia is a classic, and parents will still be reading it to their kids a hundred years from now.

On the other hand, Harry Potter is good children’s literature … but no classic. A hundred years from now, most people will have no idea who JK Rowling was. That doesn’t mean that I hate them or anything. In fact, I quite enjoy Harry’s adventures, and I’m waiting for the seventh book with great anticipation. But they’re really not in the same category.

As a Bible-believing Christian, I don’t think we have anything to fear from Harry Potter. Alexandra’s points are completely correct. In Harry’s world, there is nothing “occult” about magic. Magic spells, potions, and items are all just tools in the hands of those who can use them. They’re a bit like superheroes. Wonder Woman flies around in an invisible jet; Harry flies on a broom. Honestly, there’s even less mysticism in Harry Potter than there is in Star Wars. (“The Force” always seemed like Eastern mysticism to me….)

That said, I’m not allowing my kids to read Harry Potter yet. Harry’s adventures get darker and more violent as the books progress, and I don’t want to let my kids get started on them until I’m sure that they can handle the end of the series. Therefore, I’m going to wait until the seventh book is available (and I’ve read it) before I’ll even consider allowing my kids to start the series.

I’m with you 100%, though I don’t like to discuss this sort of material publicly. Let me just say that my friends and I are very aware of what you are saying here, and you are not alone in experience. If you want to continue this discussion, please email me at:

thomaschronicles@gmail.com

The ‘dark’ jungles weren’t just dark figuratively — or in PC context, demeaning, as in ‘dark continent’ — it was spiritually dark and savage, as is always the case in any culture where Satan is lord of all.

The thing I’m mindful of is that once the mind has been exposed to a certain thot, there is no going back to before that point. You can’t erase it and it has a way of popping up from time to time. To wit, once you read about or hear of something kinky or perverse, it becomes permanent, forever linked by word & image association and over time will incrementally build upon that initial thot.

In the worse case scenario, it takes over the life of the person. Just look at that pervert down in MS. For him, it all started with a thot that germinated and took root long before he started collecting boys for his hobby.

I can’t think of the name and author of a novel on demon possession that I read long ago. Anyway, his description was quite apt and I often recall it. He described it as the demons jamming their gnarled fingers, claws and all, into the organic brain, at times massaging and soothing their victims and at times inflicting spasms of agony, literally driving them nuts.

I’m also mindful that simply having an idol in your house is an invitation for demons to move in. The Bible was replete with finding and destroying all within the community & home. There’s been documented occasions, even in our modern times, where in exorcising demons, it was found that the only reason that possession occurred in the first place was something as ‘tame’ as having an idol. It doesn’t matter what the owners believe, the demons will claim and receive divine right from God to move in, even on devout Christians.

This is not to state that HP books/films is the equivalent of idolatry — I just don’t know but I also don’t want to find out first hand. I’ll content myself with leaving others to do that investigation and I’ll consider their reports

I highly recommend the books on tape version of the trilogy and the Hobbit from recordedbooks.com. They are unabridged and we had several completely silent long road trips with my two oldest sons – they absolutely loved them. My oldest has now read the books, my second still isn’t quite ready to tackle them.

In reading your comment here, if I may, if I were in your shoes I would listen to that little voice of hesitancy that gives you pause in these kinds of matters. Also, if I were in your shoes, I’d rather not let my curiosity get the better of me, especially on this subject.

I’ve been back to my family’s home country, and in the depths of the dark jungles of Vietnam, the things that go bump in the night are not abstract at all… The sophisticated, urbane person ignores that little voice at his own risk. We all hear it.

In my own experience if my guts say “yes” that amounts to a “maybe”. If it says “no”, that means “no”. I’ve learned to listen to my guts after being chewed up the universe more times than I’d like to recount…

You say that witchcraft is a god-like power. My point is, in a world where everyone is capable of witchcraft, it is not a god-like power. It is one power taken for granted, just as our many abilities are. The ability to fly is a pretty big manipulation of the world, as is the ability to put one man’s heart in another man’s chest and keep it beating. If these were not things that we were capable of doing, we might feel that they were god-like powers, but since every man (theoretically) has it in him to fly a plane or perform a heart transplant surgery, we accept that these abilities allow us power in the world God has created for us, but they do not make us god-like.

Wiccans, by the way, do not believe that they can fly. Their “magic” is far closer to people attempting to influence the world through prayer than Harry Potter pointing a wand at an object and making it fly. I think the whole “religion” is total bull, but I imagine that if anything Harry Potter is a deterrent to Wicca, since Wicca looks pretty lame in comparison. Christianity, by contrast, looks pretty cool.

I think that, were you to read any of the Harry Potter books, you would indeed find them to be an explicit conflict between good and evil.

I’m not a particular fan of either Harry Potter or Narnia. However, I can see why those opposing Potter might like Narnia.

In Narnia, the only practitioner of “magic” is the Queen, who seems to be a avatar for Satan. The magic done by the “good” characters in the movie, at least, seems to be something more akin to a miracle than magic. Some power which was conferred upon them by someone else, not something they developed on their own.

On the other hand, in Harry Potter, the magic seems to be something that is hereditary. In fact, there is even a derogatory term for non-magic practitioners, a “Muggle.” What I find interesting is that “Muggle” was also a term for a group of Christians in 19th England. Muggles in the Potter books don’t seem to be held in particular high esteem.

I don’t see anything in the Narnia Chronicles which would make one become interested in magic or the occult. On the other hand, I know a number of interviews of children who were fans of Harry Potter who did express interest in magic and becoming a “wizard like Harry Potter.” And any casual journey down the New Age/Witchcraft aisle in either Borders or Barnes and Nobles will yeild a plethora of books aimed at exploiting this interest.

In Harry Potter, the characters seem to adopt a “the ends justify the means” morality. They lie, steal, break rules, and circumvent authority at will, without ever facing any consequence of doing these things. In Narnia, the kids circumventing the rules results in Aslan being killed. Quite a difference in the two stories.

Now, do I think Harry Potter is evil and needs to be banned. No. I’m not saying if I had kids I’d want them reading the books, but if they are, with the knowledge and supervision of their parents, I don’t see any problem with them, any more than a kid playing D&D is wrong (in fact, I’d have more doubts of a kid playing an RPG than reading Potter). What is important is a parent knowing what their kids are doing and making sure their being guided in their interests to make sure they don’t take any “wrong” turns with them.

I guess another way of looking at the issue is to apply the Phil 4:8 test. I wouldn’t necessarily apply it to any & everything, for instance human nature studies, such as good-guys vs bad-guys tales, from Hamlet to the Godfather or even the Terminator, altho some would. I recall in the 70′s that for many Christians, going to the movies to see anything other than the occasional G-rated Disney flick was taboo.

However, in the post-tree of the knowledge of good and evil era that we live in, the test is quite applicable for anything that portends to be a morality tale of good vs evil.

I believe we are operating off of two entirely different premises and are talking at cross purposes.

You insist on real life analogies about good and evil, while I am only addressing myself to the art of storytelling and what I take to be the basic premise of the Harry Potter fiction universe.

I agree with your distinction, that conflict between the protagonist and antagonist can more than just a story about opposing sides, but about good and evil. I just don’t think that is the case here in the Potter stories.

Allow me an analogy– occult witchcraft back in the heyday of Christendom was just as evil as vampires, werewolves, and devils. In today’s movies and TV shows, like Angel, the demon vampire is portrayed as the “good guy” because he uses his vampire powers to thwart evil and thwarts plots to destroy the world.

But this is the relativism that slunk into our consciousness when we weren’t looking. Vampires CANNOT be on the side of “good” in a battle between “good and evil”. By definition, they are EVIL.

Witches, likewise, are EVIL. For them to use their powers to thwart evil and be on the “good” side is just as ridiculous as a vampire, a spawn of hell, to be “good”.

I know, I know. You say this is just a fictional story. Kids don’t believe they can fly and do magic (tell that to the Wiccans…). I think it is folly to think that what we let our kids read and watch on TV doesn’t affect them.

For that matter if a person has a certain gift, like in the Potter movies, where is the submission to God’s will?

You said:

“I also do not believe that if, in a fictional world where some characters are born with the ability to perform magic, magic involves “bending reality with your mind.” In that world, magic IS a part of reality, not an altering of it. I am not saying that it’s about harnessing energy with your mind, I’m saying that it’s about using the innate abilities you have to advance your world.”

This is the very premise I object to, a world where humans have god-like powers and uses it casually.

I’d rather not read these books. In all things, as a Christian, I believe our actions are either of God or of Satan. The Great Divorce is quite real and is occurring as we speak.

Whatever the author’s intention in writing these Potter books, for entertainment or otherwise, I personally don’t think it is good for my soul. We all must acknowledge what we cannot handle or is dangerous to our salvation. I don’t know about what other Christians can handle, but for myself, this is dangerous ground for personal reasons…

While I like all the Potter books, I only really liked the first Narnia book. I can’t really say why. I’m anxiously waiting for the 7th and final Potter book. I wonder if I’ll have the same reaction as the final Narnia book -

(spoiler alert)

disappointment Susan was no longer part of the gang yet sadist amusement all the other kids were killed in a train crash to go to Aslan’s Land. (allegory to Heaven, surely, but still a surprising way to end the series)

On purpose Rowling is letting rumors of Harry’s death fester. She says two characters die in the 7th book. I’m not convinced Dumbledore is really dead.

It’s funny. Cedric Diggory’s death in Goblet of Fire hit me hard. Cedric is a minor character, only briefly mentioned in Azkhaban. Rowling got me good to care so much about a minor character.

On Monday, January 22nd at 9:00 am, Family Research Council will host Blogs for Life, the second annual conference of pro-life bloggers. The event will be streamed live via webcast from FRC.org. (Visit the FRC homepage on the day of…

On Monday, January 22nd at 9:00 am, Family Research Council will host Blogs for Life, the second annual conference of pro-life bloggers. Blogs for Life is scheduled to take place the day of the 34th annual March for Life, during…

After getting saved, I choose not to watch movies that show people with powers. In my church we believe that such things are demonic. My fiance does not allow his son to watch such things, and when we have children of our own they will definitely not be allowed to watch anything we deem as demonic. What some people consider harmless is glorification of demonic spirits to another.

That said, I respect the rights of others to allow their children to watch whatever they would like to allow them to. I believe that Ms Mallory has gone way to far with a lawsuit. If you don’t want your children watching something, don’t let them. The lawsuit is not “for the kids”, it’s for Miss Mallory, and her obvious need for attention.