The World View of Harry Potter

I fancy myself a conservative Christian who loves to read. My favorite reading is theology, eschatology, sociology, history, historical fiction, alternative fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. Now I hesitate to share some of my reading interests because I am also a minister of a rural non-denominational church. Some of my constituents have wondered why their pastor would read in the genres of science fiction, alternative fiction and/or fantasy. Well the answer is quite simple, I love to examine world views. That is I am fascinated at the worlds authors create and ethics those worlds operate in. Some authors such as Isaac Asimov, a brilliant man, prolific writer and self avowed humanistic atheist, wrote of futures that dealt with great ethical problems in which many were solved with an ethical system called the Three Laws of Robotics. They are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

I read many of his books in the years that spanned my teens through my twenties. The last of his books I read were the Foundation trilogies. These books though fascinating and (from my point of view at least) well written, left me with the sinking feeling of despair. Was this the best of man's future accomplishments, to leave only a legacy of technology and philosophy behind for future generations. On the surface it sounds heroic, but beneath I asked myself, "is that all there is?"

My thoughts were troubled with the question of who is to say what technologies, ideology, moral-ethical system would be the right one to leave behind for the future generations. Deep stuff for a twenty something. Not only is it deep but depressing too, because if there is no God, and no absolute authority then who's to say who is right and who is wrong? Ultimately it always came back to the nagging thought, "What if am wrong?"

Needless to say I found a higher authority. His name is Jesus. I embraced the teaching of Christ at the age of 27 but was not ready for all the dogma of Christianity or I might better define this as Churchianity. Churchianity is the name I use for the rules, cultural and social conventions of the church that seem to pop up about different cultural issues. They are about such things as smoking, hair styles, television watching, movies, when the rapture will be, can a divorced person remarry, how should you dress in church and so on.

Well being the inquisitive sort that I am when ever Churchianity's proclamations on issues of the day came up I would asked the question why? Why is smoking a sin but eating French fries everyday not? Why are Christians to abstain from alcohol as John the Baptist did but the scripture says Jesus made wine for the people at a wedding to drink? Why was everybody saying the "Great Tribulation" was coming 2,000 years after John the Revelator wrote in Revelations 1:3 "the time is near"and Jesus says in Revelation 22:20 (ESV) "Surely I am coming soon."? Why was reading the King James better than the modern translations? And who says froward any more

I remember a man name Lloyd who was teaching us young believers the doctrines of the faith. I had just bought my first leather cover Bible, a NIV edition Thompson Chain Reference. I was so proud of that Bible and Llloyd was happy to you see he had a Thompson Chain Reference Bible. He picked my Bible up and caressed gently as one would in picking up one of the dead Sea Scrolls. He opened up and I could have sworn that someone popped a slug in his mouth. He looked at me as if I had given him a Jehovah Witness Bible by mistake. He roared, "This is not the King James!!"

I said, " Oh I know it is a NIV," and in trying to redeem the situation I then said, "You know the New Inspired Version."

He didn't buy it and I was still trying to find out what froward means.

Needless to say these were not the kind of questions you asked in our little Baptist church. These were tough questions that really bothered people but they bothered me the most.

This leads me to Harry Potter. When Harry Potter hit the scene I could not believe the firestorm from my side of the aisle, the Evangelical Right. I did not know what Harry Potter was about but from the fuss it seemed the End was near, California was going to fall in the ocean, your milk was going to curdle and Wicca was to have a new coven on every corner. My children wanted to read the books so my wife previewed them (she read them cover to cover) and gave our kids the green light to read them. This was all done in the security of our home under the dome of silence least anyone found out we the pastor's family had partaken in the treaded "Book of Potter"

Now I am not sure of what Joanne Kathleen Rowling was thinking but I am positive it was not how to lead the young minds of the world into witchcraft. I wonder why there was not this firestorm over the:

• Wizard of Oz - Wizards,
• E.T. - Aliens or
• Ice Age - old earth?

These films too have a world view that none of us would ascribe to but of us saw the movies and enjoyed them.

I saw the Harry Potter movies and enjoyed though I had stabbing pangs of guilt that I could not agree with the evangelical community's criticism of the movies.

I had one concern Christian grandmother wanting me to come join a planned protest at our local elementary school because her grandson came home saying they were showing the new Potter movie at the school. I quickly called up the principal (I could not believe the school would have the kind of funds to show a new release movie) who at first was very defensive when she heard a pastor was calling about the Harry Potter movie. She had been fielding phone calls all morning from parents demanding why the school was showing Harry Potter. The truth was that the little boy was told by friend that he was going to see Harry Potter. Well that was cleared up but then Christians wanted to protest the school board meeting.

Now I'm telling you this because this kind of action makes us look stupid ( yes I used the S word) and ignorant. What is about Harry Potter we should object to? Witchcraft and magic? Hello!! There is witchcraft and magic in our beloved Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Again where the protests over the Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast or Sleeping Beauty. If you object to the violence then what do you say about the good wholesome violence of Lord of the Rings (which by the way is my hands down favorite over Harry Potter)?

I believe the body of Christ has missed something in Rowlings' books and it is not witchcraft, What we have missed and fail to discuss is the way her characters, the children and adults, view their world. It is nothing more than the they many other post moderns view the world. Harry is the center and ultimately controls his destiny with the amoral supernatural power given to him. Really it is not any different than Star Trek, Star Wars, Gunsmoke or Bonanza. It is the Humanistic thinking that man is the center. That man has the ability to wield great moral power and fashion it in the way he sees fit. That the end justifies the means. The thing that makes the Ring stories and Narnia tales superior is world view. We use arguments such as the authors of our tales are Christians but I would fancy to say that many evangelicals would not line up in their brand of Christianity. Tolkien was Catholic and Lewis was Episcopalian.

From James Townsend, Bible Editor, from Cook Communications, Elgin, IlI. Wrote in the beginning of his essay "C. S. Lewis's Theology: Somewhere Between Ransom And Reepicheep"

http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2000i/townsend2000e.htm

Would you like to pretend that you haven't just read the title above and to try your hand at a trivia quiz? Here goes. Who was the gentleman who:

• was converted to Christianity while riding to the zoo in a sidecar of his brother's motorcycle?
• had his Christianity affirmed by Dr. Bob Jones but questioned by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones(!)?
• would never have been a professor if the entrance math exam (which he failed to pass twice) hadn't been conveniently dropped as a requirement?
• taught at colleges spelled with one letter's difference-Magdalen and Magdalene?
• smoked at least sixty cigarettes a day-between pipes?
• lived in the same house for thirty years with a woman to whom he wasn't married?
• had tiffs with the other leading Anglican literary critic of his time (T. S. Eliot)?
• had as his longest lifetime friend a homosexual (Arthur Greeves)?
• died the same day as President John F. Kennedy?

This composite trivia quiz does not sound like the personality profile of a candidate for the "evangelical of the year." Then again, modern conservatives probably wouldn't have picked three murderers (or accomplices to murder), such as Moses, David, and Paul were, to have authored nineteen books of God's inspired Word! In light of this, it's rather amusing that C. S. Lewis-so much read by evangelicals-would probably be turned away from many of their churches if he were an aspiring pastoral candidate.

So why don't we like Harry Potter? I have meet very few who are opposed to Harry Potter that have seen the movie and very few Christains who are opposed or unopposed for that matter who read the books.

Again in the cover of my home and sometimes in my pickup truck by the beach I read the books to find what the hubbub was about. Now as I said before saw the films (even though truly wanted to wear a disguise as I watched them, for goodness sake I am a pastor after all) but reading the books gave me a very different insight in to Harry Potter. Which I will explain in my next entry.

Isaiah 5:20 ESV Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!