HARRY POTTER AND THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
PART 1: WHAT IS HARRY POTTER ALL ABOUT
By Reuben Kigame
Shortly after the publication of J.K. Rowling’s first book in the Harry Potter series, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997, a cross-section of the Christian community went out in arms against what was largely perceived as an explicit induction of children into the world of the occult. The American church was particularly vocal in that the book was released in the States under a more alarming title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, a variation adopted for greater marketing potential. With the release of the second and third books, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, respectively, the barrage from church leaders grew in intensity. However, when the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released, the battle lines were drawn, and the church had to make up her mind as to whether the series was good for children.
Whilst the initial response by the church to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was largely based on hearsay, by the fourth book, a number of her leading lights had had a chance to read through the publications. Now the debate was narrowed down to whether it was healthy for children to be introduced to the blatant magic content of Rowling’s works. It is this latter concern that I wish to explore in this and the subsequent articles to be published in the next Issues of Reason.
WHO IS J.K. ROWLING?
Joanne Kathleen Rowling, no doubt one of the wealthiest people on earth due to the sale of hundreds of millions of her books, came to popularity during the last half of the 1990s. Although a divorcee, Ms Rowling has come to be cherished as a great educator and entertainer of whole families, but especially children. Rowling, one of the greatest British minds, has partly managed such appealing authorship due to her great learning. John Granger, author of Looking for God in Harry Potter, a classical scholar of merit, has observed that Ms Rowling’s great intellectual pedigree can be attributed to her exceptional performance at secondary school where she emerged top of the class, and her high school and university preparation. At high school, she is said to have passed her A-level exams in French, German and English exceptionally. At the University of Exeter, Rowling not only took double French but also studied the classical languages, excelling in them with an unbeatable competence. Granger observes that she is familiar and fluent with the languages, philosophy and literature of the Classical and Medieval worlds. This explains why her books clearly reflect a deep understanding of concepts and principles of the works of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas. She has read these “greats” in the original languages with the kind of attention they deserve.
In interviews, Rowling has confessed that she loves Charles Dickens, Jane Austin and has also admitted that she is an admirer of C.S. Lewis to the point of being physically incapable of being in the same room with a Nanianovel and not sitting down to read it. Her Harry Potter series is replete with allusions to these authors as well as to Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Kafka, Dostoyevskyand even George Orwell. The names of her characters, the structure and symbols used in her books are from, as she likes to put it, “the compost heap” in her mind, comprising all the books she has read and loved.
Although Ms Rowling is a professed Presbyterian (Church of Scotland) who has stated that her faith is a major key to understanding her writings, her deep knowledge and familiarity with witchcraft and its themes makes it difficult to contextualize her Christian faith. That Ms Rowling possesses a deep and sophisticated knowledge of the world of the occult is not debatable. The London Times noted it in a July 12, 2000 article titled Muggle Adventures in Potterland. The article reads, "Magical feats and spells, fantastic charms and startling metamorphoses, conjuring exploits…Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire…is crammed to the bursting with vanishings, flights, zombies, replicants, identity switches, crypto-zoological monsters," etc. To a restless, channel-surfing rhythm, Rowling switches tone, now teenage psychology, now Alastair Crowley-ish Satanism."
The research she has conducted in order to write the Harry Potter series also shows her desire to portray witchcraft and magical themes as accurately as she could. During the 1999 interview on the Diane Rehm Show, Ms Rowling confessed that she studied witchcraft and mythology in order to write her books more accurately. To quote her: "I do a certain amount of research…so when I’m mentioning a creature, or a spell…I will find out exactly what the words were, and find out exactly what the characteristics of that creature or ghost were supposed to be." (J.K. Rowling interview on The Diane Rehm Show, WAMU, National Public Radio, October 20, 1999).
Despite the above confession, church leaders like Chuck Colson and Christian conservative authors like John Granger have seen something positive in the contribution of Ms Rowling to the church. Granger, as shall be observed later, even sees the books as good aids to teaching children certain Christian themes.
WHAT ARE THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS ABOUT?
The Harry Potter books recount the adventures of an English school-boy (Harry Potter) as he advances from class to class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts is not a real school, but the creation of Ms Rowling’s. Potter, a wizard in training, is portrayed as the target of attack by the worst of wizards, Lord Voldemort, and his followers called the Death Eaters. Every book in the series ends with a battle against Lord Voldemort or his evil crew.
J.K. Rowling plans to release seven books in all, each book covering one academic year at Hogwarts. By the time we went to press, we had received the fifth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix purchased at a local bookstore in Nairobi, indicating that we are yet to see two others. But, what exactly goes on in these books?
An article in the December 1, 1999 Christian Century magazine gives a fair overview of Harry Potter’s adventures. We read:
“Harry discovers on his 11th birthday that he is the son of two legendary wizards murdered by an evil magician named Voldemort. Harry has been living with his loathsome aunt and uncle (who make him sleep in a cupboard) and their mean son, Dudley. Apprised of his real identity, Harry eventually makes his way to Hogwarts, a boarding school for wizard children, and starts learning the family trade.” It is obvious that the family trade is witchcraft and wizardry just from the name of the boarding school.
The summary printed on the back cover of the fifth book gives us an idea of how far Harry Potter has come with his adventures:
“Harry Potter is due to start his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His best friends Ron and Hermione have been very secretive all summer and he is desperate to get back to school and find out what has been going on. However, what Harry discovers is far more devastating than he could ever have expected…”
RESPONSE TO THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS
The sheer number of copies that are sold at every new release, which range in the millions, is certainly a clear commentary on the popularity of the Harry Potter series. Children as well as adults enjoy reading J.K. Rowling. Christians as well as non-Christians hail the books as thrilling, captivating and even educating. A U.S. consumer survey reported that over half of all children in the United States aged between six and seventeen years have read at least one Harry Potter book.
As for their popularity around the world, it had become obvious that, just in about four years, the books had been received with relish around the globe. USA Today reported: "there are 116 million books in print in 200 countries. They have been translated into 47 languages (USA Today; Monday, October 22, 2001; Life – Section D).
It is estimated that the first three Harry Potter books earned at least $480 million in three years.
When the 4th book was released, Ms Rowling is said to have directed her publisher on how it was to be released. She is said to have orchestrated the entire release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. One concerned American testified: “I was watching the late evening news on July 7, 2000. News cameras focused on huge crowds of kids congregated at bookstores around the country waiting for "the witching hour," midnight! What were they doing there, so long past their bed times? They were waiting to buy the 700 plus page newest release. I must admit that is hard to believe. At 12:01 a.m. July 8, 2000, bookstores doors opened and kids pressed in and began shucking out $25.95 for book #4. This was a publisher’s bonanza with advanced orders topping 1.8 million and a first printing of 5.3 million copies.
What people think of the fifth book is evident from the various comments on its back cover:
‘Suspense, secrets and thrilling action from the pen of J.K Rowling ensure an electrifying adventure that is impossible to put down.’
‘Rowling’s imagination and daring put her in a class of her own.’ The Times
‘Every seven-year-old I know is desperate to read that great paving slab of a book. The Order of the Phoenix.’ Daily Mail
‘For Christmas I would like The Order of the Phoenix, as it’s wonderfully written and is a story the whole family is following.’ Anne Diamond, Sunday Express”
Yet, the Christian community has been divided on Harry Potter. Pastor Chuck Colson was quoted as praising the Harry Potter character and his friends for their "courage, loyalty and willingness to sacrifice." One of America’s leading Christian publications, World Magazine, did not find any problem with Ms Rowling’s books either. In The May 29, 1999 issue of World Magazine, Harry Potter books were characterized as "a delight…safe, inoffensive, and non-occult." Professor Alan Jacobs of Wheaton College even advocated reading the Harry Potter books because they offer "the possibility for serious moral reflection…”
The London Times reported: "a vicar in the Church of England" held "a special Harry Potter family service…complete with wizards, pointy hats, broomsticks a game of quid ditch." (London Times – Church to lure youth with Harry Potter by Ruth Gledhill; September 1, 2000)
In the book, Looking for God in Harry Potter, John Granger maintains that Rowling’s books speak volumes about the power of the Christian message, especially in a profane culture like ours. “My thesis,” writes Granger in his introduction, “is essentially this: As images of God, designed for life in Christ, all humans naturally resonate with stories that reflect the greatest story ever told – the story of God who became man.” Granger adds, “The Harry Potter Novels – the best selling books in publishing history – touch our hearts because they contain themes, images and engaging stories that echo the great story we are wired to receive and respond to…. “He concludes that because Harry Potter books serve this purpose they are excellent vehicles for parents wanting to share the Christian message of love’s victory over death, of our relationship to God the Father through the Christ – even of Christ’s two natures and singular essence.”
But, not everyone agrees with the harmlessness of Harry Potter. On the website of Take A Stand Ministries is an article by Gregory R. Reid titled, What’s Wrong with Harry Potter. The article, which does not mince words on Potter mania, reads in part:
“On the heels of the riotous release of the new Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and the yet to be confirmed opinion by a major ministry that the Harry Potter series is harmless, I have felt it necessary to write my own comments on this issue. Many parents will not like it. Neither will some pastors. Please do NOT ask me if I care. Right now I am so angry at the level of compromise I am encountering among believers on occult matters that I am not interested in popular opinion. I am just interested in truth as I have come to understand it, according to the flawless, perfect Word of God. If you don't like that, don't read this.”
Reid describes Harry Potter books as “spiritual pornography” and says they are poisonous especially to the innocent children. “Harry Potter is … poison,” writes he, “What is the harm of Harry Potter? Just that it makes magic attractive, exciting, enticing. Kids look at THAT - and then they look at their own faith and that of the people in church, and oftentimes what they see is that the God of the Christians is presented as powerless, someone who is far removed from us and has no authority over evil.”
Although the secular print media in Kenya has occasionally come out as supportive of the Harry Potter series, most articles have been indifferent to the resolution of the acceptability of magic. The Christian media, on the other hand, has remained opposed to the series, ranging from the re-broadcasting of sermons by preachers such as John Hagee from the U.S. to the outright condemnation of the books through call-in sessions on Christian radio stations.
A majority of Christians object to Rowling’s books on the grounds of their magical content. They cite the fact that witchcraft is condemned by the Bible with some passages like Galatians 5:19f clearly stating that those who practice witchcraft among other sins will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
As we prepare for a fuller discussion on “The Bible and Harry Potter” and “Harry Potter and your Child” in the next issues, I propose that you try to think through a few questions:
- What has made J.K. Rowling so successful and influential?
- What makes something acceptable or unacceptable, especially for a Christian?
- What would you do if you discovered that the position you have always held on this or any other question was wrong?