One Sunday after church, I stumbled upon a fascinating discussion on television. An influential pastor, backed up by two “experts,” was blasting away at Harry Potter, whom he explicitly associated with Satan and Adolf Hitler. Not exactly good company for the young wizard! Millions of children, the pastor claimed, had written letters seeking admission to Hogwarts, the fictional school of wizardry attended by Harry. The pastor accused author J.K. Rowling of intentionally but surreptitiously drawing children into witchcraft. People who underestimate the threat posed by Rowling’s writing have been hoodwinked by Harry! Not surprisingly, the TV pastor urged Christians of all ages to avoid all Harry Potter books and movies.

Conversely, many highly respected Christian leaders have praised the Harry Potter books. They have concluded that children might read them without danger, and even with benefit. They have also suggested that adult believers might actually enjoy these books as well.

What's a thoughtful Christian to do? Is Harry Potter a insidious Satanic plot or an edifying children's fantasy? Should Christians read the books? Go to the movies? And how should we who have younger children guide them? Should we allow them to be exposed to Harry Potter? Should we encourage them to read the books? (When I speak of children in this article, I’m thinking mainly of those in elementary school and middle school.)

Before I suggest answers to these questions, I'd like to sketch out a few foundational observations upon which I’ll build my practical advice.

First, godly Christians will disagree about the appropriate response to Harry Potter, and that's okay. The first part of this sentence is indisputable. Godly, mature Christians have already come down on both sides of the Harry Potter debate. Some people on either side have suggested that their opponents have abandoned biblical truth, but I don't agree. Harry Potter is like many things throughout Christian history concerning which Christians may hold differing opinions. In the first century, the issue was eating meat. More recently, believers have differed over dancing, drinking, playing cards, and going to movies. I am convinced that Christians will always disagree about Harry Potter, partly because this disagreement reflects broad cultural and theological differences. But more significantly, the dispute will not be settled because nothing in the Bible either prohibits or allows exposure to fictional accounts of witchcraft and wizardry.

Second, the Bible unequivocally condemns real witchcraft and wizardry. God's people should not “turn to mediums or wizards” (Lev. 19:31). Moreover, “no one shall be found among you who . . . practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord” (Deut. 18:10-12). God’s people should never engage in occult or magical practices such as fortune telling, Ouija boards, spell-casting, and séances. Moreover, we should avoid participation in Wicca (modern witchcraft).

Third, the Harry Potter books portray a fictitious world in which wizardry is neither good nor evil, but something that can be used either for good or for evil. Unlike in the real world, where witchcraft and wizardry are always wrong, in the make-believe world created by author J.K. Rowling, such activities are “value neutral.” Harry and his cohort can use magic to heal or to hurt, to mend or to maim. The morality of magic, in Harry’s world, depends on the use to which it is put.

Fourth, we must distinguish between the real world, in which wizardry is always evil, and the fictional world of Harry Potter, in which wizardry can be used for good. If we cannot make this distinction, then we might be inclined to consider real witchcraft as potentially good. This would contradict Scripture. Anyone who cannot regard Harry’s world as make-believe should not be exposed to it.

This last point leads directly to what is perhaps the most controversial of the practical questions: Should children be exposed to Harry Potter and his magical world, either through reading or through movies? Children can, after all, confuse reality and fantasy. Many Christian parents fear that children who are exposed to Harry Potter will be drawn to real witchcraft. I don’t think this is a misguided concern. If young readers are not part of a Christian community and are not guided by their parents, they might try to imitate the magic in the Harry Potter books, just as they might imitate the body slams of pro wrestlers or the bad language of Bart Simpson. In my town of Irvine, California, hundreds of teenagers regularly engage in occult practices. I can imagine how the fictional world of Harry Potter might encourage some readers to experiment with such things.

But having read all the Harry Potter books, I find nothing in them that intends to draw people into actual magical practices. They do not encourage participation in genuine occult activities, such as séances or the use of Ouija boards. They portray fortune-telling as silly and ineffective. Harry and his pals bear little resemblance to real Wiccans, who don’t play Quidditch, outsmart dragons, or travel through a network of fireplace flues. In the Potter books only clearly identified magical people can actually do magic, unlike the vast majority of people who are merely “muggles.” Thus one of the foundational assumptions of Harry’s world actually discourages real people from dabbling in magic. We muggle readers simply can’t do it. Therefore, I don't think the Harry Potter books will necessarily impact children in a negative way by encouraging their involvement in what Scripture regards as evil. (The rumor that millions of children have sought entrance to Hogwarts is nonsense. It is based upon a humorous and fictitious "exposé" of Harry Potter that appeared on the Internet. For several months it was circulated in Christian circles as if it were true. The pastor on television who boldly passed on this rumor as fact clearly has a problem distinguishing reality from fiction, and therefore should not read the Harry Potter books, lest he be corrupted. He should also do a bit more research before announcing falsehoods on national television.)
Some Christians believe that nobody, especially children, should be exposed to a fictional world in which something that is wrong in the real world is portrayed as value neutral. After all, would we want our children to read literature in which fornication was seen as either good or bad, depending on the use to which it was put? Obviously not. Though I respect this sort of objection to Harry Potter, I think it still confuses fiction with nonfiction. If J.K. Rowling had created a world that consistently promoted actual Wiccan philosophy, for example, then we’d do well to avoid it. But the magic of Harry Potter, though bearing some distant relationship to real magic, is overwhelmingly fantastic and imaginary.

Moreover, one who argues that Christians should reject fictional worlds that feature magical and ghostly activity grabs a nettle I want to avoid. This argument would keep us from enjoying a wide variety of fictional material, including C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Homer's Odyssey, Grimms’ fairy tales, The Wizard of Oz, all of the Star Wars movies, and many classic Disney films, including Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King. Christians can enjoy and profit from these works of art if we do so with discernment.

So is it okay for children of elementary school age to read the Harry Potter books? I don’t believe there’s a simple answer to this question. It depends on a variety of factors. Chief among them is the willingness of parents to read along with their children. If we read as they are reading, we can help our children understand the difference between what is real and what is imaginary (though most children don’t need much help). We can use the material in Harry Potter as a springboard for discussion of the most important issues in life, including God, faith, good, evil, love, family, friendship, truth, mission, etc. Ironically, my children now have a much clearer idea of what real witchcraft is and why it is wrong because Harry Potter entered their lives.

Parents, if you are not familiar with these books, you should become so. And if you think that the Harry Potter story is some lighthearted romp, think again. Many themes and scenes in the books are somber and intense. Harry Potter is an orphan whose parents were murdered horribly. Harry is often haunted with terrifying memories of their death. He is raised by relatives who treat him abusively. The evil that Harry confronts is not something comic, but dark, dangerous, and truly frightening. Many of the scenes in the books are extremely suspenseful. The fourth and fifth books contain scenes of evil that are genuinely horrifying. This evil, I must add, is not portrayed as anything attractive. No reader would be drawn to dark magic because of what J.K. Rowling depicts. But the evil is described in a way that would be inappropriate for many young readers, especially those who are easily scared. I strongly recommend that we parents, even parents of teenagers, read the books for ourselves first. If we permit our children to read them, we should be sure to discuss the content with them as they read.

So why, you might wonder, should anybody read this stuff if it’s filled with such unsettling images and themes? Why should parents let their children be exposed to material like this at all? I think there are several reasons why adults and even children can benefit from reading the Harry Potter books, depending on their personalities and moral convictions.

I am not persuaded by the most common argument I hear in favor of Harry Potter: "At least children are reading. Anything that gets my child to read must be good." Would parents say this if the Harry Potter books had clearly objectionable content, like scenes that glorified teenage drug abuse? I hope not. As good as it is for children to read, we parents must make sure that what they are reading is good for their souls.

But I do think the Harry Potter books can be beneficial for many readers. I believe this because the novels are, in my opinion, good literature. I don't think they're classics in the broadest sense. I’d be shocked if Harry Potter someday takes his place alongside Jean Valjean, Captain Ahab, and Huckleberry Finn. Rowling’s writings will probably end up as juvenile fantasy classics, similar to the writings of Tolkien and Lewis. When I say that the Harry Potter books are good literature, I mean they have intriguing, well-developed characters, engaging, carefully-wrought plots, and surprising, highly creative descriptions. Although at times the stories are intense, scary, or sad, they are always captivating and often delightful.

But good literature includes more than this. It must also touch the heart. Here is the real genius behind Harry Potter. The wizardry is entertaining, but wizardry alone hasn't sold mega-millions of books. What makes the Potter books so compelling is their emotional appeal. They let us into the heart of an abused orphan who thinks he’s a nobody, but who discovers that he’s a somebody. A boy who was never loved finds himself with friends who truly love him. One who had no parental guidance comes to have kind, wise mentors. One who seemed to live a meaningless existence suddenly finds himself in the center of a crusade against evil.

This points to an even more significant reason why the Harry Potter books are good literature. They involve the reader in a moral battle, the classic fight between good and evil. Some have stated that there is nothing Christian about the world of Harry Potter. This is incorrect. The world of Harry Potter is not an explicitly Christian world, since it appears to lack a transcendent God and since wizardry is portrayed as morally neutral. But it is a world in which there is good and evil. Evil is portrayed, not as something excusable done by victims who can’t help themselves, but as true wickedness. People in Harry's world must decide whose side they are on. Those who choose the side of good find themselves in a fight to the death with evil. Thus, the moral world of Harry Potter has much in common with the moral world of Christianity. Moreover, without giving away too much of the story, let me note that love is portrayed as the greatest good of all, more powerful than even the mightiest magic. The sacrificial love of one character in particular is the turning point in the battle of good versus evil.1

If the Harry Potter books are good literature, then it may be acceptable for Christians to read them if the readers have the ability to discern what in them is good and what is evil, what is fantasy and what is truth. But this does not mean that all Christians should read them, especially younger children. I consider Saving Private Ryan and The Godfather as two of the best movies of all time. Yet I cannot imagine letting my children, at ages eight and ten, see these movies until they are much older.

My wife and I have allowed our children to read the Harry Potter books. More accurately, we have read them together as a family, discussing all aspects of the books in the process. We have often talked about what I consider to be the most ethically unsettling aspect of the series—the frequent portrayal of lying as morally acceptable.

I have good friends in our church who have chosen not to expose their children to Harry Potter and I honor their decision. Some believe the stories to be too intense for their children. Others believe that even fictional accounts of magic should be avoided. As I said above, this is an issue about which Christians can reasonably disagree. I am committed to helping Irvine Presbyterian Church be a community united in Christ, where we can differ over the inessentials and help each other to learn through our differences. As I’ve said so many times, the Christian life is intimate fellowship with God and with each other. In this fellowship we will not always agree, but we must always strive for mutual understanding, love and, when needed, forgiveness.2

Our world is filled with confusing, complicated issues. As Christians, we must learn to think critically and biblically. This is not an easy thing to do. Yet it’s worth every effort. We don’t want to be hoodwinked by Harry Potter, or by the myths of our culture, or even by well-intentioned Christians whose grasp of the truth leaves something to be desired. May we be a community where we can seek the truth together, struggle together, pray together, and love one another as we seek God's will for our lives.

ENDNOTES
1. For more ways that the Potter saga reflects biblical themes, see Connie Neal, The Gospel According to Harry Potter (Westminster John Knox Press, 2002).
2. I’ve developed this thesis extensively in my book, After “I Believe” (Baker Books, 2002).

MARK D. ROBERTS, Ph.D., senior pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Southern California, teaches courses in New Testament as a member of Fuller Seminary’s adjunct faculty. He is the author of After “I Believe”: Experiencing Authentic Christian Living (Baker, 2002) and Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better (WaterBrook, 2002). His newest book is Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty (WaterBrook, 2003).