Harry Potter.

This possibly my longest post ever. I apologize. ;)

First and foremost, I am not writing this blog post for the intent of offending anyone. I'm going to try my very hardest to not offend anyone with this post, though sometimes my attempts are unsuccessful and offense is inevitable. But again; I will try my very hardest.

I would also like to re-establish the fact that I am a Christian. If you've read any of my blog, or my profile, or you know me at all, you will also know that I am a believer. I always have been, and I always will be.

And yet, Harry Potter remains my favorite book series of all time.

To some people, this is an oxymoron. A Christian who likes Harry Potter? Who not only likes Harry Potter, but adores the series? Psh. Yeah right.

Well, that's me. Sure, I adore the series. Sure, I enjoy each book immensely. But know this; I also believe that it is right, good, honorable, adept, and quite beneficial to read the Harry Potter series. Yes, beneficial.

And I am going to tell you why.

Again, I do not wish to offend anyone with the statements in this blog post. Please keep that in mind as you read. Also keep in mind that none of what I have to say has been proven or accepted as law or fact; it is simply opinion. I have done very minimum research on this topic, and most of it is based upon opinion. Of course, I think my opinion is the correct one; but so do many others. That is sort of the basis for the word opinion. To each his own. Perhaps.

I would like to begin with the question; Why is it that Harry Potter is seemingly a banned book among the Christian people?

I have several theories to the answer of this question. Only some may apply, or they may all apply at the same time. Each reason I will then rebut and, if all goes according to plan, invalidate.

Harry Potter involves witchcraft, which is clearly against the Bible and it's instructions. Well, lets look at what the Bible has to say then. What I found are the following verses:
Old Testament:
Exodus 22:18 - Do not allow a sorceress to live.
Deuteronomy 18:10-11 - Let no one be found among you who ... practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
New Testament:
Galations 5:19-21 - The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealously, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
Revelation 21:8 - But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolators and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfer."

I would like to look at only two of these four verses; Deuteronomy and Galations. I think they relate to this subject best. First, Deuteronomy. It says, flat out, to not let "one be found among you who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead." Okay. I see no problem with that. I will not associate myself with people of that sort. ... Doesn't that mean I'm following what Deuteronomy has to say? Yes, it does.

Also, Galations. I found this very interesting as I was reading it. Notice how Paul associates witchcraft directly with idolatry; he also puts witchcraft in the same sentence as sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, hatred, discord, jealously, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

Now let me ask you. Have you ever envied someone else? Have you ever felt angry? Have you ever wanted something for yourself? Have you ever hated someone?

Paul puts witchcraft on the very same level as all these other sins, especially idolatry. I simply thought this was an interesting fact. Some may consider this irrelevant to the point; the point is that Paul instructs us against such sins, and witchcraft was among them. Still, it is very interesting, is it not? Witchcraft, contradicting popular belief, is not the unforgivable sin. In fact, it's just as bad as idolatry; as jealousy, discord, hatred, anger, selfishness... and many more. Huh.

Then, of course, more arguments arise. This is all irrelevant, according to some. The fact is, you're reading a book about witchcraft. Witchcraft is wrong. Thus, you should not be reading those books.

However. I am going to go so far as to say... Harry Potter is not about witchcraft. Sure, there is witchcraft in the stories. Harry, the protagonist of our story, attend Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. But that does not mean that the stories are about witchcraft.

Well. The argument can then go back to it's original statement; it still involves witchcraft. And witchcraft is evil. Thus, you should not be reading those books.

This argument simply does not connect in my mind. Yes, the stories do involve witchcraft. Yes, witchcraft is evil. But to jump immediately to "thus you should not read them" is faulty logic. That's saying "you should not read them because witchcraft is evil." That argument is insufficient, if you think it through. The argument should be more like this: "You should not read them because it involves witchcraft, and involving yourself in reading about witchcraft is wrong." Well, why is it wrong? "It is wrong because the Bible says witchcraft is wrong." Actually, as I have just proved, it says personal association with witchcraft is wrong. Am I personally associating myself with witchcraft by reading these books? Some would say yes. I say no. I am not actually performing any witchcraft, nor am I associating myself with any person who performs it. So what am I still doing wrong?

"You're supporting it."

Ah. I'm supporting witchcraft by reading Harry Potter. I have little to say on this point. What can I say? "No, I'm actually not supporting witchcraft. ... That is all." I seriously doubt anyone is going to buy that. So essentially, all I can say is this; I do not consider the supporting of witchcraft to involve the reading of books that concern themselves with witchcraft. "Supporting witchcraft" would, to me, be performing it. Or verbally pronouncing your support of the act itself. By verbally announcing that you support a book that involves witchcraft does not, to me, mean I am supporting it. These are very different concepts. "I support Harry Potter" and "I support witchcraft" are too completely contrasting concerns. As I have already said, Harry Potter is not about witchcraft, but about an intelligent and caring boy named Harry Potter. And as I already clearly said, I am a Christian, and I believe what the Bible has to say when Paul condemns the act.

Tired of reading? There's more. Much, much more. I will personally applaud all those who make it to the end of this post.

More points that people often make when concerning Harry Potter:
Harry Potter is accepted in the culture as one of the greatest and most loved books of this time. Romans 12:2 clearly states, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." By reading Harry Potter, you are conforming to the pattern of the world. Eh. This holds very little relevance, to me. By this definition, by reading anything that the people of this world read, you are conforming. If you want to live that way, that's cool with me.

Hah. Hahahaha. This is one I found online:
In fairy tales sorcerers and witches are unambiguous figures of evil, whereas in Harry Potter, they are good. Ohhh my. How limited of an argument. First off, the first statement is entirely untrue. "Sorcerers and witches" appear in many modern fairy tales as both good and evil. Examples include C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia (magic is used countless times, Aslan refers to the "deep magic" and there is a good magician in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; he even has a book of spells) all three volumes of The Lord of the Rings (Gandalf. He's a wizard.) and The Wizard of Oz (Good witches, bad witches, which I will talk more about later.) This statement is preposterous, honestly. I'm trying very hard not to appear offensive, but it is hard when such statements are being made to simply sit by and allow it. Also, Harry Potter also includes "sorcerers" who are both evil and good. Of course, good triumphs over evil. It always does. But that's another argument for later on.

I read up on a few other websites, trying to find any legitimate arguments I could rebut, but I didn't find any. Except, of course, the obvious and very naive one:

Harry Potter seduces the minds of children into believing in witchcraft, and then attempting to put it into practice. I'm not going to pretend this isn't entirely true. I am quite sure that a number of young children who do read the Harry Potter series fall under the spell it casts (if I may use such a phrase). But. These young children are, inevitably, young. It is a fairytale. Magic is in all good fairy tales, if you ask me. Of course a child is going to believe in such things. I myself secretly hoped that on my eleventh birthday, I would also receive that small envelope that held within it my entire future. And I think I turned out alright.
But then, it gets more serious when the kids start dallying into the witchcraft themselves. That is on account of their stupidity. I'm dreadfully sorry it's coming to such blatant and impolite words such as "stupidity" but what else may I use? Any child with any sense, once they have gotten over the magic of the book (again, not used purposefully) must know that the story is a fairytale. If you are afraid of your child dallying in witchcraft on account of his reading a book involving magic, then you must ban he or she from reading all books involving magic. Which effectively brings me to my next point.

I will now defend my argument, using several points I've already touched upon.

I will again say that the most prominent reason many families disallow the reading of Harry Potter is because it involves witchcraft. Witches, that are obviously good, protagonist characters are the some of the most influential in the book.

Now I ask you. Has this concept of "good witches" ever come up in any other story?

Why, yes. Have you ever read or seen The Wizard of Oz? Wonderful story. Involves wicked witches, as well as good witches, does it not? If my sources are correct, The Wizard of Oz also caused somewhat of an uproar when it first came out. Though nowadays, it is accepted by all the Christians I know. I am aware that there may still be Christians out there that do not accept The Wizard of Oz, but from personal experience, this is not the case for most Christians.

So the question is. Why. Why is The Wizard of Oz accepted in today's Christian culture when Harry Potter is not? I have a few theories on that, too. It may simply be because it is so prominent in today's culture, as I said earlier. It's such a big deal, that Christians feel automatically wary of it. Also, there's the whole witchcraft thing... but didn't I just prove that there are good witches and bad witches in other literary works that are accepted, whereas Harry Potter is not?

I think I know the answer. And the answer is the word itself: witchcraft.

Lexis. The choice of words that an author may use. The word "witchcraft" causes so many Christians to put up a red flag, that any use of it is automatically shut down and dejected. I often ask myself, "What if it was simply Hogwarts school of wizardry? Would the response be any different?" Yes, I believe it would. By using the words "witchcraft" and "witches", Christians all over the world suddenly were aware of something they knew was evil, and yet was being promoted as a good concept in these books. Thus, the books are evil.

Again, I do not agree that the concept of witchcraft is a good concept. But again I tell you; Harry Potter is not about witchcraft. Nor does it ever blatantly encourage the reader to go out and start performing it left and right. It is simply a story involving magic. But please, read on.

Another point I would like to present is the concept of fantasy magic. This is a term used when referring to the magic used in fantasies. Through analyzing of the stories, I would go so far as to claim that is the magic used in Harry Potter, as well as the magic used in Chronicles Of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz, and many more. Again, I ask why Harry Potter is any different from these other stories. Ah yes. It's witchcraft, not magic. ... But is there a difference?

Is it time for me to present the advantages? Yes, I think it is.

The advantages of reading Harry Potter. Yes, I do believe there are actual reasons that one might benefit from reading the series. Here they are, though far more jumbled than all I've stated before. Not that my prior reasoning was particularly organized either. This my essay portion :)

From the beginning of the series, it is obvious that the story has your classic "good against evil" plot line. Harry is the paragon of goodness. For his whole life, he is thwarted and persecuted by his cruel aunt and uncle, with whom he must live until he receives the letter from Hogwarts and is sent to attend school there. From there, Harry introduces his obvious desire to do good.

The character of Harry Potter is unlike many other characters in literature today. He has a deeper and more profound character, one that is simple, yet extraordinary. He is a simple teenager; as he grows throughout the books, he struggles with the same challenges we teenagers have to face every day. While, at the same time, saving the world of course. His utmost desire is to be there for his friends. A similar desire that you and I have, do we not? But Harry is different. He saves their lives, repeatedly. He does whatever it takes to do so. And he does so with passion, with care, and with love.

His desire to save his friends expands slightly as the books continue. Not only is his utmost desire to save his friends; it is also to defeat evil. Once he learns of his inevitable fate; that either he or Voldemort, the antagonist of the story, must kill the other; he takes on the grim responsibility of destroying the wickedness that is slowly taking over his world.

And so, Harry embarks on his journey to defeat Voldemort. This requires quite a bit of work, however. Instead of simply finding Voldemort and finishing him, Harry must first find all six horcruxes that keep Voldemort from dying. These horcruxes are pieces of Voldemort's soul; in order for Voldemort to die, each horcrux must be destroyed. So Harry, along with his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, must leave the school they love so dearly and venture out to finish the job. Of course, the entire horcrux idea is considered the darkest magic one can ever participate in. The creating of the horcrux requires the murder of a human being, which is a sin beyond contemplation.

It is the end of the final book; Harry and his friends have accomplished the destruction of five of the horcruxes; only two to go. Then, realization hits Harry; he is the last horcrux. He never knew it, nor did Voldemort. But in order for Voldemort to die, he must go to him and die first. So Harry ventures out to where Voldemort and is and allows Voldemort to kill him.

I'm not sure the significance of this act can be understood by us, as the simple readers of the story. But Harry literally sacrifices himself to save the entire world, without knowledge of his inevitable rise from the dead. He goes out, without a living soul aware of his impending sacrifice. Without saying goodbye, to anyone he ever loved. He goes out to die, not knowing what to expect, except for death. It is hard to portray this concept to those who haven't read the books... but to the readers, it was the utmost sacrifice. The utmost sorrow. Harry, the one we all grew to love and respect, was going to die without a trace, and the world was going to end without him. Ron, Hermione, his two best friends in the world, who stood by him through everything; Ginny, the love of his life; Neville, Luna, his constant admirers; none he would ever see again.

Have you caught the parallelisms yet? I hope so. Because they are so very obvious. Harry Potter is a Christ-like representation of the sacrifice Jesus had to endure. I would never go so far as to say the two are identical; not in the slightest. There are differences, of course. Firstly, that Harry makes many mistakes throughout the books, where Jesus was perfect. There's also the "being a wizard" thing. Harry completes miracles with his wand, Jesus completes miracles with the power granted him by God. This comparison is probably outrageous, to many people. Harry is an evil wizard, Christ is a perfect God. But that is not the case, as I have already suggested. Harry is not defined by his wizardry; he is defined by his actions, and his choices, and his love for his friends. There are also differences in the sacrifice itself. Harry goes to sacrifice himself to save the world, unaware that he would not actually die, whereas Christ knew what his sacrifice would mean. Also, Christ had to endure utter pain and despair and shame; whereas Harry simply had to walk up to Voldemort, where he was quickly killed by the killing curse.

Ah, the killing curse. One of the most prominent aspects of Harry's character is his title of "The Boy Who Lived". Voldemort attempts to kill Harry when he is but a year old, but fails when the curse rebounds on him. Why did the curse rebound, you ask?

Love. Yes, love. Love, the deepest and greatest magic the world has ever known. Love, that saved the entire fictional world with Harry's sacrifice; love, that saved the entire real would with Christ's sacrifice. In Harry Potter, love is the most wonderful, indestructible magic that can be perceived. "Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love."

More parallelisms present themselves. One being his sacrifice for even those he hates. Draco Malfoy is Harry's constant enemy through all seven books. They hate each other from the start of the first book to the end of the seventh. Malfoy repeatedly attempts to ruin Harry's life, and does so successfully. In the sixth book, Malfoy attempts to kill Dumbledore (whom I will talk about next), Harry's mentor and friend. And still. Still. Harry risks his own life to save Draco's. Twice, in fact. At the end of the seventh book, Harry saves Draco from an enchanted fire (again, deep, dark magic that no good wizard would ever use) and again when a Death Eater (dark wizard, of course; who else would have a name like "Death Eater"?) corners Draco. This shows Harry's obligation to even his enemies; he would sacrifice himself, even for a traitor.

Perhaps Harry has something to teach us, as human beings. To love our neighbor as ourself. To love our enemies. Alright, Harry certainly didn't love Malfoy; but he still did was right, in the end.

Before I conclude, I'd like to first mention Albus Dumbedlore, Harry's teacher. (Just as a side note; I understand that the author of the series claims that Dumbledore is "gay", though while reading the stories, I never found any evidence for such a claim, so I disregard it. The fact is stupid, as is the author for claiming it. I don't care if she wrote the books; Dumbedlore will forever stay pure in my mind. Anyway.) Dumbeldore makes mistakes too. At a young age, Albus is power-hungry and too intelligent for his own good. But he redeems himself, and hatches this entire plan about Harry in order for him to sacrifice himself to save the world. All of this is irrelevant, however; I simply wanted to point out Dumbldore's knack of using phrases of utmost wisdom. I could use countless quotes. And here are some of the many wonderful and wise ones he uses (more than I originally planned, unfortunatly). Let me know what you think of them :)

"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

"Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them."

"You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be."

"It’s the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."

"It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated."

"There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."

"We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on."

"Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love."

Also, Albus quotes the Bible when engraving upon two seperate tombstones two seperate verses: "Where your treasure is, so your heart will be also." (Luke 12:24) and "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:26) This was purposeful quoting, by the author.

And so I conclude with this... I must point out the obvious moral values within Harry Potter that so reflect those of Christians. Love is what empowers us; it is what we are called to do; it is what God himself is defined as. Love. How can a story that promotes such a concept be evil?

And so I ask you... what do you think of what I have to say? I accept that I probably did not present every reason people have for not reading the books. As my friend Chloe pointed out, it can simply be a reason of personal conscience. One may not read the books, simply because their own conscience does not allow it. In that case, do not read them. If something is against your conscience, I suggest you stay away from it.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your comments. Again, I tried my hardest to not appear offensive. Little do you know that I wrote many phrases that I quickly had to go back and erase.

Also. I completely respect the opinions of those who do not support Harry Potter. Well. Okay, I mostly respect the opinions of those who do not support Harry Potter (just hear me out.) If you have already considered all that I have said, and more; if you've weighed the concept, rationally; and still decide that you are not comfortable reading Harry Potter, I totally respect that. I'd also be more apt to respecting an opinion of someone who has already read the books... I have trouble understanding how someone can effectively and rightly condemn the books without reading thim. I'm sure it is possible, but I doubt it is completely accurate.

Also be aware that I am fifteen years old and this is the furthest I can contemplate things such as this. :) I'll probably be revising this every few days for the next couple of weeks. Heh.

And so, you've heard me out. You read this entire post. Congratulations. I applaud you.