What’s a Christian to do with Harry Potter?
I picked up this book a little while after becoming aware of the anti-Potter hysteria, at a time when I was feeling ambiguous as to whether my own Potter love was okay or not. It seems that there are hundreds of websites interpreting the smallest detail of Rowling’s series as being Satanic, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not another one.
Connie Neal, herself a Potter fan, begins the book sympathetic to both sides of the debate. I was immediately encouraged by her statement that the division and anger caused by the debate on the books is not how God would have his Church. This is true, as I feel the Church does often become caught up in the rights and wrongs of a particular issue, so much so that we to forget to treat each other with courtesy and respect. Neal does not stand on her side and defend it at the cost of everything else — instead, she has written a careful analysis, tackling most of the issues concerning the objectors.
Part of the point of What’s a Christian to do with Harry Potter? is to debunk myths. Connie Neal encourages us to analyse the various anti-Potter arguments — such as an article from the internet news satire The Onion which was circulated by concerned Christians who incorrectly believed that J K Rowling was a Satanist, and indeed, the arguments that Rowling is a witch (she is not) and that she uses real spells (she tells children the spells won’t work — she made them up!). Neal challenges us to be discerning. This is a wise encouragement, as not everything we read on the internet is true!
Neal also truly believes that Harry and his friends are a good influence. She cites examples of his noble behaviour, tackles the difficult issue of Harry’s rule-breaking, and also reminds us that the characters are only human — and they have flaws. My favourite part of the exposition was Neal’s account of how she explained the Gospel to someone using Harry Potter! It was truly encouraging to see it demonstrated that Christians need not be afraid of the books, and even that they can be a help. Neal does also state examples of people who have decided not to read the Potter books — it is most important to her that everyone is convinced in their own mind that they can read these books.
The only criticism I have heard of this book is that Connie Neal’s knowledge of the occult is rather lacking. It is true that she does not linger on the comparisons of the series with occult practices, but the value of her writing lies within her good attitude. She has written a book which, more than aiming to make people like Harry Potter, aims to encourage wise decisions. A truly thoughtful and interesting book.
What’s a Christian to do with Harry Potter? is published by Waterbrook Press ISBN: 1578564719