The Death of God in Harry Potter
Justin Taylor’s blog pointed to an interesting article from Time Magazine on the Harry Potter books:
Rowling’s work is so familiar that we’ve forgotten how radical it really is. Look at her literary forebears. In The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien fused his ardent Catholicism with a deep, nostalgic love for the unspoiled English landscape. C.S. Lewis was a devout Anglican whose Chronicles of Narnia forms an extended argument for Christian faith. Now look at Rowling’s books. What’s missing? If you want to know who dies in Harry Potter, the answer is easy: God.
Harry Potter lives in a world free of any religion or spirituality of any kind. He lives surrounded by ghosts but has no one to pray to, even if he were so inclined, which he isn’t. Rowling has more in common with celebrity atheists like Christopher Hitchens than she has with Tolkien and Lewis.
What does Harry have instead of God? Rowling’s answer, at once glib and profound, is that Harry’s power comes from love. This charming notion represents a cultural sea change. In the new millennium, magic comes not from God or nature or anything grander or more mystical than a mere human emotion. In choosing Rowling as the reigning dreamer of our era, we have chosen a writer who dreams of a secular, bureaucratized, all-too-human sorcery, in which psychology and technology have superseded the sacred.
I have to admit I have not read the Harry Potter books. However, I find this interesting in light of my sermon on Sunday night on love as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The works of the flesh are in opposition to the fruit of the Spirit. I would suggest that there is a love that is in opposition to the love that is produced by the Spirit. It is any love that does not have God as it’s chief object. In light of that, when the rightful object of our love is absent it has no lasting power. Just as I quoted Begg awhile back, that prayer has no power outside of God, the power of love is empty apart from God as well. Love is not our power, but a fruit produced by the One that is our power. So when we speak of love we must be sure that it is founded in the person and character of God.
August 1st, 2007 at 7:01 am
I would like to hear what you think of the Harry Potter Books. Should Christian’s read them? If so why? If not why not?
August 1st, 2007 at 9:35 am
I read this article and have been thinking about it. I haven’t read the HP books (i have read the last chapter of the final book so i know how it ends), but…
I think someone could make an arguments that “God” doesn’t exist in Tolkien either, yet we (Christians) love to use his writing as metaphor for our worldview.
What i know about harry potter is that his life could likely be used as a metaphor for Christ… understanding that no metaphor is perfect (other than Scripture) and all human metaphors break down at some point…
i’m not endorsing it, but i’m not ready to burn it either.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:35 am
What perspective are we reading the books from? I’ve never read any of them either so i cannot really give a complete opinion on the books.
We are commanded not to put any immoral or wicked thing before our eyes, and i’m not sure that it is wicked or evil. On the other hand it is not inspired. So, as we should with any type of media (movies, books, radio, tv, etc) we need to be careful what we allow to come into our minds.
The question we need to be asking is is how is this affecting my view of who God is. Is it something that is pushing me on to love and grow in the grace and knowledge of God more, or is it pushing me away from who God is?
We need to be discerning about how these means are affecting us. I’m not sure that there is an absolute right or wrong when it comes to reading these books. But, I do know there is an absolute right and wrong when it comes to walking with Christ, and if it is something contrary to the work of the spirit, and is hindering our walk with God. I hope that we will fight it in our own lives so that satan does not gain a foothold in our lives and begins to devour us.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:55 am
Dave,
while you may be right about Tolkien, I would say that God is more evident in his writings . Let say it is not, wouldn’t this make Lord of the Rings wrong, instead of making HP right? While one could try and see Harry Potter as Christ, I think that is a real stretch. Wouldn’t that go beyond a human comparison falling short in some way to taking what is know to be imperfect and trying to turn it into Christ? The author’s intent is in no way to have Harry be Christ. I cannot turn this into an allegory.
I am not trying to burn Harry Potter here either, but I am not endorsing it either.
Shane,
Is it true that reading these books is relative to the person reading them or their motivation? Is that what you are saying?
What person would make it right? What motivation would make it right?
I will wait for more comments before I give any more of my own opinions.
August 1st, 2007 at 11:17 am
We could write books about this — and I’m sure people have. I’ve read all the HP books and have no problem with Christians reading them. Some get upset about witchcraft and sorcery, but most of them have no problem with the wizardry that Tolkien or Lewis uses. The spells and magic the kids use are pure fantasy, not actual “witchcraft” as we think of it — in the real world, we can’t point our wands, mutter a few words, and have some magical result. I don’t think Rowling is pointing us towards the occult.
But I don’t really think she’s pointing us towards God either. I don’t see Harry as a Christ figure. While he is an excellent example of selflessness in the end, he’s also a great example of how to lie, resist authority, break the rules, etc. The books do a good job of portraying the battle of good vs. evil and good obviously wins in the end.
While I’m sure Rowling intended some levels of symbolism, I don’t think we should analyze the books to the point of exhaustion. They’re fun stories (although there is a darker side), easy-to-read, and they fire the imagination. We just shouldn’t let them take over our lives. If our kids read them, we need to be involved, explaining what’s right and wrong about them — just like any other book they read.
August 1st, 2007 at 11:48 am
Ben,
I enjoyed your comments. Since I have not read the books I just have a few questions:
Should a Christian be careful what he allows to fire his imagination? Where do we draw the line and say no? You are saying these books don’t cross that line.
If Harry is a great example of how to lie, resist authority, and break rules should we then be entertained by him for hours, knowing that there will be no view of God produced? Is that not enough to draw a line on? Are there cartoons/tv shows that you will not let your children watch? I know many of the reasons we have are that the attitudes of the characters are not beneficial to our children. They teach disrespect to authority, show lying as okay, they emphasis worldly thinking too much. Why does this not enter into this category?
Again, I will refrain from my opinions at this point.
August 1st, 2007 at 11:55 am
Motivation??? What is our motivation for doing anything we do. We discussed in SS the other day that a lot of times media is used for entertainment. I watched the reds lose to the Nationals last night. My motivation behind it was that I am a reds fan and enjoy baseball. Nothing wrong with that. It was entertainment.
The question that has repeatedly come to my mind though has been is media only used for entertainment. Ben said HP books are fun to read, but you have to realize the difference between right and wrong. Even when our (our being general cause i don’t have any) children read the books we need to make sure that we are using it to help them “learn” the difference between right and wrong. I think that is the motivation there. Although partly enjoyment and entertainment it is also used for learning.
If I were to sit down and watch Schindler’s List for just entertainment purposes, that is not something that I “should” enjoy watching. It is not an entertaining movie. But if i watch it for the value of what the movie has to offer about the Holucaust and the way people were treated and learn somethings from it, it can be a great resource.
When I was younger my parents would tell me do something (clean your room, do the dishes, pick up your toys.) I would complain about it, but then do it. My motivation/attitude behind doing it was not right. My parents would then take me and give me a spanking. They would tell me there reasoning behind dicsiplining me was not that i disobeyed, but had a bad attitude, or bad motivation. I was picking my toys up, but i was stompin around and huffin and puffin, and not doing it with a proper attitude. My motivation should have been that I want to respect my parents and obey them, and that would have been right.
Although I use caution when I say this because it can be taken to extremes, I do think that motivation can make the things we do right or wrong.
How it then plays out with HP, i’m not sure because I have never read it, but I do go back to my original point of we need to use the gifts and abilities God has given us and discern the proper way to approach the books.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Andy, those are good questions and that’s more why I would be careful about letting kids read the HP books (rather than the witchcraft issue). Harry doesn’t do those things all the time, so it’s not as if we’re reading one big long story about how to break the rules. That’s why I said we need to be involved as our kids read them — we can talk about if what he did was right or wrong, which helps them learn, as Shane said.
I think overall Harry is a good example for kids — he’s courageous, brave, self-sacrificing, a leader. But like anyone, he does things he shouldn’t. We can point those out and explain them to our kids. Harry actually does get punished for some of the things he does (although it usually seems unfair to him).
Of course, you can also bring up the whole situational ethics argument — is it really wrong for Harry to sneak out and break curfew at Hogwarts if he’s just trying to keep Voldemort from taking over again? Is it ok for him to lie about something if it will help him in his battle against the forces of evil? But that’s another discussion.
When I’m talking about the imagination, I’m also thinking of the whole world that Rowling has created. You have to read the books to get a good picture of all the delightful details she thinks up. For example, in Harry’s world, people aren’t static in pictures. They wave and smile and they can even move from one picture frame to another. Her names are pretty good too.
It was also a good point in your original post about love being Harry’s power. While it sounds warm and fuzzy, his love presumably came from his own heart, which probably ain’t full of that’s good and right . . .
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:47 am
Andy, I was really anticipating your response!
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:24 am
Response:
I will not be coy; I am not a big fan of Harry Potter. Much of this has nothing to do with moral issues, but with the fact that I don’t enjoy fantasy that much. However, I do have other concerns.
I think it may be possible to look at this like Superman or Spiderman in terms of it being a fictional series that is enjoyable and that a Christian may be able to enjoy it and not hurt ones walk, maybe even be helped by relaxation and laughter.
I do think Christians need to be careful not to get swept away by what the world delights in though. If it is massively loved by those who have no regard for God, we may want to step back and ask why. Galatians 5 tells us the desires of the flesh are in opposition to the desires of the Spirit so we must be discerning, for a righteous man judges all things. This does not mean it will always be wrong, but we do need to test things with the Word of God. It troubles me to see the church so easily swept away by many of the things the world loves.
We need to be careful not to justify things because we enjoy them. Going back to Galatians 5, our enjoyment may be giving in to the desires of the flesh and put us in opposition to our walking in step with the Spirit.
Some who are in favor or reading these books, seem to do so out of an over-reaction to legalism and separatism that says you cannot enjoy anything that non-Christians enjoy (unless of course we can come up with a second rate Christian version, I will leave that alone for now). We do not want to be legalists and wrongly bind consciences with extra laws. However, we must still deal with the scriptures that teach us to have nothing to do with sin (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 1 Timothy 4:6-8, Ephesians 5:11, Psalm 101:4, 2 Corinthians 6:16-18). These passages certainly warn us of the dangers and subtleties of sin. We cannot be set apart in our heart and not have this set apartness flow into our entertainment and hobbies.
Another concern: how long was the last book?, 900 plus pages? So a Christian can fill his mind with 900 pages and hours of entertainment that really is not going to help them spiritually, but are they putting in enough good reading? I am not suggesting a certain ratio, but calling some to do a gut check. Some people I have talked to who read HP would never think of reading a 900 page book about God. For some, it may be quite possible they have never even read the whole Bible through but have read 7 Harry Potter books.
What Questions did I leave unanswered?
August 2nd, 2007 at 4:11 pm
andy,
i would suggest that, by virtue of the fact you haven’t read these particular books, you are in reality making an argument against secular fiction in general; not harry potter. (how can you legitimately critique a particular work you haven’t read?) Your critiques are general, not specific.
if that is the argument you are making, i think you’re points make a good deal of sense. however, it raises the question of when something becomes secular and when it is sacred.
are LOTR and Narnia sacred fiction or secular fiction? (i use these because they seem to run through the thread. i could just as easily ask if Left Behind is secular fiction?)
in answer to the last question you raised, i think one of the reason people don’t read the Bible like they read HP is that they don’t think of the Bible as a story. They think of it as “manual”. No one reads manuals cover to cover, they open them to find what they need when they’re in trouble.
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Dave,
You are safe in saying that my points are generalizations to be applied to all forms of entertainment and writing and not just Harry Potter.
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:04 pm
i think they are good comments toward that end.
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:09 pm
David
Thanks for you comments, I cannot leave the Story thing alone though. I think you are right, but shouldn’t we hold that the Bible is more than a story. I know you would agree that it is not just another book which we read and try to draw out the deep message and the facts are not so important. It is a story of redemption, but it is also there to teach, correct, and rebuke. Paul deals with specific situations and gives specific instructions. It is not 10 steps to this, or a better guide to nutrition, or even how to make yourself a Christian. I am pretty sure in practice we hold to a similar position, but don’t you think we have to balance between story and manuel?
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:33 am
i would agree that it is more than a story. my comment was simply to point out that most people see it as only a manual.
i would really try to avoid that metaphor to describe it because of the type of behavior that leads to.
August 3rd, 2007 at 6:07 am
I agree, I do not think I would come out on my own and refer to the Bible as a manual. On the other side, I am not comfortable calling it a story in this day and age either. With so much emphasis on the reader bringing the meaning and just the fact that a story doesn’t ever say “Thou shalt not”, but rather suggests good ideas I think we need a better description, such as God’s Revealed Word.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:51 am
If we truly see rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (as Samuel confronted Kind Saul when he offered the sacrifice he was to wait for Samuel to do), I would think any story where the hero shows complaint for being punished for wrong doing would turn our stomachs. The core issue to me with much entertainment is the loss of the idea of authority. But then again, many of the “Christian” allegories don’t satisfy me either. I would prefer to leave Christ out of all of it; all fantasies and hero stories are based on the idea of a messiah anyway, are they not?
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:33 am
Wouldn’t the idea of whining and complaining about a punishment be the response of any sinner? Apart from the grace of God we are going to respond with a very selfish response. So, anytime we read a story, watch a movie, watch a tv show about anyone who is not a Christian we will have this problem.
The world is full of this rebellious, “complainer”, me centered attitude. It’s not just the world today it’s the world since Adam and Eve fell. Even in the fall, the attitudes of Adam and Eve were very me centered (passing the blame.) But, there is such great redemption in that story. To say something to the extent of we probably shouldn’t read about the fall because Adam and Eve do not respond appropriately and they complain, and have a bad attitude is a ridiculous statement to say because it is the infallible word of God.
But even though there are stories where the attitudes of the characters are justified (in us reading it) by the redemption that takes place. But, right and wrong does exist. The Shawshank Redemption is an excellent movie. But, I will never again watch the unedited version of that movie because the content is not something that I should allow my mind to dwell on.
Where then is the line drawn? Do I completely seclude myself from anything worldly or rebellious and fall into the trap of legalism? Or, do I allow myself to read and watch anything and not be on guard for the lies and temptations of the devil? It has to be somewhere in between. Making sure our eyes are fixed on Jesus glorifying Him in everything we do!
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Shane,
Maybe this is the greater concern, we are not bothered every time we watch a movie or tv show. Therefore two wrongs do make a right, or at least the most wrong make the lesser wrong right. We have become dulled to sin. Sure we know it is not best, but what is the big deal because it is in every movie, song, tv show, or story. I can remember growing up it was rare that a movie was released that my parents would say “this looks good, let’s go as a family and watch it.” There was no rule about ratings in our home or not going to movies at all, but it was based on the content of the individual movie. There just wasn’t much worth a Christian’s time to watch. What has happened. It seems like teens in church today run out to see almost every new release or grab every top selling novel. Is what is being produced better? Holier? I think we could statistically show that the content in the movies is not any better. Where my parents too strict? I don’t think they were legalistic about it or too strict. They just wanted to show discernment and teach discernment. Much of evangelicalism seems just as swept away by the desires of the flesh as the rest of the world. Why should we be shocked that divorce rate, teen pregnancy, gossip, lack of submission to authority, envy and the likes seem the same in the church as without? We delight in the same things they do.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Heather,
good to see you read my blog! You are by far my best looking reader.
August 5th, 2007 at 10:52 am
I think root of the macro-issue of “What secular things are lawful for Christians to participate in” has to do primarily with the heart. I have found in my own personal experiences that the closer I am to God, the less interested I am in “secular” things, and the closer I am to the world, the more interested I am. I think that if a person cultivates their relationship with God, this becomes less and less of an issue because our natural affections will be less inclined to want to pursue items of a secular nature, or, if they do, it will not be such a big deal that they couldn’t live without it to the point where you would be constantly wrestling with your conscience over it.
The book of Philippians exhorts us to think about “whatever is pure and lovely,” so the Bible definitely has commands that regulate what we put into our minds. My conscience bothers me when I watch something that goes against the spirit of this command, which, unfortunately, is most everything on TV. That being said, it begs the question what is pure and lovely, and that is where discernment comes in.
I used to be a news and political junkie. Every day after work, I would watch the Fox News Channel and during my lunch hour, listen to Rush Limbaugh. I would watch Hannity and Colmes, O’Reilly, and all the 24-hour news channels when I had the time. Eventually, however, it got to the point where I would get angry and depressed every time I turned this stuff on, so I made the decision to stop watching the news and I only listen to Rush occasionally. I eventually came to the realization, why would I want to waste my time listening to negative, negative, negative every day? It became as disgusting to me as Jerry Springer.
Now, how many Christians out there would say that the nightly news is as bad to watch as an “R” rated movie? They would probably laugh. However, it caused my heart to turn against God and to sin against him because it would just make me bitter and complain all the time as to why the world hates the Christian worldview and this country, etc. So, for me, there was no difference - my heart was not being edified.
Therefore, I conclude that anything that leads you away from God is wrong to watch, read, or partake in. Obviously, certain things are universal in that (e.g., pornography, dirty movies, etc). But as far as the gray things like Harry Potter, I would just ask that question - what is this doing for my spiritual life? And I think, as Andy pointed out with Harry Potter being 900 pages long, an aspect of this is how am I best utilizing my time?
August 6th, 2007 at 8:30 am
Here’s an interesting take from Christianity Today about what Jonathan Edwards might say about Harry Potter: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/julyweb-only/130-22.0.html. He says because so much of the series is about death (and it really is, more so than other kids’ series), Edwards would use HP to point to the true solution for our transcendent needs, such as knowing what happens when we die.
Good points about not letting our secular involvements overtake our spiritual responsibilities. If I let HP take over my life — as Matt was saying about the news — to the point where it disrupts everything else, that’s not good. It’s kind of like eating at McDonalds. If you eat there every meal (as in Supersize Me), it’s horrible for you. But if you do it once a month or so, it’s fine. (I’m not saying doing something wrong is ok if you only do a little bit of it — just that lawful things can be become unlawful if taken to extremes.) Yeah, I’ve read the books and had conversations about HP, but I don’t go to HP parties, stand in line at midnight, dress up, plan my life around the movies, etc.
Also, the last book is about 750 pages. It’s still honkin’ big, but it doesn’t take as much time as you would think because you can read it pretty quickly. It doesn’t take as long to read it as it would to read 750 pages of Matthew Henry or even something easier, like J.I. Packer, so you can get through it, enjoy it and be done with it. Again, kind of like McDonalds.
There’s also something to be said for being engaged with the culture and being able to use current issues to point people to Christ. Again, not that we should be involved with sin and not that HP is Christian in any way, but we can use that to show the emptiness of the world’s solution.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:31 am
I thought the Edwards post was interesting. Thanks for pointing it out Ben. It still does not answer all of my questions because the basis for his article was I like Harry Potter so I think Jonathan Edwards would like it because he engaged in the thought of his day. Not sure if I buy the logic or the foundation, but I do think it is important to understand the society in which you live. I am just not convinced that reading and understanding Harry Potter is going to help me much at all in evangelism and reaching society in their deep need.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Andy,
You raise an interesting question with your last comment…
If not Harry Potter, than what?
How would you suggest American Christians appropriately familiarize themselves with the world in which they live?
August 6th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Things that have helped me:
Belonging to the local YMCA or Swimming Pool
Having our children in a youth soccer league in the community where they go to school
Having our children in the Public School
Going to the local shopping market
Reading the local paper online
Going to local activities in the community when appropriate and possible
I believe on can pick up on the thoughts of society just as well in these places while engaging society on a much broader and deeper level.
There is also something to be said for Lloyd Jones philosophy. People used to ask him what he thought about this liberal book or that. He would say something like, I have not read it, tell me what is says and I will tell you what God’s Word says. In other words, we don’t have to read or watch everything society reads or watches to engage in discussion with them. And if we are going to engage in a discussion with them we are always better served to know the Word of God on a deeper level than knowing what they are reading if we want to point them to the light. We do have to be in areanas where we will be with them to engage in discussion though. That is why I pointed to examples of different ways we are involved with those outside the church.
August 6th, 2007 at 11:31 am
We heard a couple of messages recently from Steve Hartland (pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Baltimore) about finding ways to come in contact with “raw pagans,” as he put it. He mentioned lots of things like you did, Andy. The hard part is actually using those opportunities to strike up spiritual conversations. Probably won’t happen at a Harry Potter party . . .
August 6th, 2007 at 11:40 am
andy,
that’s a good list. mine would be pretty similar…
but…
what about understanding the driving and emerging philosophies of the world. your list is great for understanding Anderson, but what about the bigger philosophies that are constantly evolving. How do you know what’s coming before it starts hitting your people?