Harry Potter - Should we run and hide?

Covered something really interesting in school the other day.

Question:

How should we treat the issue of Harry Potter?

When the adventures of Harry Potter were unleashed upon the world, some Christians preached against it.

Some arguments were that:

• Harry Potter glorified witches and magic
• After reading the book, our children will be heavily involved in Black Magic and the Arts
• Evil Spirits might enter our children, as they follow the series.
  

This was my professor's take on this:

He said that when Harry Potter first came out, he brought all his kids to buy the book and they all went to watch the movie as well.

His argument was that we should not isolate ourselves!

Instead of fearing that our children will become 'witches', we should educate them.

We must make a distinction between:

• Literal Magic (As in casting spells and magic)

AGAINST or VERSUS

• Literary Magic (Magic talked about in books)

One is real and the other is Pure Entertainment!

If we are to run away from Harry Potter, Rock Music or the Movies, then people will just think that we are stupid and paranoid.

In fact, the Bible tells us to be a light to the world, and not be in a light in our own 'little world'.

Adding to the argument, my Prof talked about Charles Dickens.

Dickens was a professing Christian and known to be a 'Literary Giant'. His works are highly regarded in the literary world, and you may have read a few of them.

Some famous ones are "Oliver Twist", "Great Expectations", "A Tale of 2 Cities" and "A Christmas Carol". Expounding on the subject, Prof focused on the latter.

In the "A Christmas Carol", Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly man who does not have any friends. During the holiday season, he is visited by "The Ghost of the Christmas Past, Present, and Future - who bring him to a place of revelation that he needs to change his misery ways!"

The point here is this:

In this great literary work, Dickens talks about Ghosts.

If we want to crucify J.K. Rowling for being a witch and promoting wizardry and magic, then we should also crucify Charles Dickens for being a spiritualist and promoting contact with ghosts and spirits.

Where is the consistency in our theology, if today we revere Mr. Dickens, and stone J.K Rowling, in the same breath?

One must remember that Scrooge, Peter Pan, Fairy Godmother, Santa Claus, and Harry Potter are not role models, but Entertainment and part of the Hollywood Culture.

Teaching our children the difference between fiction and non-fiction, will make our next generation relevant to this world.

In closing, it says in

Job 3:25
25 For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me,
And what I dreaded has happened to me.

Let's not be fearful of Harry Potter, a bedtime story or a fairy tale. Let's not be paranoid and afraid that our children will become "pawns" of the warlock or a witch!

Instead, let's educate our children and prepare them for the real world!