So my son's friend came over to play yesterday, which my son was so excited about...
"Mom!! Is Patrick here yet??? I just can't wait!! We're gonna play Harry Potter cuz he loves Harry too!!"
Of course, that made me very happy. I always get very excited when Vito talks about him and friends playing Harry Potter because I know they're living out the messages of the books and talking about right and wrong and all the wonderful things that parents want their children to know. PS It's also fun for me because I get to say things like "Ok, y'all go play upstairs! Remember, don't play with Mommy's good wands!"
Other super fun part for me was sitting and hanging with Patrick's mom who is also a Potter fan.
But she told me a disturbing story... She said that one of her kids has a friend who's homeschooled and while the friend's parents allow him to watch pg13 movies that are violent, they don't allow him to watch or read Harry Potter.
Really???? Like.... REALLY?!?!?! I had really begun to believe that we were past this kind of nonsense. The last book came out 5 years ago now, and I would think with the whole sacrifice and resurrection thing in Deathly Hallows that this ridiculous argument that the Potter books were non-Christian would have gone away by now. Before I go on ranting, I want to point out that I don't believe that the books cannot be enjoyed by non-Christians. I think the story is broad enough that anyone of any religion can enjoy it and see some parallels to their faith in there (because honestly, any good religion is basically built around peace and loving one another... which we should all agree on are good things), but I think it's worth noting that Jo Rowling is a member of the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), and authors are going to pull from experiences and beliefs that are familiar to them. Besides the obvious sacrifice, resurrection, and saving by blood thing going on in the series... there are couple of things that point out the series as being Christian-friendly:
1 - At Hogwarts, they celebrate and get out of school for Christian holidays... So many events in the series happen during the Christmas holidays and you see some form of Christmas celebration IN EVERY BOOK.
2 - Although it's called "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry", the "witchcraft" performed in the books is nothing like actual practicing witchcraft. Real witchcraft has to do with nature worship and ceremonial spellwork. There's nothing ceremonial about the spellwork in Harry Potter. The kids point a stick and casually say a word in Latin - LATIN... as in THE TRADITIONAL LANGUAGE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH!! And the ridiculous argument that kids will get confused and try to do real witchcraft... umm.... no. If kids try to imitate Harry Potter, the most they will do is point a stick and say "Expelliarmus!!" or maybe they'll jump on a broom.... and guess what?? When nothing flies out of another person's hand and the broom doesn't come off the ground, the kids will know it's PRETEND... I mean, come on people, give your kids a little more credit! Idiots are made, not born.
3 - JK ROWLING SAID SHE USED CHRISTIANITY IN WRITING IT!!! Over and over again in interviews, you could see Jo get so frustrated every time a reporter bring up the question "What do you say to people who say the books are dangerous because they're about witchcraft?" My favorite was the time she responded with "You know, no one has come up to me and said, 'Thank you so much for writing your books! It really taught me about witchcraft. Let's go together and sacrifice a goat!' " Plus she stated that she really couldn't talk too much about her beliefs because it "would give too much away about how the story progresses".... which means that she used her beliefs to form the plot of the story.... and as stated before, she's a Christian. Put two and two together, people!!
The thing that just frustrates me so much when I hear about this anti-Potter ridiculousness is that it's obviously coming from people who haven't read the books!! Some of the greatest advocators for the Potter series as a Christian narrative are people who read the books because they had heard the rumors about it being about witchcraft and wanted to investigate before they allowed their children to read it, and guess what happened?? Instead of banning it from their children, they applauded it for its clear lessons in morality!! Hey, I totally understand that you want to check something out before you allow it for your children. Parents should do that!! I screen anything my son or daughter insist on watching!! (Which has eliminated Spongebob or any of those Bratz cartoons from my kids' screen selection!) But don't just outright say no to something that YOU KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT!!! Educate before you eliminate!! I mean, come on!
If you're interested in reading about Harry Potter and its connections to Christianity... here are some awesome resources... and if you're unfamiliar with these authors, I really suggest you check them out in this order. I'm listing them as the most general to the most detailed....
The Gospel According to Harry Potter by Connie Neal http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-According-Harry-Potter-Spiritual/dp/0664231233/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344427104&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gospel+according+to+harry+potter
If you want a good, general overview of the Christian morality, this is your book.
The Christian's Guide to Harry Potter by Leslie Barnhart http://www.amazon.com/Christians-Guide-Harry-Potter/dp/1477575081/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344427187&sr=1-2&keywords=the+christian%27s+guide+to+harry+potter - Just some notes on this one... I did find a couple of mistakes in this one... she gets the Ravenclaw mascot wrong (it's an eagle, not a raven) and she defines transubstantiation wrong (I'm Catholic. She says that transubstantiation is a 'spiritual transformation not a physical one'... and no, transubstantiation is the our belief that the bread and wine really and truly and PHYSICALLY become the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass) However, on a whole, she does make some very cool connections so I'll recommend it.
How Harry Cast his Spell by John Granger http://www.amazon.com/How-Harry-Cast-His-Spell/dp/1414321880/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344427502&sr=1-1&keywords=how+harry+cast+his+spell Seriously, AMAZING. Every single nuance you ever thought of is explained in here... OUTRAGEOUSLY awesome!
Seriously, check these books out, and if you ever hear somebody make that ridiculous argument... whip that book out like a freakin tract the street-corner evangelists love to hand out and tell them about how moral and wonderful the stories really are!! I think I might order an extra copy of Connie Neal's book to keep on me at all times in case of emergencies!
Also, remind them of all the amazing charitable work that is being done in Harry's name!! Jesus would be all about that!
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