Harry Potter (Part 3) – “The Baby”

Two weeks ago I shared how, over time, I have moved from skeptic (maybe even “hater”) to fan of the Harry Potter series. (The overall story that is, not necessarily the quality of each film.) My desire in telling my story is to illustrate the way in which I believe we ought to view films (or any story) as Christians. I have called it, “The Baby and the Bathwater” approach.

Last week I listed a few of the troubling themes (dirty bathwater) that are included in the story of Harry Potter. There is great wisdom in being able to recognize trouble and avoid it when necessary. We should shine the “light” of the Scriptures on everything so that we can avoid stumbling. The Bible is, after all, called “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

With that understood, I want to confess that I have often been too quick to judge what the light revealed – only looking for the bad or troublesome themes. When it came to Harry Potter, I almost threw out the baby (entire story) out with the dirty bathwater. For example, I recognized the danger of teaching the concept that adults are foolish and children are smart, but I wasn’t patient enough to see that even this concept developed as the entire narrative unfolded.

As I got to the end of the Harry Potter saga, I realized the reason adults seemed generally foolish in the story was because we were reading/watching from the perspective of a child! For the adult reading this, you need just to remember back to middle and high school – when you and I thought that we knew everything or were smart enough to figure everything out ourselves (with the help of our peers, of course.) Oh…maybe that was just me.

Thankfully, maturity comes with growing up (for most people), and our perspective of reality becomes clearer. This is true also with the the story of Harry Potter as he grows up and begins to understand his reality.

BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!! (The story will be better if you don’t read below – trust me. Reading the following may cause you to miss what I think is the best part!.)

You see, as Harry Potter grows up, he begins to realize that his perspective was too narrow (as mine was as a child – and often continues to be). Whiny, Harry Potter with the victim-mentality, begins to mature into a young man who values adult counsel – and even discovers the great virtue of self-sacrifice. Harry Potter actually learns to love others more than himself – even to the point of death (John 15:13)!

One of the great redemptive themes of Harry Potter is that of self-sacrifice. Harry does learn this in the story, but I believe that there is another character that makes Harry Potter truly stand out as a great story of self-sacrifice and love.

His name is Severus Snape.

Snape is one of Harry’s teachers and Harry hates him – loathes him. (Snape isn’t that fond of Harry either – truth be told.) Because we only see Snape through Harry’s eyes, we grow to hate Snape as well – always suspecting him to be behind the troubles that Harry encounters. Harry is unable to believe that Dumbledore’s (the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) unwavering trust in Snape is valid. Snape is pure evil as far as Harry is concerned.

As the narrative approaches its climax, we come to find out that Severus Snape is probably the most selfless character in the whole story! He epitomizes self-sacrifice! Through a series of events, we discover that Snape had always been watching out for Harry. He had continuously put himself in harms way fighting for what was right. Even when Harry was difficult to like, Severus was faithful – doing whatever it took to ensure Harry’s safety and the overall defeat of evil Lord Voldemort.

The story of Harry Potter is the story of Severus Snape – and Severus Snape is a pointer to the ultimate story of the gospel of Jesus Christ! (I know this is blasphemy to some, but I will risk it.)

You see, self-sacrifice is only a virtue because it displays the self-sacrifice of Jesus’ work on the cross. The story of Harry Potter gives us yet another common-grace picture of the cross of Christ – and it does it most profoundly in Severus Snape. Snape’s story of humble self-sacrifice for an often self-righteous, arrogant, immature Harry Potter preaches to my soul. It preaches because it is the story of Jesus!

Philippians 2:5-8 captures Jesus’ humble work.

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

We need to be reminded that you and I did not deserve this great self-sacrificing love. Instead, like Harry Potter, we are all too often immature, self-reliant, defensive, proud, and unwilling to trust others.

Thankfully, the love of God in Jesus Christ is not based upon your and my worthiness to receive it. It is a gift – unmerited and underserved, but freely given.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Pray for eyes to see the gospel in the world around you and courage to point others to the good news that you see.

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***For more on the gospel themes in Harry Potter, check out this short video interview with Jerram Baars, professor at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis.

Harry Potter (Part 2) – “The Bathwater”

Last week I shared my personal journey concerning the Harry Potter film (and book) series. In these next two posts, I will use the HP series as an example to illustrate what I am calling “The Baby and Bathwater” approach to film critique for Christians. *

Let’s begin with the “Bathwater.”

While the Harry Potter series is one complete story (the “baby” – if you will), the narrative is not presented in a vacuum. There are themes in each story that we should consider as we watch. We need to critique the “bathwater” of Harry Potter. We need to look at each tree in the HP forest even though we don’t want to miss the forest as the whole. (Okay, enough of the clichés.)

Let me say at the outset that I am not going to take up blogging real estate with a thorough biblical study of each of these themes. Instead, I am going to give a few samples of some of the troubling themes (dirty bathwater) that need to be considered from a biblical perspective.

For some Christians “critique” is the easy part. We enjoy pointing out all the dangerous messages of “the world.” Bear with me…our challenge will come next week. For others, critique is a new concept. You may say, “Movies are ‘entertainment,’ I don’t want to think.” Well, not today.

Consider three themes included in the bathwater of the Harry Potter saga…

1. Witchcraft and the Occult. Let’s begin with the most obvious. There is no such thing as a “good witch” or “good wizard.” The Bible is pretty clear that sorcery and witchcraft are evil practices. Sorcerers are never on God’s side in the Scriptures.

This, of course, is the main argument against Harry Potter. Sorcery is bad – Harry Potter is a wizard – therefore, Christians should not like Harry Potter. (Yes, I am being overly simplistic.) I will resist the temptation to say too much here (there are volumes written either defending or condemning the use of sorcery in Harry Potter – “Google” it). I will simply say this. Witchcraft is real and dangerous. It is not harmless fun. Whatever your position in regard to Harry Potter, this must be acknowledged and kept in perspective – especially for younger children. I hope you are having conversations about the occult after watching Cinderella, the Wizard of Oz, and Lord of the Rings too.

2. Children are Smart – Adults are Foolish. This is unfortunately a fairly typical theme in stories written for children. From Inspector Gadget to Phineas and Ferb – adults are regularly portrayed as out of touch, narrow minded, and clueless. Kids, on the other hand, exhibit incredible poise and wisdom, solve the problem(s) on their own, and regularly save the day. Harry, Ron and Hermione fit this description (especially early in the series).

While I do believe that children are sometimes underestimated, it is simply an overreaction to swing to the other extreme. The book of Proverbs alone assumes the foolishness of children and the wisdom that is available from those who have walked the earth a few more years than they have.

3. Situational Ethics – (“The Gray”). This is probably the most subtle, but also devastating. The ethics of Harry Potter are pragmatic. The outcome of the situation determines whether something is good or bad. In Harry Potter you see this reflected in the fact that Harry and his pals regularly break school rules, but rarely get punished. There are little to no consequences. In fact, Harry is sometimes given rewards!

A steady diet of this theme can lead to a view that sin is relative only to the result – instead of the biblical view that sin is relative only to God. Deviation from God’s law is wrong – no matter the outcome. Yes I know that there is much more to say about this (the situation does matter). However, it is enough to say that you need some “black” and “white” extremes to navigate the “gray.”

I think you get the point. We should acknowledge the dirty bathwater and take advantage of the opportunities to discuss these things with others (especially children). We need to illuminate everything by the light of Scripture and be prepared for what we see. We may find that some of our favorite films are not as “wholesome” as we had once thought. But we also may just find a beautiful baby in some dirty bathwater. It would be a shame to miss that!

Next week: “The Baby”

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*I am grateful for the ministry of Walt Mueller and the Center for Parent and Youth Understanding in forming my (and other contributors at Reel Thinking) worldview and attitude towards popular culture. I highly recommend the great books and resources found at CPYU.org Thanks Walt!

Harry Potter (Part 1) – A Personal Story

It is a gross understatement to say that the Harry Potter story is popular.  The books and films are a worldwide fantasy craze.  The magical world of Harry Potter has its own theme park and has even become part of the fabulous Lego video game series.  Although Harry Potter mania may have begun to die down a bit recently, the story has become a cultural icon that is here to stay.  The series has had such an impact on the world that J.K Rowling and Lord Voldemort were included in the opening ceremonies of this year’s Summer Olympics in London along side stories like Peter Pan and Mary Poppins.

Since the release of the first book (1997), Christian reactions have run the gamut of perspectives.  Some Christians have welcomed this coming of age story of an underprivileged wizard as nothing more than an innocent children’s fantasy tale.  (I know one family who reads the series every year.)  Other followers of Christ have taken the opposite extreme – condemning the books because they involve witchcraft and wizardry. (I talked to one person who believes that Harry Potter is “from the pit of Hell!”)  It is obvious that there is some disagreement on the subject.

As a pastor, I am often asked for my (hopefully biblical) perspective on controversial cultural issues.  I read the first book as the story began to gain popularity, shared some of my concerns, and personally lost interest in the series.  I wasn’t a fan.  I notice some troubling ideas in the narrative (I will share these in another post) and quickly boarded the “Anti-Harry Potter Express” – cased closed.

As the books gained momentum and led to the making of the motion pictures, my interest was piqued again.  Harry Potter mania was in full swing at the time.  While I didn’t want to spend my time reading all the books, I figured I could at least watch the films and try to figure out why this story was such a cultural hit.  So over the years, I have watched all the movies and even now have read the books.  As I watched the story unfold, I found that my perspective on Harry Potter began to change.

It was not that some of the troubling themes were no longer a concern for me.  They still are, as you will see.  Rather, what happened was that I began to see the series as a whole, instead of just a mere collection of individual stories.  I began to  notice the “meta-narrative” (big story) that Rowling was telling.  While there are themes that need to be addressed (as with any story), I have come to a place of repentance concerning the saga of Harry Potter.  I have disembarked from the “Anti-HP Express,” developed a much deeper appreciation for the story and would now even consider myself a fan of the series.

While I am sure that the Christian debate over Harry Potter will continue to rage on (I am under no illusion that I will stop it with a couple posts), I think that my personal experience with the series may help to illustrate the way in which Christians should approach cultural critique.  Let’s call it the “The Baby and the Bathwater” approach.  Over the next two Tuesday posts…I will consider each of these themes in relationship to the Harry Potter Series.  It is my desire that this approach will be helpful for Christians watching any film.

Next Week – “The Bathwater”