Should Christians Object to Harry Potter?

In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call.  Here’s this week’s question:  “Dear Dave and Tom:   I have a specific concern about the Harry Potter books and movie.  They seem to be a battleground for the church.  While there’s a very vocal group here who are complaining that the Harry Potter materials promote witchcraft, some of the staff member’s kids, as well as our senior pastor’s children, are in to Harry Potter.  That, of course, makes the issues very personal and threatens to bring about a division in our church.Do you have any ideas how that can be avoided?”

Tom:

Yeah, Dave, there’s interesting subjects out there.  We deal with a lot of things on our program, some controversies, but this one is really interesting.  You’d think there wouldn’t be a problem here.  It’s kind of a slam-dunk.  But, without getting into Harry Potter—oh, let me just say this.  We’re taping this program, but this evening, on the day that we’re taping,—we’re going to be addressing this issue, along with—we’ll have Caryl Matriciana, who will be one of our guests.  But, so this is coming out after the program we’re doing this evening.  So, let’s just talk generally about issues like this that are creating problems in the church.

Dave:

Well, there could be many issues, Tom, and some of them might be unimportant, and some of them may be important.Many traditions have arisen in various Christian groups, the Hutterites have certain traditions, the Mennonites, different kinds of Mennonites, Lutherans have traditions, Catholics certainly have many, many traditions.Are we going to quarrel about them?  What relationship do they have to the Bible?  Maybe they shouldn’t have even arisen.  Why would you say, let’s take for example, some of the Amish groups.  Some of them will not allow cars, others will.  Those who are still in the horse and buggy stage, some of them will allow the wheels to be rimmed with rubber, others only with metal.  Some say we can’t have electricity.  Things like this have nothing to do with salvation.  They have nothing to do with the Bible.  They should never have come up.  Then there are other things that are important.  Now, of course, these people could say, well, it has to do with your attitude, and I’m not going to quarrel with them if this is their conscience.  You know, Paul tells us in Romans 14, don’t dispute over meat and drink, and keeping of a holy day—someone wants to keep the Sabbath—Seventh Day Adventists—let them go ahead and keep the Sabbath, they don’t keep it like the Jews were told to keep it, but we’re not going to quarrel over these things.  You don’t want to eat meat?  Then, go ahead and don’t eat meat, but don’t think that you are pleasing God by not eating meat.  Well, I’m denying myself, and so forth.  But, we’re not going to quarrel about that.  But there are other things that are rather important.  And, the Bible, for example, Deuteronomy 18 says you are not to be involved in witchcraft, and wizardry, and communication with the dead and occult powers, and that’s what Harry Potter is all about.  Now, I suppose some people would say, “well, but it’s fantasy,” and so forth, and Tom I’m sure you could—I’m sure Caryl this evening would do a much better job than I can.  I watched her video.  I think it’s excellent.  She did a good job on the video.  But, you have all of these things in Harry Potter.  But, it seems to me there are some differences between the Harry Potter series and like the Fables of Aesop, the Slave, or even an Arabian Knight Fables, or Hansel and Gretel.  The witch was clearly bad in Hansel and Gretel.  But, it seems that in Harry Potter there is no good and evil.  They’re just out for a selfish power that you can have, and that many children are being drawn into the occult to seek to become witches, etc., through this.  They’re being encouraged in this.  And, I think that’s maybe a little more serious.

Tom:

Dave, in this situation, where you have some in the church trying to defend particularly at the pastoral level, trying to defend what they’re in to.It would seem to me that these groups ought to sit down.  One of the things that I’ve know from the experience of our ministry for a number of years is that many people are uninformed and if you present information to them with regard to things they may not have thought about, may not have done a little research on, sometimes you can change somebody’s view.  Again, because they had it out of ignorance.  On the other hand, a pastoral staff—the Scriptures ought to be not just their resource but their authority.  And, the Bible is very clear.  It says “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.”  So I think that would be another issue—are we a church that has to be addressed? Are we a church that goes by the Word of God?And how is this reconciled to the Word of God? 

Dave:

Well, when it comes right down to it, Tom, there could even be a continuing difference of opinion after all the facts are laid out.  And some people could say, well, Harry Potter is just fantasy and our children enjoy it, it’s a nice story.  I don’t know how you could say it’s a nice story.  Then what are we going to do?  Are we going to have a split?  We’re going to say anybody that allows their children to watch a Harry Potter movie or to read the Harry Potter books—they should be put out of the church?  Or, are we going to say that it doesn’t really matter?  I think that each fellowship of believers is going to have to come to their own conclusions.  But, as you say, it has to be based upon the facts.  Let’s lay it out.  Let’s put it all out on the table.  Let’s see what Harry Potter really is.  What influence does it have upon children?  And, then we’ll make our judgment on that basis.  Of course, in comparison with what the Scripture says about these things as well.  Difficult subject.

Tom:

Yes Dave, nobody goes to hell from reading Harry Potter or seeing the movie.  They go to hell for rejecting Jesus Christ and His finished work, you know, His salvation.  On the other hand, a lot of this leads us and leads others away from that very salvation.