Christian Fantasy

A world of fantasy can be an escape for people. A chance to escape in your mind and pretend there is a world out there of mystery and wonder. A world sort of like Neverland in "Peter Pan." I painted Neverland and the painting hangs above my bed as a reminder to take time to "escape" this world and be a kid again. My escape is Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Merlin, Star Wars, comic book heros and Harry Potter.

Since the Harry Potter series has come to an end now and people wonder what will happen in the series, I thought I can write on this topic. I never had a blog when fantasy movies came out and since I have one now, I will go ahead and write on this topic. There is so much to say and I will try to cover all my points.

A debate has been brewing between Christian and the Harry Potter series for a very long time. The books have been banned in private schools. Churches have protested against them and written letters to have them removed from libraries and schools. These debates have gone on for over ten years on whether they feel Harry Potter is good or bad. Some have argued that Christian values can be found in Harry Potter and others says its a mockery to use such evil content as a representation of God.

First off the series talks about witchcraft and the use of black magic.Its used constantly throughout the book. You see potions and spells being casted, the use of wands and cauldrons.
Witchcraft is used in the Harry Potter series. The use of spells and magic is used throughout the entire series. I have read all Harry Potter books and enjoyed them greatly. I enjoyed the storyline. I enjoyed the use of characters and character development. The symbolism, the use of foreshadowing, protagonist, antagonist ( Yes i knew what they were before SparkNotes)
I also can say that not ONCE is the book telling readers to use magic and witchcraft nor does the author herself tell people in interviews that you should try dark magic. JK Rowling actually happens to be a Christian and she purposely included Christian symbolism in her series. You can click here for the interview. Back to magic for a moment......

Now the argument here is Harry Potter is evil because it condones magic and shows it for being "good" and "cute" If you want to discredit Harry Potter because of its use of magic than discredit all of the movies/shows that deal with magic. However two other authors who are as big as Rowling are JRR Tolken and CS Lewis.

Narnia is a magical world filled with magical creatures, witches, sorcerers, spellbooks and evil forces. Lord of the Rings deals with good and bad magic, evil demons, dragons, hobbits, gremlins, elves and dwarfs. Both worlds are filled with magical elements similar to Harry Potter.

I have a feeling some rolled their eyes when they read Narnia because thats CS Lewis, he's a Christian author and uses Narnia to show Christian values. Yes and he also uses magic in his series, how is it CS Lewis can use magic and have it be okay but JK Rowling uses magic and have it be bad? Because with harry Potter you can actually go to books and find spells and witchcraft to be real where as fairies and elves and magical creatures are NOT real therefore you can not find them, you can find however find withccraft practices all over this world

I am not saying witchcraft is good and should be used. NEVER would I condone the use of witchcraft. EVER! Witchcraft and the use of black magic is against God, its evil and demonic. I will not argue that. I do agree witchcraft is evil, its practice should never be condoned. Witchcraft, you are dabbling with demons and spirits that you should not dabble with no matter how "cool" it looks, its an evil that should never been touched. EVER. Just like I wouldn't condone the use of a spellbook like the one being used in Chronicles of Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader ( Lucy tried to cast a spell to make herself more beautiful) And I don't condone the use of a magic scepter to call upon spirits to help ( Gandalf from Lord of the Rings)

However I do feel that the argument of Harry Potter is bad because of its use of magic is wrong, look how much magic is used in Lord of the Rings and Narnia and yet Harry Potter gets all the backlash?? Why can magic be used with JRR Tolken and CS Lewis but not JK Rowling?

I personally have that boundary of what is real and what is fantasy. JK Rowling even drew the line in her book that only a person BORN with magic talent can do magic, if they're not born with it they are Muggle and can not perform magic. No one on this planet is born with magical talents so therefore they can not do magic. Harry Potter, much like Narnia and LOTR, is a make believe world that does NOT exists. It is fake. Their world is NOT real. Like Neverland from Peter Pan is NOT real but yet I like to pretend to escape to fantasy adventure worlds form time to time because lets face it: the real world can be cruel and the idea of escaping in my mind to new worlds is fun.

Is a person right for liking Harry Potter? I don't know. Are they wrong for liking Harry Potter? I don't know either. Its a tricky territory with so many gray areas that its hard to nail it directly by saying "Yes" or "No" to the series. If a child wants to start reading the books, I would say let them. Let them read and talk to them about it. Ask them questions about the books to see how they are processing the story such as:

-Do you think witchcraft is real?
-Would you ever want to use witchcraft?
-How do you feel God sees witchcraft?
-If there was a Hogwarts school would you attend the school? Why?
-Do you think its right for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to rebel against school rules to try and stop
evil? (i.e. out of bed after hours, sneak around in the invisibility cloak, etc.)
-Does good always triumph over evil?


Along with Harry Potter, let them read Narnia and LOTR as well and talk about the Christian themes hidden in those books. There is good in Harry Potter ( good triumphs over evil, the value of friendship and family, bravery, nobility, etc.) and there is bad in Harry Potter, if you truly want to look for either...you will find it.

Now if Harry Potter bothers you then don't watch/read it.Since my parents don't like Harry Potter, they have expressed that it bothers them I do not watch the movies when they are home, I keep the movies and the books in my home and dont bring them in the entertainment room, they are kept out of sight...... I am living at home and I want to respect their wishes. If you have friends that are like my parents, don't like the books or movies then don't bring it around them. Show that sincerity towards them by doing the action of "I know Harry Potter bothers you so I won't mention something that makes you uncomfortable" I have friends that know the Bible that like Harry Potter, I also have friends who know the Bible that do not like Harry Potter.

As a follower of Christ, what we do on a constant basis is we work out our salvation, everyone has to walk this road with what helps them and makes them stumble. Being a Christian doesn't mean you say all the right things but you show your changed life to others by living out life as Christ did. In terms of working out salvation, everyone has to decide what they can handle and what they can't. Me personally, I can not drink at all. I cant take alcohol because at one point in my life I was so consumed with alchol that I made it the answer to my problems. I went back to my old drinking ways when I was in that ungodly engagement of mine, I cant have alcohol because I will stumble and just fall terribly. I can be around it (before I couldn't handle being around it) Now I can but I wont drink any of it. Now thats me and who I am. I wont get mad and talk angry to another believer who has a drink because they can handle it, I cant. Theres one example.

Another example is my boss Jack doesn't own a TV. He can't own a TV....not because he hates television but because he gets heavily addicted to watching sports programs; he will watch it all day and get NOTHING done, thats his struggle so he chooses to not own a TV. He doesn't go around condemning those who DO have a TV because clearly its not affecting them as an individual or as a follower of Christ. He just simply doesn't have a TV because thats HIS way of working out his salvation.That is how he draws the line.

Bottom line it all depends on the individual and how their boundaries are. If you find that Harry Potter, Narnia or LOTR upsets your spirit and you can not have it around you than keep it away from you. If you have friends that happens to like fantasy themed books and movies just simply tell them your thoughts on it and if they're sincere to you and value your thoughts, they will respect you by keeping it away from you. I know that I will get backlash from believers for writing a defense to Harry Potter and fantasy type movies and books but this is how I feel. And since I put myself out there at conventions its best to state my opinions on certain areas so people have a clear perception of them. I also know people will read this and feel "Wow she is being deceived by Satan thinking these witchcrafts fantasy stories are not evil." No I am very aware of the magic being used and I know that its not safe AT ALL to try and use magic and I am aware that its evil.

As a reader and an artist I appreciate the art behind them, their stories, their characters and the simple idea of make believe. WHy do you think I like to cosplay alot as well. Not only is it for my podcast but i like to escape and pretend and thats what these stories are to me. My make believe world. Its potinless to fight about fictional stories, why fight over osmething that does NOT exsist?

Are you going to give Harry Potter that kind of power?