Does It All End Here?

I don't really like to open up a can of worms, or disturb the hornet's nest, but given that the movie event of the year is about to happen, may I ask, in tradition of the evangelicals, "What think ye of Harry Potter?"  God help us, I can hear the groans already!   Well, the end is nigh as next week the first of the last two movies comes to our cinemas, part one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.   As millions of young people have followed the books and movies with heightened interest, almost as many Christians have been arguing over the role magic plays in the stories.

Now I can see both sides of the argument, and both camps have valid points to make.  But I must put my cards on the table: I have read the series and I have watched the movies.  I have enjoyed them, and, yes I see that there is magic and aspects which are not ideal, but then I also see that the author has gone to great lengths in her books to make her readers understand that life and goodness are not about magic or power - it is about love.  Simplistic message?  Some may say so.  Secularised?  Possibly.  True?  Yes, it is.  Overall the message is positive towards Christianity.  And the story is the ancient one of good versus evil in which the main character discovers that he must choose good and even be prepared to sacrifice himself for good.  It is like may of the fairy tales we all grew up with where the hero or heroine did use magic to defeat the baddie. But yes, some may not see that and think magic is cool and next thing they're hopping off the walls with a ouija board spinning in the air.  But then again, we have had Christians who have misread the Bible and caused just as much chaos. 

A topical book, then, to bring to your attention.  Baptizing Harry Potter: A Christian Reading of J. K. Rowling by Fr Luke Bell, a Benedictine Monk of Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight, is an interesting addition to the mountains of commentary and criticism which has built up over the last ten years.  I have been reading it, and would be interested to hear what others think about it.  Fr Bell looks at the series in depth and sees many Christian parallels and he reflects on them in the light of many of the criticisms which have been made.    The book is a good read, and while I think some of his points are laboured and may not really stand up, many are valid and worth thinking about.  I think this is a book everyone engaged in the Harry Potter debate should read.

Trailer: