There is a Harry Potter thread elsewhere on the site that, while talking on another topic, briefly touched on the problems some people have had with the Harry Potter series.

Other than the fact that I, personally, love the books, I don't want to go all in depth on my opinion on the matter just yet. But what does everyone think? Are the Harry Potter books "bad" in a Christian light? A bad influence on Christian children?

(I haven't heard much of anything on the topic of Harry Potter in association w/ other religions--- but if anyone knows something of that or wants to look at it from a more broad perspective, it's fine w/ me if the topic is expanded to 'bad for religiosly raised children?' or something of that nature :) )

I don't think that there's anything wrong with the Harry Potter books. The arguments I hear about them deal with the witchcraft aspect, and how certain [Christian] parents don't want their kids reading that kind of material. Personally, I believe that's going a little overboard. The books deal with witchcraft, sure, but they don't promote it, or devil worship, or anything else of that nature. I don't see them as a bad influence at all, in fact, quite the contrary. They illustrate good deeds and strong friendships. They (to some extent) show the troubles and trials of adolescence, and therefore kids can relate. There's no foul language, sex, or extreme gore.

I think that if any of the parents who were against the books actually bothered to pick one up and read it (with an open mind), they would see the positive aspects, and how the "witchcraft aspect is a bad influence" arguement is really kind of a moot point.

Besides, they're just fun, fantasy books. And at least they're getting kids to read.

I have to address this issue as an outsider.

It amazes me that anyone could object to this kind of fantasy fiction on religious grounds. I believe that the vast majority of devout Christians have no such objection, but that this criticism comes from a very small group of very conservative fundamentalists. In the interest of trying to understand this viewpoint, here is a link to a short article:

Harry Potter: "Making Evil Look Innocent"

The books aren't bad in any light. They are well-written and let's face it, they get kids to read. They are single-handedly keeping the entire children's book market afloat at a time when most publishers are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy (Scholatic included).

The only people who have a problem with Harry Potter are a very tiny group of Christian fundamentalists who believe that anything that doesn't come from the Bible is 'unChristian' and therefore evil. It's a position that's utterly laughable and not taken seriously outside of a few backward burgs where they control school boards and have gotten everything that doesn't agree with their narrow sectarian beliefs banned (and probably burned).

From the article provided by Victoria Silverwolf:



I just had to comment on this statement, if only to say: Maybe when these kids grow up, they'll have learned from the debates about the Potter books, and will realize not to take things such as books as seriously as the previous generation.

I stand by what I posted before: They're just books!!!

Maybe when the kids who read these books start to make objects fly around the room, or kill someone with Avada Kedavra curse, then I'll start to worry about the books' influence.

I followed the link, and the author is not just a fundamentalist, he is an opportunist. He makes all kinds of claims about a lot of subjects, even about nuclear, biological, chemical weapons in the Arab world, and is happy to provide tapes, booklets, etc. (for a nominal fee) so you can learn more about all the evils of the world.
Preying on the gullibility of others can be very rewarding, financially.

I think that a few people are making a big deal over this thing. They are after all, just books. There are a few fundamentalists who give it bad connotations to Christians. They should waste their time doing something more constructive (like praying for those Supreme Court justices to step down ) than trying to make these kids stop reading. I would like to point out that these are the same people that claim that all Catholics are going to burn in Hell because they worship a "cracker god" or whatever... see for yourself Concerning Roman Catholicism. I just have to laugh and wonder about these people!


Edited for clarity

Hi,
I am a christian and I have read the first four books and did not think there was anything terribly wrong with them except perhaps the dementors (which are a bit sick).
The main objection I have to the series in general is (being a christian and speaking against witchcraft and demonic worship) is the research that J.K.Rowling put into the series to make the essence of witchcraft present, although mildly, here are a few examples:
Spells - requiring words, the right mental picture and some of the darker ones (spells) needing more than just these two like the desire to hurt or kill etc.
Setting - It is set on earth in the present day so it is directly related to children now so I am at least a little wary of the series but have not found them to be a promotion of witchcraft in any strong way only to make the idea of spells cool and potions fun to make blah di blah.
Hype - The books have covered the world and probably everyone on the planet has heard of them or seen someone else reading them so any views promoted by an author who is that widely read will have a huge influence and so if any view is an affront to your own belief you should speak out against it it a right and proper way.

Although I personally think that there is nothing terribly wrong with what has gone into the books, and would also say there are much worse things on sale with far more UnChristian views and these did not receive the same critiscm, I have refrained from reading the fifth book (Mainly because I found the fourth one far to long and boring) but also as Harry gets older, being human, he will fall in love etc and magics of this sort in this area or field are used against a persons will to produce feelings in another and if this comes up in the fifth or later books this is a direct promotion of witchcraft as it is promoting a power in potions that I now many people have turned to fix their lives to make them happy and all it did was to totally mess them up turned them to wrist cutting, attempted suicide and drug abuse.

I think the criticsms where not properly backed by at least the first four books and I saw nothing innately wrong here but they are still about witchcraft, heavily influenced by the ideas of witchcraft and written for this generation in a secret world that is part of ours. So I would leave this saying that I am wary of what will follow and worry about the hype issue.