Who's afraid of Harry Potter?

Ahhhh the Harry Potter controversy...such a passion of mine.

So many theories and opinions...

Harry Potter's evil and will lead this next generation into witchcraft and deception...

Harry Potter's actually good and this series is no different than Lord of the Rings or Star Wars...

People are clearly entitled to whatever opinions they decide to have. Unfortunately though, many people with opinions haven't actually read the series and consequently make ignorant statements based on pre-conceived notions.

Do I love the Harry Potter series? Yes I do! Love it, love it, love it! Is it for everybody? That is for each individual to decide. I'm not here on a mission to advocate J.K. Rowling or her books. I think engaging in a good/bad debate is pointless. I believe there are deeper issues to explore.

What we as the church are missing...

As of June 2008, the book series has sold more than 400 million copies and has been translated into 65 languages, and the last four books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history.

Why?

Has ANYONE in the church stopped to ponder why this book has been so exceptionally popular?

I think that the church is foolish to ignore these statistics. I think the church is equally foolish to decide to attack the series based on it's subject matter and popularity. I've read so many pompous articles written by Christians proclaiming why Harry Potter is evil and how the series is a gateway to introduce witchcraft to children. Does anyone truly believe they are reaching the non-believer or exhorting the body with these kinds of tactics?

Let's look at this from the non-believers viewpoint...

What the world hears the church say versus What the world must think.

1) Harry Potter is evil. Ummm I thought he was the good guy?

2) Witchcraft is evil. Ummmm I thought it was more like magic than witchcraft?

3) Down with Harry Potter! Wow, what are these Christians so mad about?

Once again the church appears to the world to be completely clueless. Don't get me wrong, I'm NEVER one to encourage compromise. However, how do we plan on reaching the world if we refuse to even acknowledge the language they speak? How can we reach a generation when we just called their favorite book hero EVIL? We look like morons. We look shallow. We look judgemental and uneducated. Here's the deal...it's real simple. The world thinks he's the good guy. Because in the book, he IS the good guy. Enough said.

I don't care whether you love Harry Potter or hate him. But as Christians we are FOOLS if we don't learn from him.

Instead of having such quick prideful opinions, we should be asking questions.

Why has the world fallen so in love with Harry Potter? What is the attraction? Is it just a great story? Or is it something more?

I'll continue on the topic next post.....