Looking for God in Harry Potter simply confirmed for me all the reasons why my daughter and I adore the series.
John Granger, a father of seven homeschooled kids, was as resistant to the series as I was at first. But when a copy of the first Harry Potter book was given to his daughter and he read it, he was as hooked on the books as I found myself. Granger has taught Harry Potter classes on B&N.com and has lectured widely around the country as a Harry Potter expert. All the exciting plot developments and excellent character development of the HP series aside, these books called to me on a spiritual level that I simply couldn't articulate. But John Granger does, and does it exceedingly well.
He explores the Christian imagery, the Christian symbols, the Christian significance of the characters' names, the connection with alchemy, and the difference between incantational (magic used in Harry Potter) and the kind of magic the Scriptures warn us about. But most of all, Granger lays out the true themes in Harry Potter: love for others, eternal life, and most important of all, good vs. evil. Granger claims that the Harry Potter books help us in our own spiritual battles against evil and deftly arms our children for battle with the true Voldemort (Satan). I've felt all along that the theme of the books is the Scriptural command to "cling to what is good." And Granger supports the worth of these books valiantly, stating that ALL Christian children should read them for edification, just as they read the Narnia or the Lord of the Rings books. He also believes that the Harry Potter series will bring unbelieving children closer to believing the Gospel because the books appeal to the "God-shaped void" Pascal asserts is within us all.
I found this book absolutely fascinating and plan to read it over again. A friend from my Bible study lent it to me, and I think we'll definitely have to invest in our own copy. I can't recomment this book highly enough, whether one is a Harry fan or believes that these books are evil. Either way, you owe it to yourself and to your children to read this excellent book.
3 comments:
Hmmm... I'll have to see if my library has the book. What is the difference between incantationial magic and the magic mentioned in Scriptures if you don't mind summarizing?
Incantation magic doesn't call on the forces of evil to accomplish it -- doesn't ask the power of darkness to do anything, which is the kind of magic, the kind of "sorcery" forbidden in the Bible. In fact, he likens incantational magic to prayer in several aspects.
we have seen the series movies of Harry Porrter.my daughter love them very much.although she don't know them very much.but she like to see the kind vin over the evil.book is hard for me to read for my bad english.but i agree it is a good way to relex to read a favorate book.enjoy it.
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