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There was something different about Parry. It wasn’t that his uncle and aunt kept him locked in a cupboard under the stairs, because they didn’t! It was something else, something much more dangerous. Parry had found a place where it actually seemed that he fitted in. Of all places, it was a church! He’d found a friend, not just the people who attended but oh, so much more. He’d also found an enemy, and at his spiritual rebirth he had been forever marked out as a result of a huge battle. This though was just the beginning.
Parry was a reader. He loved to immerse himself in lands of fiction and fantasy where his imagination was the only limit. Guided by the words on the page Parry lived vicariously through the activities laid out in page after page of novels. This was fine, although every so often there was a twinge. Was it guilt or fear, or perhaps that there was something that wasn’t quite on the level?
The moment of shock hit him leaving him breathless. The innocence was wiped from his mind - this was no longer a fanciful story, something of this was a reality. Immersed within the story there was darkness lurking. The ideas of wizards, of good magic transmogrification from cats into humans and the malevolent evil of Voldemort.
Surely this story, this battle between good and evil couldn’t possibly be dangerous, could it? Parry put down the book, careful to mark the page to return and continue reading, but first he had some investigating to do.
As a new believer he asked people he respected at his church what they thought about Harry Potter. The reactions were somewhat mixed. There were those who denounced Harry as "a Satan worshipping pox on all that read the books" and that they shouldn’t receive shelf space. Others said that "Harry Potter teaches courage, bravery and has a strong moral character and should be recommended to all readers. After all like many books it’s just about good and evil."
Still somewhat cloudy he decided to go back to the book and look at some of the things that were involved in Harry’s time at Hogwarts. One of his favourite parts of the first film was Nearly Headless Nick a light-hearted moment by all accounts, but something about it niggled Parry, wasn’t there something in the Bible about not consulting the dead?
He started flicking through the Bible, but he couldn’t find it. So he went to his computer and started up "e-sword". A free Bible on computer that he had downloaded when he first became a Christian - and hadn’t touched since, but he knew he could search every word quickly.
Ah! He was right, there was something about it. King Saul had consulted with the woman of Endor, who brought up the spirit of Samuel the Prophet. Saul had commanded previously under the law of God that witches and the like should be thrown out. Where was the law of God written? Another search turned up Deuteronomy 18 v 11 which is a command not to use witches, wizards, and necromancy!
So Harry Potter contains that, and that is forbidden. Another thing that caught his eye when he was searching for the word witch was Exodus chapter 22 v 18 which simply says, in the middle of a load of laws, "though shalt not suffer a witch to live!"
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We’d love to hear your advice for Parry. Would you, do you read Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Discworld or any of the other books of this nature? Why not add a comment on below or contact us with your views? |
Parry thought about some of the stuff that he had been reading. ‘The Bible doesn’t seem to mince words about this, but does it really mean that? It’s only a couple of comments in the Old Testament. What about the New Testament? Are there any references to witches in there?’
Back to the computer again he continued his search. The words ‘witch’ and ‘wizard’ aren’t in the new testament at all, or at least not in the King James version that he was searching in. He tried a few different words, it seemed the New Testament was quiet about this. He found one story about a sorcerer who became a Christian, but tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit. Philip the apostle didn’t kill him, so perhaps there was hope for these people?
Parry had a feeling that someone else who wouldn’t be quiet on this subject would be the apostle Paul, surely he would have had something to say about it? Parry gave up on the search and started to scan through his own Bible and see if he could see anything Paul wrote about this.
There was something about the devil appearing as an "angel of light" in 2 Corinthians. Parry had never thought of that, the devil appearing as nice in order to do something he wants. Another passage he came across was Romans 12 v 9 which says "Abhor what is evil and cling to what is good."
After searching through his Bible there were lots of references to evil and that Christians should not get involved in it. He was more confused now than he had been before. Should he read Harry Potter or not? The Bible says to shun evil, but is reading a book which is about a battle between good and evil that bad?
Do Jesus’ comments about lust (if you think it, you’ve broken the commandment) apply to Harry Potter? What about other books like Lord of the Rings - there’s definitely evil there, but supposedly written by a man of faith? Then there’s all the Narnia books - more magic, written by one of the greatest modern Christian thinkers! That’s not to mention Discworld and all that is there! Arrrghh!