Finding God in Harry Potter ?
(My apologies in advance for the length of this entry, but you can't really help it when the Spirit moves you, lol)
With the first movie in the Chronicles of Narnia series comming out soon, I'm sure you've all seen countless books on the shelves dealing with the Christian themes that Lewis's chronicles are laced with. For the past few years there were many similar books, only those were about The Lord of the Rings. And of course, there are books about the always controversial Harry Potter series. I read some articles recently by a man named John Granger, a Christian who wrote the book Finding God in Harry Potter. They were interesting, and relentlessly detailed in their analysis of the Christian themes in the Potter books, but in truth, I failed to see the point.
I don't believe there's anything particularly wrong with the Harry Potter series, either the books or the movies, at least not in the way some of the Christian community seems to. But I still don't see the need for all this analysis of themes that may or may not be intentionally placed. I can see the appeal, but at the end of reading one of Mr. Granger's books, what have you really accomplished? If you have an interest in literature, by all means read and enjoy the book, I'm not saying it's a complete waste of time. But what difference does it make if J. K. Rowling hid some Christianesque themes in her books? Does that then make it alright for Christians to read them? After reading Mr. Granger's rather lengthy article about which character in "The Half-Blood Prince" represents Christ, I was left wondering why I read it at all. Obviously I haven't read the book, but for those who have, does understanding who Rowling's Christ figure might be change the meaning of the book, or your perception of it? Or perhaps, simply knowing that there is a Christ figure in the book at all will help you to feel better about letting your children read it.
There's a site called HollywoodJesus.com that literally finds the Christian themes in almost every movie you can think of. I guess after seeing that site (and gorwing tired of seeing the scores of books for LOTR and now Narnia) I became a bit cynical toward the whole idea. People jump in their seats when they hear anything that sounds even remotely Christian-themed, but the truth is you can find christian themes in almost anything you want to find them in (as that site does a good job of illustrating). Take Superman. Jor-El's "only son", sent to Earth to be "the light to show [us] the way." Sound familiar? So, shall we get a head start on writing all those books about the Christian themes in "Superman Returns" (it comes out in only 7 months)? I don't even know the main plot of the movie yet, but I can tell you it will be a struggle of good against evil, and since Superman is obviously a Christ figure, we should have a lot of material for writing a book.
You get my point. Did the original creators of Superman intend for him to be a Christ figure? If they did, is Bryan Singer (the director) also trying to show us Christian themes in "Superman Returns"? If not, what's the point of us looking for them? Granted, J. K. Rowling may be putting Christian themes in her books purposfully, but I still fail to see the point in looking so intently for them. And what about "The Matrix"? There was quite a lot of talk about how that movie had a lot of Christian themes, but I still wouldn't let my kids see it. And of course, as the later two movies showed, the Matrix series was really just full of religious symbolism, not all Christian.
The truth is, every great story has a hero, who often has to sacrifice himself (or herself). Every great story has a villian. Every great story is a struggle of good against evil. Why? Because the REAL story has all of these elements. So yes, in a way these things are Christian themes, but they're also true, and thus they've become universal, so it would be hard to write a good story without them. They're hardly worth writing whole books over. And If all this is an attempt to justify Christians allowing their children to read Harry Potter, it all seems a bit much to me. Like I said, I don't see a problem with the books or the movies, so long as you always stress to your children that spells and wands are meant only for make-believe and that no matter how hard they try they will never be able to fly or turn their friends into frogs. After reading Finding God in Harry Potter, the only thing you can really be left with is, "cool, Harry Potter has Christian themes." But then again, if those themes are really nothing more than universal themes that can be interpreted in many different ways by people of different beleifs, then what was really the point in having them in there at all? Naturally, because you can't write a good story without them. Thus, these themes MUST be present in the story, or it wouldn't be good enough to be so popular in the first place.
And in the end, what good is a Christian theme in a story that ultimately does nothing to glorify God? C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia are obviously allegorical to the Bible and a Christian message, but how many people have come to a true and savaing knowlege of Christ through those books? If those books turned readers on to other Lewis works, such as Mere Christianity, then they served a real, God-glorifying purpose, but not simply by virtue of them containing some Christian themes. I simply think it best that the Christian literary community focus its energies on more noble causes than this. It makes great pop Christian reading, but until Rowling writes her own children's version of Mere Christianity, there just doesn't seem to be anything substantial to talk about.
With the first movie in the Chronicles of Narnia series comming out soon, I'm sure you've all seen countless books on the shelves dealing with the Christian themes that Lewis's chronicles are laced with. For the past few years there were many similar books, only those were about The Lord of the Rings. And of course, there are books about the always controversial Harry Potter series. I read some articles recently by a man named John Granger, a Christian who wrote the book Finding God in Harry Potter. They were interesting, and relentlessly detailed in their analysis of the Christian themes in the Potter books, but in truth, I failed to see the point.
I don't believe there's anything particularly wrong with the Harry Potter series, either the books or the movies, at least not in the way some of the Christian community seems to. But I still don't see the need for all this analysis of themes that may or may not be intentionally placed. I can see the appeal, but at the end of reading one of Mr. Granger's books, what have you really accomplished? If you have an interest in literature, by all means read and enjoy the book, I'm not saying it's a complete waste of time. But what difference does it make if J. K. Rowling hid some Christianesque themes in her books? Does that then make it alright for Christians to read them? After reading Mr. Granger's rather lengthy article about which character in "The Half-Blood Prince" represents Christ, I was left wondering why I read it at all. Obviously I haven't read the book, but for those who have, does understanding who Rowling's Christ figure might be change the meaning of the book, or your perception of it? Or perhaps, simply knowing that there is a Christ figure in the book at all will help you to feel better about letting your children read it.
There's a site called HollywoodJesus.com that literally finds the Christian themes in almost every movie you can think of. I guess after seeing that site (and gorwing tired of seeing the scores of books for LOTR and now Narnia) I became a bit cynical toward the whole idea. People jump in their seats when they hear anything that sounds even remotely Christian-themed, but the truth is you can find christian themes in almost anything you want to find them in (as that site does a good job of illustrating). Take Superman. Jor-El's "only son", sent to Earth to be "the light to show [us] the way." Sound familiar? So, shall we get a head start on writing all those books about the Christian themes in "Superman Returns" (it comes out in only 7 months)? I don't even know the main plot of the movie yet, but I can tell you it will be a struggle of good against evil, and since Superman is obviously a Christ figure, we should have a lot of material for writing a book.
You get my point. Did the original creators of Superman intend for him to be a Christ figure? If they did, is Bryan Singer (the director) also trying to show us Christian themes in "Superman Returns"? If not, what's the point of us looking for them? Granted, J. K. Rowling may be putting Christian themes in her books purposfully, but I still fail to see the point in looking so intently for them. And what about "The Matrix"? There was quite a lot of talk about how that movie had a lot of Christian themes, but I still wouldn't let my kids see it. And of course, as the later two movies showed, the Matrix series was really just full of religious symbolism, not all Christian.
The truth is, every great story has a hero, who often has to sacrifice himself (or herself). Every great story has a villian. Every great story is a struggle of good against evil. Why? Because the REAL story has all of these elements. So yes, in a way these things are Christian themes, but they're also true, and thus they've become universal, so it would be hard to write a good story without them. They're hardly worth writing whole books over. And If all this is an attempt to justify Christians allowing their children to read Harry Potter, it all seems a bit much to me. Like I said, I don't see a problem with the books or the movies, so long as you always stress to your children that spells and wands are meant only for make-believe and that no matter how hard they try they will never be able to fly or turn their friends into frogs. After reading Finding God in Harry Potter, the only thing you can really be left with is, "cool, Harry Potter has Christian themes." But then again, if those themes are really nothing more than universal themes that can be interpreted in many different ways by people of different beleifs, then what was really the point in having them in there at all? Naturally, because you can't write a good story without them. Thus, these themes MUST be present in the story, or it wouldn't be good enough to be so popular in the first place.
And in the end, what good is a Christian theme in a story that ultimately does nothing to glorify God? C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia are obviously allegorical to the Bible and a Christian message, but how many people have come to a true and savaing knowlege of Christ through those books? If those books turned readers on to other Lewis works, such as Mere Christianity, then they served a real, God-glorifying purpose, but not simply by virtue of them containing some Christian themes. I simply think it best that the Christian literary community focus its energies on more noble causes than this. It makes great pop Christian reading, but until Rowling writes her own children's version of Mere Christianity, there just doesn't seem to be anything substantial to talk about.
posted by David at
2:03 AM
13 Comments:
You're up late thinking deep thoughts...nobody in particular just passing through...good site.
By
Deany Bocobo, at November 20, 2005 3:48 AM
Dave,
Mr. Granger's work, along with the work of the many other authors who utilize the skills of higher criticism, is very valuable for both Christians and non-Christians young and old.
First, on a surface level, Mr. Granger is assuring countless parents of the moral and literary integrity of the works of Harry Potter. Unlike the cheap, empty literary pop books such as Goosebumps, Rowling’s phenomenon is managing to capture the minds of the youngest generation around the world with literature that utilizes much of the ancient and lost depth and technique of classical literary works. In one way, she is bringing about a new revival in this area.
Second, Mr. Granger is demonstrating techniques of higher criticism while simultaneously revealing how they have been used throughout Rowling’s work in order to convey a Christian message. It is important that we understand that Rowling’s work is much more than just shallow one-line messages that echo the Christian story. Reading more of Mr. Granger’s works will reveal that, in fact, Rowling’s Potter series ties in with artistic precision many deep, spiritual metaphors in a literary format that is equaled in physical craft to clock making. Mr. Granger is able to draw upon his extensive knowledge of literature to show the themes that are implicitly told throughout the story and reveal to us the fine art of literature – one that has been lost to many people in our generation.
Third, Mr. Granger’s works, when read by a Potter reader, may challenge them to re-read and look deeper into the metaphorical and spiritual meanings of the books. For many, it will be the first time that they read a book and not have it be “just another story,” but rather a story about the greater ideas and struggles of our time and the times before ours. What seems like “looking too hard” for literary meanings and spotting literary techniques is little more than spotting the obvious for Mr. Granger – that’s a sad testament to our society’s ability to read and comprehend on a deep level. Teenagers reading the Potter books and then picking up Mr. Granger’s books will garner the dual benefit of learning about some of the great literary techniques that can be employed while simultaneously seeing Potter for what it really is and wrestling with the ideas that it presents.
Rowling’s works are much more than “folksy” Christian tag lines stapled to a mass-culture hit. It’s easy to be cynical when everyone slaps a “Jesus” sticker onto everything in order to cater to the evangelical crowd, but this is clearly not Rowling’s intent otherwise she’s trying way too hard.
The kids may not pick up on all the elaborate techniques used in the Potter books, but they are implicitly picking up on some of the main themes and ideas held throughout of justice, virtue, and goodness. If, in the end, this is all they garner then even that is better than just a mindless adventure through another children’s horror or mystery story.
By
D.R. Steeve, at November 20, 2005 11:00 PM
Right, but the problem is that there are so many out there just hunting for a Christ figure in every piece of fiction they can find so they can write a book about it, and Mr. Granger seems to be lost in the mix. His message may be deeper than most or all of the others, but it's hard to tell (by the cover at least).
Of the countless millions of Harry Potter fans, how many of them are Christian? And of the ones that aren't, how many will actually read this book, or simply look at the title and sneer?
And one other thing; how many non-Christian, secular people who enjoy a good "Goosebumps" tale would disagree that it's good to do the right thing, even when it isn't easy? How many of them would claim to be evil? You see, everyone has a sense of good and evil, of this noble idea of always doing the right thing in the face of adversity (even if they don't always do so). So when they read Harry Potter, they enjoy it because they already have an innate sense of these concepts. Will Harry Potter ever convert all or even most of its loyal fans to Christianity? Probably not. No more than Lewis's Chronicles have. So trying to show people that Harry Potter has some Christian themes (cogs of a clock or not) seems futile from an evangellical standpoint (even if you're a dispensationalist, lol).
Now, if he's trying to send a broader cultural message, telling people why Harry Potter has become such a cultural phenomenon and illustrating that modern culture (driven by liberal ideaology) continues to move in the wrong direction when it comes to literature, that's a message I can get behind. In any case, I'm not picking on Mr. Granger alone, but I fear that if he does indeed have a deeper truth to give us, he'll have a hard fight getting it out of the pop culture section of the local Christian bookstore.
By
David, at November 21, 2005 1:15 AM
Oh, and I totally agree with the things you said on your myspace blog. Reality TV has become the poster child for pop culture's increasing inability to tell and understand a good, multi-layered story. But look at the host of superhero movies that have come out in the last 4 or 5 years. These movies are so popular for the same reasons as Harry Potter. They tell the story of a hero who sacrifices everything to stand against evil and they're equally complex (the good ones at least). The art of good storytelling isn't completely lost.
But don't kid yourself, in the time of Plato the percentage of truly educated people was far less than it is today, so it's not like there has ever really been a time when the masses could fully comprehend the depth and complexity of a good story. They enjoyed a good story back then in the same way the masses enjoy a good story today, though they may not know exactly why they enjoy it. J. K. Rowling just happens to be the next J. R. R. Tolkien. The sad thing is that no matter how many great works might come out in the future, it will never stop people from enjoying "dumb" entertainment.
By
David, at November 21, 2005 1:41 AM
I'm totally with Dave on this one, only more strongly so. If a writer did not intentionally put a Christ figure in a book, DON'T LOOK FOR ONE!!!!
It's borderline retarded to look at something so ethically pernicious as Harry Potter and be like, "Hey, Harry's kinda like Jesus, and, uh, Hermoine is Mary Magdalene...or something" (although that would make Hermoine a former hooker I think, which is an increasingly hot proposition, specially if she got a boob job)
Anyway, uh, I'll shut up now.
By
Donald, at November 22, 2005 5:01 AM
I am a major fan of the Harry Potter books - attending midnight showings with a scar drawn on my forehead and what have you - but I also agree, Dave, that the effort to Christianize pop culture is trite and wasted. It's a reflection of the contemporary evangelical tendency to console our lack of meaningful action for the Gospel by legitimizing the other things that consume our time and energy instead. So we feel better without ever coming near unto God.
I love that you think about these things and discuss them intelligently. Thank you.
By
honeyhair, at November 29, 2005 7:03 PM
While its true that many people across the spectrum try to find relevance for themselves and their beliefs throughout popular culture, discrediting the works of intelligent men such as Mr. Granger out of a cynical reaction to this mentality is irresponsible and dangerous philosophy.
Cynicism is, of course, understandable in this issue. Sadly-misinformed evangelical slam aside, when the Virgin Mary shows up in Ketchup spatter and the good Savior in a dead patch of grass in the front lawn it’s not a far leap to assume cynicism at large toward Christian references in society. However, after seeing Mr. Granger’s work and/or hearing his arguments, one has a difficult time relegating his evidence in and throughout the Harry Potter books to the above category of references.
While de-contextualizing and "relevancing" everything from our Mc Happy Meal to the Bible is a past-time of our narcissistic "It's all about me" society, clearly Mr. Granger is not guilty attempting this feat for the all to eager Christians ready for their limelight in the pop culture sociosphere.
Whether or not seemingly hidden Christian themes in Harry Potter carry any relevance as a whole for the readers of the Potter novels is a worthy discussion, but an anti-evangelical rant that simply discredits Granger with hasty generalizations and knee-jerk reactions is, at best, a conversation best left for PBS watching, NPR loving, self-titled intellectual elites who like to throw around terms like “toleration” and “women’s rights” as though they were big ideas never before wrestled with in world history – simple thoughts for simple people.
By
D.R. Steeve, at December 02, 2005 11:37 AM
While I've somewhat changed my oppinion regarding Mr. Granger, you would no doubt contend (as would Mr. Granger himself) that the Harry Potter books are unique as far as their Christian relavence to pop culture goes, so Beth's argument still holds up in a more general sense. I wouldn't call it "knee-jerk" just because she's criticizing evangellicals. Still, I've always tried to be the peacemaker, so how about a new rule: No one can make fun of evangellicals on this blog but me! :) Oh, and no bloviating, haha.
By
David, at December 02, 2005 3:46 PM
Hey, I don't get to make fun of the smelly evangelical wackjobs on your blog anymore?
By
Donald, at December 02, 2005 10:38 PM
I don't care if you make fun of evangelicals, but at least try to do it well with something accurate.
Dustin
By
D.R. Steeve, at December 03, 2005 1:21 AM
Which is what Beth did. Donald on the other hand...
I'm glad we all get along so well. :)
By
David, at December 03, 2005 1:52 AM
I was hoping that by use of the word "we" I was demonstrating that I also fall into the evangelical arena at some levels. I would put to you that we all do. You too, Donald. My criticism is not of evangelicalism, but of Christians who allow themselves to be satisfied with cheap veneers of our faith smoothed over a very rough and complicated society in which we live. We all fall into that trap from time to time because it's just so freaking easy.
Dustin, never met you, but I hope this takes away any offense that my previous comment may have caused.
And Dave, I'll endorse the Batman Musical, but I'm torn between starring Christian Bale, the dancing wonder, or Adam West as portrayed in Family Guy. Maybe West can play the insane supervillain.
By
honeyhair, at December 03, 2005 7:48 AM
I've been reading some of the arguments against the Harry Potter books, and it's actually pretty interesting. It isn't just the knee-jerk Christian reaction to anything having to do with magic, but rather a legitimate argument that the Potter books are related to a rise in teen interest in the occult (specifically a witchcraft-based religion called Wicca).
The article I read in the Christian Examiner (which was based on the work of Richard Abanes and Steve Russo, experts on the occult) went into a bit of detail, the jist of which was that the Harry Potter books differ from Narnia or LOTR in that they contian "real-world occult practices." This may be simply by virtue of the modern times in which the books take place I suppose. Narnia and LOTR, on the other hand, rely on imagination and basic magic that can't be practiced.
This is all subjective, of course, but the part of the article that really struck me was when Abanes says that "the plot lines [in Potter] encourage stealing, decieving, lying, cheating and hypocracy, which reduces the ethics and morals found on its pages into moral relativism." He also says that "She (Rowling) redefines what is good and evil. Everything's game as long as it targets evil Lord Voldemort." In contrast, he says that the Narnia and LOTR books "depict sorrow, consequences, repentence and forgiveness when something is wrong."
Again, this is subjective, at least in part, and I'm sure someone like Mr. Granger could make some great arguments against this. Any thoughts Beth? You know the books much better than I do. I know there's a lot of rule-breaking on the part of the children, but beyond that I can't think of anything particularly terrible. Abanes mentioned that one character in the books (he didn't say who or which book) decieves his wife, only to be exulted. Again, I'm not familiar enough with them.
Anyway, this wasn't worth making a whole new blog entry over, and since it tied in with the topic I just wanted to get some thoughts on this (if anyone is still checking for new comments, that is. I get an e-mail when I have new comments, so I always know).
By
David, at December 04, 2005 11:01 PM
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