I was on the PALtalk internet chat program today. I saw a room called "Reality Check: Harry Potter. Harmless or not?" Now I haven't read the books. I've seen part of the first movie but I've been an avid fantasy fan all my life. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to go in.

 

I'll say that the guy running the room was very nice. He disagreed with my position but he was very nice and respected it. He even told me he appreciated what I said. So what is my position? I made it very clear in the room. I think Harry Potter is fantasy and when we realize that we'll be better for it.

 

But so many said "Well the Bible condemns witchcraft!" Amen. Yes it does. I condemn it also but I've yet to see one thing demonstrated. I've yet to see fantasy witchcraft be shown to be real witchcraft. Reality is not fantasy. Fantasy is not reality.

 

C.S. Lewis understood this. We have to define a fantasy world by the terms within it. He is the one who wrote the great Christian classics called the Chronicles of Narnia. The first one is entitled "The Lion, the WITCH, and the Wardrobe." Now who is going to condemn those? I know few who would. Most would probably not be bothered by The Wizard of Oz or the Lord of the Rings or "A Christmas Carol."

 

Connie Neal who is very good at using Harry Potter for Christ has pointed out what is in "A Christmas Carol" also. You have necromancy. (The dead corresponding with the living.) You have works salvation. You have foretelling the future by spirits. You have astral projection. (Soul travel.) This book is seen as a classic.

 

Now you might say for some of these, "But the authors are Christians!" Then the issue is not the genre is it? Then the case is made. To me personally, fantasy is fantasy no matter who writes it although I do prefer Christian fantasy in many cases I know I can't always go for that.

 

I also brought up the point to illustrate the problems in my opponent's thinking. I asked them if they grew up playing cowboys and indians. They said yes and I asked them "What did you shoot? Cacti?" The case is obvious. You shot bad guys. Well that's fantasy murder.

 

The reply was unbelievable. First I was told God murdered in the Bible. (He didn't. He killed.) But then once that was done I was told "Well it's not physically murdering. It's only fantasy." Well fantasy magic is not physically casting spells then either. If you're gonna be consistent you would have to condemn both.

 

That's my point! Where do we draw the line? I made the point that I think children know fantasy from reality better than some adults do. You'll see a bunch of kids playing a game of war with their toy machine guns and such. What happens if one of them were to fall or something or be hurt? They would ALL drop their weapons and go help their comrade.

 

That's the way kids are. Kids know what is real and what isn't. I grew up modeling myself after Link. Link from the Legend of Zelda was my hero and in some ways I still admire the guy. I would go out with my wooden sword and start slaying those monsters. Now does that make me a murderer? No. If I pretended to have some magic powers does that make me a sorcerer? No.

 

Let me add this though. I respect other opinions. If you don't want your kids to have Harry Potter or any fantasy, that's fine. That's not my beef. I respect it. My beef is with others trampling on my own Christian liberty and the Christian liberty of others. I respect your beliefs. You respect mine.

 

And let me say we should all be weary of real world witchcraft and occult just like we should real world murder. Our kids do need to know real fantasy from reality. Sit down with them and talk to them about what they see and watch and read. Get to know them.

 

It could be that the interest in fantasy actually points to God. Children know there's something beyond them. They know there's a bigger world out there than they are. They know there's a world where strange things can happen. (I definitely think we can expect the unexpected in Heaven.)

 

I also think that Harry Potter is a fad that will pass. Dungeons and Dragons was a fad and it's not what it used to be. (And I used to play also.) Pokemon was a fad. This will be a fad as well. 10 years from  now something else will be out there as the "Snare of Satan."

 

What am I really concerned about? I said this in the room. I'm concerned about the Jehovah's Witnesses that come to my own PALtalk room. I know their path leads to Hell. I'm concerned about the Mormons. I know their path leads there also. I'm concerned about the Oneness Pentecostals. I'm concerned about evolution being taught as a fact. I'm concerned that 4,000 babies are murdered in the womb daily. I'm concerned children are dying because they live in areas where they don't have food and medicine. I'm concerned about the little ones in St. Jude's.

 

I'm also concerned about the church. They know their stance on Harry Potter but how many can defend the Trinity? How many know what they believe and why? A local Christian Center is going to have Phillips, Craig,  and Dean come sing soon. How many people know they're part of a cult called Oneness Pentecostalism that denies the Trinity? The same for Tommy Tenney who wrote "The God Chasers" and T.D. Jakes.

 

Look at TBN also. That's real occultism. The Word of Faith movement says your words have power to shape reality. That is real witchcraft. It is far more than Harry Potter is. You listen to songs sung in churches today. I was at a funeral the other day and they played the song where it says "You are the air I breathe." Christians raised their hands and sang along. Did they realize they were singing along with pantheism? (How many even know what pantheism is?)

 

As a friend of mine said, the church is majoring in the minors. Friends. It's time we got to studying what is really important. You know Jesus is Lord and you learn that and the rest will fall into place just fine.

 

In Christ,
Nick