Chronicles of Narnia & Harry Potter

This is an interesting discussion for sure.  My children are young so we are not addressing these books yet.  I have read the Narnia series though it has been awhile.  I have not read Harry Potter so it’s hard for me to have an opinion on these, but I do think there are differences.

My interpretation of scripture on witchcraft is that we are not to practice witchcraft.  Anytime it’s mentioned in scripture, from my understanding, the reference is to the practice of witchcraft.  I would think this would include glorifying or promoting it as well.  That to me is where HP and Narnia differ.  HP is all about the practice of witchcraft and while set in a fantasy world, there appears to be much in correlation to witchcraft that is actually practiced in our world.  Narnia is pure fiction and to me there is no glorifying or promoting witchcraft.  In fact, I believe it to be redeeming and has allowed me to have some great conversations about Christ and God with my brother who is not a believer. 

Remember Galatians 5 also tells us to live by the spirit and if we do we will not live by gratifying sinful desires. Currently, I plan on reading the Narnia series with my boys and do not have feel any conviction to abstain from it.  That being said, my convictions have deepened and changed over time so I will continue to make prayerful decisions about our literature choices and follow the spirit’s leading with Narnia as my boys reach the age to enjoy them.

It is absolutely important and vital to our welfare as believers to abstain from every appearance of evil. Not only do we want to portray a bad or false witness to the outside world, but we also do not want to give the enemy a stronghold of any type in our hearts or minds. Phil. 4:8 is the standard by which we measure everything in our house, so I think we all agree on that issue.

My issue, however, is with us not preparing our children sufficiently for the world in which they will inevitably live. That is why, in my first post, I said there comes a point when we have to have confidence in what we have trained and taught our children to believe and allow them to choose for themselves. As much as I might want to, I cannot control what my children choose once they are no longer living under my authority. Nevertheless, I can control what they are exposed to and when during their time with me, so as to facilitate discussions that point toward the Bible and an abundant life in Christ. 

I know, at some point, my child (whether young or adult) will be exposed to something I don’t want them to see, or read something that doesn’t line up with our beliefs. We live in the world! Think of all the sin Christ Himself was exposed to during His short time on earth: prostitution, legalism, the defilement on the temple, the list goes on and on. He could have fallen into those traps just as easily as you or I because of His humanness. Instead, He chose differently. He longed to do the will of His Father in heaven. He had been raised by godly parents, learned of God’s Word as a boy in the synagogue, and spent countless hours alone with His Father in prayer and fasting. He was prepared for the world He came to save. He had a strong foundation to be able to resist evil. 

I believe we can create that strong foundation for our children as well, but not at the expense of cloistering them their entire lives. How can our children ever have a defense for their beliefs if their beliefs are never challenged? It would be unfair to allow my child to marry, leave my home, and not give him or her the needed tools to live on their own. I would rather they find out about the evils of witchcraft under my guidance and careful supervision and learn how to discern the truths from the lies than be exposed to it unprepared in an unprotected environment. We must prepare them for the sinful world which they will eventually be a part. 

It is my strong but very humble opinion (and not meaning to upset or offend anyone) that Christianity is not something we can hide behind our entire lives. Yes, we stay true to our beliefs, our faith, and our Lord, but we cannot shut the doors and hide from the world forever. Neither can our children. I do not believe Christ wants us to live that way. The moment we accepted Christ into our hearts, we bore the responsibility of a mission to minister to a lost and hurting world. How can we minister to that world if we are not familiar with it? Likewise, how can our children?

Jesus spent His three years of ministry training the twelve men to be like Him. He used that time to teach them truth, to identify sin, to build their faith, and to prepare them to go out and do the things He did, and even greater things (John 14:12). That is exactly what I am called to as a parent. It is my job to teach and prepare; but ultimately it is up to my children to make a choice for or against Christ, to follow His Word or not. I can shelter them, hide them, not allow TV or literature or anything but the Bible in our home, but it is ultimately up to them to choose for themselves whom they will serve. I believe I owe it to them to make an informed decision on their own.

This has been much longer than I intended, but the more I think on it, the more passionate I become about this subject. Whether we read Narnia or HP or LOTR or anything else, we open ourselves and our children up to, not become influenced this way or that way, but to learn to discern truth from lie, to be able to defend their faith, and to be ready to preach the Word in season and out of season, to convince, exhort, and rebuke with all longsuffering and teaching (1. Tim. 4:2).

I hope you all read this in the manner in which it was intended. I do speak this in love and humility, knowing that God can use this conversation and you ladies to bring about Truth in my own life.

Blessings, 

Lindsey

Our boys are too young for such long books right now, but we are both big Harry Potter fans and are looking forward to sharing the books with the boys as they get older. (I am thinking late elementary for the earlier books, then reading the later books in middle school and high school.)

Personally, I feel that the magic in HP is very, very far removed from actual witchcraft  … so I feel that the risk of confusion for kids is pretty low. Like with anything, though, if I felt my kids were taking an excessive interest in that aspect of the books, I would stop reading them.

I know some people dislike HP because they feel Harry and his friends are disobedient, but I think the “kids are trying to save the world while clueless adults ignore the problem” theme is awfully common in kids’ literature! In the books, most of the instances of the kids being disobedient was because they were -trying- to do the right thing … and I do want my kids to do the right thing even if authority figures tell them not to, so that aspect of it doesn’t bother me.

As for Narnia, we are definitely going to share those books with the kids 🙂 The POV I’ve heard from some people who are pro-Narnia but not HP is that Narnia has a “Christian worldview.” I don’t know that young children would necessarily get that, though!

Also, what do you all think about “Lord of the Rings”? Tolkien also had a Christian worldview, so I know many people who are not OK with most fantasy books are OK with LOTR. (My husband loves the books, but I have to confess I’ve never been able to get through them)! I do love the movies, though, and am definitely looking forward to seeing those with the boys when they’re old enough.

As for “Twilight” … well, even if it did have a redeeming message (it doesn’t), it’s just BAD. Incredibly schlocky writing.

And here to stir the pot…    Alright, seriously not TRYING to stir the pot, but interested in some good coversation because this really is an issue I struggle with.  While we would never do Harry Potter because of the glorification of witchcraft, we do – do princesses, though we tend to stick to the less scary ones – Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother, Mary Poppins, Barbie as the Island Princess etc… Now, despite the fact that we allow those things, I’m conflicted about it, because I do agree with Phil. 4:8 – it being in the Bible and all.  And while I’d like to be convinced by Lindsey’s argument (not meaning to single you out, because I always enjoy reading your posts, and often identify with you!), I don’t see either explicit Biblical support for it or even anecdotal evidence that intentionally exposing our children to things we don’t want them to see is what God wants for us (don’t get me wrong – I’m still letting my own girls watch Princess “witchcraft”, but I have no scriptural references to give you on why I do).  And while I agree that we can’t keep our children from everything that we might want to, I do think that even under the most vigilient care they’ll probably be exposed to more than enough to prepare them to enter “the world” – (cue scary music – dundun dunda.)  So basically, I’m not looking for an argument on why withholding it is scriptural or even a compelling argument why NOT withholding it is “right/good” – I’m looking for specific scriptural references or Biblical instances that trump Phil. 4:8. (NOT to change anyone else’s mind, but in hopes that I can have peace of mind that I don’t have to cut out all princesses – in a house of four girls that’s likely to cause the formation of a militia.)

Next, I just wonder if the standard of “it’s ok to read about it, but not ok to do it” really stands the test.  So where do you draw the line?  Witchcraft – ok.  Theft – ok Lying – ok  Pornography…  and there it seems to breakdown.  Are there some things that our children are just going to know about regardless so it’s ok?  For instance – theft, as long as the theft is not glorified and there are natural reprecussions then I would probably be ok with my children reading a book/watching a movie that includes theft.  (Where does that leave Oceans 11?  Goodbye George, goodbye Brad, Goodbye Matt ).  But graphic sexuality… not going to read about it, not going to watch it – do we really need to put that into our kids minds, better not to even plant the seed, right?  So what makes witchcraft in line with theft, and not in line with graphic sexuality?  I don’t know.

I do SO appreciate the friendly disucussion and thoughtful answers on this board.  It’s such a safe place to discuss topics that we may not feel at liberty to discuss with our “friends”.  You should have SEEN the hornet’s nest I stirred with my halloween post on FB last year – sheesh, you would have thought I attacked Christ himself with the way my Christian friends defended their participation in halloween festivities, but I disgress. 

Rebekah

Rebekah, I guess where  I draws the line for myself is, how does it affect your heart? And what is the -intent- of the book (or movie, or TV show)? Does it glorify sin or make it look attractive?

For me, “Harry Potter” never made me interested in casting spells and the like — in fact, the idea is almost funny, because in the series, only a few people are born with that ability. (And since I never got my letter from Hogwarts, I guess I’m not one of them, lol!) Of course, it someone IS for some reason tempted to try spells or whatever, I would advise them to avoid fantasy literature.

Obviously pornography is a no-way, because it involves the exploitation of others and is deliberately created to arouse people. Is Harry Potter deliberately created to entice people to witchcraft? (I seriously doubt it … if it was, I’d consider it a massive failure.) Does it glorify it? Some might argue that it does, but I think any child who attempted to open a lock by waving a wand and saying, “Alohamora!” would be very quickly realize that the magic in the books is NOT real. It’s honestly about as realistic as about a bunch of kids who can fly.

Stories about magic have been around for centuries, as evidence by numerous, numerous fairy tales. If you’re going to get rid of Disney princesses and Harry Potter and Narnia, you’re also going to have to get rid of “The Wizard of Oz” and the Arthurian legends and “The Tempest” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and a lot of other literature!

Phil 4:8 is a beautiful verse and one of my favorites, but truth and beauty and goodness can be found even in stories with some “bad” elements. In fact, I’d argue that those stories can be even MORE beautiful, because the triumph of the good over the bad is so uplifting. If stories were ONLY about good people doing good things, they wouldn’t be in any way reflective of real life.

For example, take “To Kill a Mockingbird” — one of the best books of modern times, IMHO. (I’m not recommending it for children here, btw! Just using as an example.) It’s a book that contains false allegations of rape, racism, false imprisonment (of Boo Radley), possible incest, etc. … but it’s an amazing book precisely because amongst all that, we see a man stand up for what’s right, risking his reputation and even his own safety, and his children’s admiration for him, despite the difficulties his stance causes for them. If there was nothing bad in “Mockingbird,” it would be about a nice little town in Alabama where everyone treated each other nicely and fairly. The end. What a great read, lol!

Should we dwell on dark or bad or ugly things? No, I absolutely don’t think we should. But I think avoiding anything that mentions their very existence is not only nearly impossible but not to our benefit.

Dear Linda – I agree – I don’t think any verse “trumps” another – should have put it in quotes the first time.  That’s the sad part, is I don’t think I have any scriptural foundation for allowing my girls their princesses – is there a difference between imagination, pretend and witchcraft – I think so.  I do think that some things can be pure and noble and right without being entirely realistic.  Mary Poppins for example.  I don’t think that’s witchcraft, I think that’s pretend and I think my girls can easily differenitiate.  Now, the sea witch in the little mermaid, well, in terms of conjuring and witchiness – I think someone would be hardpressed to say that it’s pure and lovely and admirable.

Then you have Tortured for Christ by Richard Wumbrand (I think) – the story of a Christian pastor who spent years in jail being tortured because of his faith in Christ – is that pure or lovely or noble?  Certainly not, but would Christ take exception to us reading it…I think again, you have a hard time making an argument against true stories of Christian Martyrs.  So how do we know the difference? 

I think that this would all be a lot simpler if I could just trust my gut, but again I’ve got scripture that warns against it…  “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Pro. 14: 12    “For my thoughts are not your thoughts… declares the Lord”  Is. 55:8  “The heart is deceitful above all things”  Jer. 17:9 

I don’t know – for me that may still be room for Narnia because of the allegory (is that the right word?), but I think the disney magic has lost it’s leg to stand on.