/karen/

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Its good but I wanted to see an answer to the question you proposed “But should Harry be lumped into that smouldering lake with the likes of Elymas the Sorceror (Acts 13:8)”, as suddenly I was excited you might go flip a coin and make a strong arguement either way or both.

I could say the answer is yes, the book Harry Potter encourages excitement in children for the realm of Magic and that is evil. It portrays a world appearing to consist of good and evil but teaches the truth is that there is only power, not based upon Christian principles. This is in direct conflict with the reality that there is an eternal everlasting power of righteousness which C.S. Lewis tried to portray within his books.

But, could it be the case that J.K. Rowling is just trying to tell a good story set within a fantasy world? Haven’t we been through this with the Wizard of OZ or J. R. R. Tolkien? When is this argument done?

At least we know her intentions, right?:
“And what of the controversy raised by some parents who worry the tale of a young wizard promotes witchcraft and the occult? Her answer is direct and unforgiving. “I absolutely did not start writing these books to encourage any child into witchcraft,” she says with an uncomfortable chuckle. “I’m laughing slightly because to me, the idea is absurd.”
“I have met thousands of children now, and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, ‘Ms. Rowling, I’m so glad I’ve read these books because now I want to be a witch.’ They see it for what it is,” she emphasized. “It is a fantasy world and they understand that completely.
“I don’t believe in magic, either,” she said.”

I’ll have to read it later (I’m on a chronically-ill dial-up connection ATM), but I’ve been thinking about the issue of magic in books on and off for over a year…I’d be interested to hear what you think about magic in fantasy stories that contain Christian allegory.