Harry Potter vs. Lord Of The Rings

by: Brian Flynn
I have had many questions regarding the Harry Potter books. Many of the
critiques I have read are coming from Christian groups stating that is
Satan’s book and it will destroy children’s minds. Although I agree
with some of the criticisms that this is a book that introduces
witchcraft to children like no other, it doesn’t necessarily mean that
they will become witches and disavow their Christian faith.
However, keep in mind that children have not yet formulated clearly
their faith or the concepts of absolute truth like adults. I have read
letters from parents stating that they have read the Harry Potter books
with their children and have not noticed any negative effects that
would undermine their faith. My question would be, how do they know?
These concepts and ideas may not come to fruition for years.
When I was introduced to Tarot cards and Quija boards in my pre-teen
years I would have said that they had no negative effect on me. In
fact, I thought they were fun. But they introduced me to a concept that
contacting spirits was okay and that the spirits were friendly.
Therefore, it was easier for me to get involved in divination, psychic
readings, and the like because it was familiar and what I thought to be
safe. How wrong I was.
Christians who have criticized the Harry Potter books have been met
with criticism themselves. I have read statements saying that
Christians are alarmist and are overreacting…The characters are
fictional not real… At least they get children to read when they
normally would not…There are many books have had witches in them, what
is so bad about Harry Potter? In other words, what is the big deal?I
subscribe to a conservative book club and each month I receive their
list of recommendations and with it they include a monthly newsletter
with a critique or praise of certain books. In this newsletter they
outlined how they select children’s books to make sure that they are of
good teachings and concepts that would not offend or undermine a
Christian’s faith. One the editors in the Homeschooling Division, Dan
Neyer specializes in fiction, especially the bold imaginary variety one
associates with classic fairy tales of J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
They asked him his opinion of the Harry Potter books and this is his
critique.
Dan begins his review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by
distinguishing himself from other Christians, who “condemn all works
that contain witches, wizards, and magical elements. Using that
criteria,” he observes, “we would have to eliminate many of the great
works of Western civilization, such as The Tempest, The Chronicles of
Narnia, the Magic Walking Stick, the Princess and the Goblins and
Tennyson’s Idylls of the King.”
“It is not so much the presence of magical elements as the absence of
something else that mars the Harry Potter books, explains Dan. “The
classic Christian works exemplified by the classic fairy tales of our
civilization always emphasize that it is the dumb third brother with
the good heart who triumphs over evil. He is often aided by a wise
magician or a good witch, but his success comes from the goodness of
his heart. It is he who stops to feed the blind beggar or to help the
old woman of the glen.”
“This tradition is perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the Gospels.
It is not enough therefore to have magicians who are good. The
magicians must have a subordinate place in the story to the good hero.
In The Idylls of the King, Merlin’s powers are subordinate to Arthur’s
power, which is the power of innate, Christ-centered goodness. As
Christ renounced the temptation in the desert to use magic to convert,
and as Christ refused to use magic to save his own life on the cross,
so must the hero of a true fairy tale renounce all magic that is not
subordinate to the reign of charity.”
“The wizards in Harry Potter’s books are not subordinate to the hero
with the good heart; they are the heroes. They are the modern, post
Christian heroes. But they are very old heroes. They are the Gnostic’s
fantasy heroes. Gnosticism is Christianity without Christ’s humanity.
And the literature of Gnosticism has wizard heroes but no human heroes.
Indeed the humans in this book are boorish, dumb, and worthless. Which
is the way the Gnostic always regards humanity. The popularity of this
humanity-hating book is perfectly in tune with this anti-human of
centuries.”
That is the best critique of the Harry Potter books I have ever read.
Still skeptical? Consider this, let us compare the Harry Potter books
against J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy “Lord of the Rings”. The two central
characters, Harry Potter and Frodo Baggins have something in common,
both have had supernatural, witchcraft-type powers bestowed upon them.
If you are familiar with both stories, what did each character do with
that power?
Harry Potter embraces and learns how to harness the power. However,
what does Frodo Baggins do with that power? What is his primary goal
throughout the trilogy? His goal is not to embrace that power, his goal
is to throw it away. Although at the end of the book Frodo succumbs to
the power himself. Tolkien demonstrates that even a man with a strong
will and a good heart alone cannot resist the temptation to be like God.
Tolkien, unlike J.K Rowling recognizes that such power can only
corrupt. The message of “Lord of the Rings” is that we cannot resist
temptation on our own by any method we devise. Which book better
demonstrates that restraint?
I cannot recommend the Harry Potter books to any child. These books are
not necessarily a “how to” book on witchcraft, although there are some
elements that suggest that, but it is a book that introduces children
to post-modernism, moral relativism and Gnosticism. A recipe that
cannot be good for our children’s ability later in life to separate
truth from fiction regarding God, angels, demons or witches.
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