Final Harry Potter wars? Part II

 
 
[From Terry Mattingly's weekly column "On Religion" ]
 
 
 
Coming soon to a parish near you: Sunday school with Harry Potter.
 
 
 
 
 
This could happen if your congregation buys the new “Mixing it up
with Harry Potter” study guides from the Church of England. The goal of
the 12-part series is to use scenes from these omnipresent books and
movies to help children discuss big issues such as death, sacrifice,
loneliness, fear, mercy and grief.
 
 
 
 
 
“Jesus used storytelling to engage and challenge his listeners,”
said Bishop John Pritchard of Oxford, speaking on behalf of the
curriculum. “There’s nothing better than a good story to make people
think, and there’s plenty in the Harry Potter books to make young
people think about the choices they make in their everyday lives.”
 
 
 
 
 
In his introduction, study-guide author Owen Smith addressed the
concerns many believers have voiced about J.K. Rowling’s books. As most
residents of Planet Earth know by now, more than 325 million copies of
the seven Harry Potter novels have been sold so far.
 
 
 
 
 
“The magic in the books is simply part of the magic that J. K.
Rowling has created, in the same way that magic is part of the world of
Christian writers such as C. S. Lewis,” said Smith. “To say … these
books draw younger readers towards the occult seems to me both to
malign J. K. Rowling and to vastly underestimate the ability of
children and young people to separate the real from the imaginary.”
 
 
 
 
 
At least three kinds of critics have knocked Rowling’s work, when it
comes to religion. Some say the books are secular and contain no
theological content at all, while, on the other side, many others
insist that Potter-mania may lead to interest in witchcraft. Some
simply say the books send mixed signals and should be avoided.
 
 
 
 
 
However, there are also at least three positive schools of thought about Rowling’s take on faith.
 
 
 
 
 
* Like the Church of England educators, some supporters say the
Potter books can — at the very least — be mined as acceptable sources
of stories to help teach young people about faith. One early
evangelical book making this case, “The Gospel According to Harry
Potter” by Connie Neal, was blacklisted in many Christian bookstores.