Can My Kids Watch Harry Potter Films?
Harry Potter - a household name
You just can’t ignore Harry Potter. He has become a household name,
courtesy the powerful engines of Globalization. Harry Potter books and
its product spin-offs are found everywhere. Even if you don’t want to
read the book/s (watch the films), you still cannot manage to stay
insulated. Hogwarts’ magic is slowly but steadily invading our living
room through everyday conversations. Trust me, it is extremely
difficult to be indifferent about Harry Potter and Hogwarts. Few
books/films, like the Harry Potter series have evoked such ‘equal’ and
‘opposite’ reactions, all at the same time.
Pottermania: The arguments for and against
Ardent Potter fans find nothing wrong in the imaginative story that
seeks to feed the human hunger for enchantment. While others hold
author J.K. Rowling guilty of introducing magick to younger children.
They allege that although the book/s unfold the proverbial
‘good-versus-evil’ theme, witchcraft and occultism form the subtext of
its plotline. The worst fear is that the book/s (and films) would
de-sensitize children to the dark shades of spirituality, now resurgent
in the West.
Living the question: In the midst of a culture war
Would it be wrong for a Christian to read a compelling novel, which is
creative, insightful and funny? How do we respond to the Harry Potter
Phenomenon from a Christian faith perspective? What’s wrong about Harry
Potter anyway? Can I allow my kids to watch Harry Potter movies?
Answers aren’t easy to these questions. Troubled parents are living
these questions. The return of Harry Potter through the sixth book in
the series: Harry Potter and the Half-blood prince (2005) and the movie
version of Harry Potter and the order of the Pheonix (2007) have only
re-opened the debate, re-drawn the battle lines and kicked off the
latest culture war.
Do not be squeezed into the (cultural) mould of the world
Living out the Christian faith in the contemporaneous world is a
counter trend. Christian lifestyle is opposed to self-interests,
self-gratification and self-sufficiency, which are at the heart of our
culture. Apostle Paul had warned us, “ Don’t let the world squeeze you
into its own mould”. It doesn’t come easy. It takes a lot to be able
to face the contemporary challenges. The challenges to our faith come
in different colors, shapes and sizes and contemporary Christians must
skillfully relate their creedal affirmations to the emerging contextual
challenges. Unfortunately, most Christians I meet, are unwilling to
think through issues ‘Christianly’. The temptation is to settle for
either ‘restatements’ or ‘readymade answers’. Some how, I sense a lack
of enthusiasm to study God’s Word, stretch the mind and discover
biblical principles for everyday life issues.
Thinking ’Christianly’
Thinking ‘Christianly’ is only possible if we construct a Christian
worldview. What is a worldview? A worldview is “ simply the sum total
of our beliefs about the world, the big picture that directs our daily
decisions and actions”. A worldview helps us to make sense of the
world we live in and also helps us order our lives accordingly. It
provides clarity, consistency and coherence to the answers for
questions concerning origin, meaning, purpose and destiny. Genuine
Christianity is all about accepting the Christian worldview as a
framework for the totality of life. Charles Colson contends
“ Genuine Christianity is more than a relationship with Jesus as
expressed in personal piety, church attendance, Bible Study, and works
of charity. It is more than discipleship, more than believing a system
of doctrines about God. Genuine Christianity is a way of seeing and
comprehending all reality. It is worldview”.
Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome, points to the need to be transformed by a constant renewal of the mind
“ …As an intelligent act of worship, give him your bodies as a living
sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the
world squeeze you into its mould, but let God re-make you so that your
whole attitude of mind is changed.”
Faith seeking application
Today, we live in the market place of ideas that compete for our
attention and loyalty. The challenge, then, for a Christian is to
expose counter claims and defend Christian truth in the everydayness of
life. Theology, then, is not an exercise removed from everyday life but
it is “ faith seeking application”. Commitment to the Christian
worldview requires us to evaluate every truth-claim. Anything we accept
as ‘true’, ‘good’ and ‘right’ must be compatible with our Christian
worldview. This would mean that any and every idea must pass through
the Christian grid, which would either validate a claim or expose its
inadequacies.
The challenge ahead
Is the Harry Potter phenomenon a challenge to the Christian faith? I
don’t think so. The Harry Potter phenomenon is not a challenge to the
Christian faith as a belief system. Nevertheless, it poses new
challenges to the Christian readers of the book. The book/s (and
film/s) promote a neo-pagan worldview contrary to the biblical
understanding of life and hence, the book/s (and films) require us to
duly approach it with ‘Christian’ caution. Any compelling novel/movie
presents its own challenges to the Christian. There is a tendency to
look at life through the eyes of its lead characters, particularly when
we are emotionally absorbed into the story. Like any other idea or a
cultural product, the Harry Potter books must be evaluated through a
Christian grid. It is at this point that Christians need tools to raise
and resolve worldview questions.
We fear what we don’t understand
Many parents have been living the question: How do we encounter the
Harry Potter from a Christian faith perspective? Would it be wrong if
children read it purely for entertainment? Should it be ignored,
avoided or at least read with caution? The debate rages endlessly.
Ravi Zacharias has rightly reminded us “it is far better to debate a
question before settling it than to settle a question before debating
it”. I guess, the issue needs to be understood through an informed
debate, intense scrutiny and diligence and more importantly drawing
principles from the Bible to bear upon the debate. It is said, “we fear
what we don’t understand” and often times our responses have only been
knee-jerk reactions rather than ‘reasoned’ answers. Children are
greatly in need of a framework – a Christian grid - through which all
of life is understood and interpreted. An informed discussion would
help children acquire skills to address this issue and every other
issue in the contemporary world.
Challenging cultures; Changing Individuals
As Christians, we also bear the responsibility of transforming the
culture around us. This means, we must detect the socio-cultural
underpinnings in the cultural landmarks of our time. This would help us
‘correlate’ the gospel to the questions raised within our context and
setting. A study of the Harry Potter phenomenon will help us understand
the issues of identity (who am I?), the longing for a new myth (What
gives meaning, purpose and destiny for our times?) and the
socio-cultural and religious mood (How do we now understand reality?)
embedded in the collective consciousness of our children. This would
help us to evangelize and nurture our children within our churches and
beyond.
Can my kids watch Harry Potter films? Well… you be the judge. Remember,
we’ve got to help our kids live out real faith in the real world.
Engaging with the films which a christian filter is perphaps the best
way forward.
by Samuel Thambusamy
The author can be reached at: writespace4sam@gmail.com
Wisdomtree.wordpress.com
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