Episode:
017
Should Christians Read Harry Potter?
With more than 500 million books sold, the Harry Potter series is far and away the highest-selling series of books in history.
Though Rowling claims to be a Christian, and has said that her books are meant to expose the same truths as classic fantasies such as The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, many Christians have objected to the stories for their perceived promotion of witchcraft.
And this raises questions about the nature of fantasy, and entertainment in general. Is there a difference between the witchcraft condemned in the Bible and what is depicted in these stories? And, if so, what?
This week, Peter, Aaron, and guest-hosts Adam Powers and Jeffrey Singer talk about the world of fantasy literature and entertainment in general, and how Christians should think about and approach these topics.
“If we’re going to use the word witchcraft, and we’re going to condemn it, we need to make sure that the witchcraft written about by Rowling or Tolkein is the biblical witchcraft that is condemned in Scripture. I would argue strongly that it’s not inline with any biblical definition of sorcery or witchcraft, even though they use the words witchcraft or wizardry.” ~ Aaron Currin
“We need a rebaptism of imagination, I believe, because there are things that can be envisioned and imagined that help us understand deep and intrinsic biblical truths.” ~ Aaron Currin
“If we’re going to use the word witchcraft, we need to make sure that the witchcraft written about by Rowling or Tolkein is the biblical witchcraft that is condemned in Scripture. I would argue strongly that it’s not.” ~ Aaron CurrinClick To Tweet