Homesick for Harry: Thoughts on the “Chosen One”

By Daneen Akers

Friday night finds me a bit melancholy. As I’m sitting here in our apartment that opens onto a picturesque French courtyard, listening to the concierge and some friends chat over an evening aperitif, I am overcome with emotion, with an ache in the depths of my heart.

SPOILER ALERT in this paragraph: It’s a homesickness of sorts, but not the type you’d expect from an American living in Paris for the summer. I’m not missing home (although, I do). I’m not missing my friends or family (although, I do). I know I will see all of the above soon, next week, in fact. What I’m homesick for is a story, a story that I’ve followed for almost a decade, and that is now complete, the last page read. I’m homesick for Harry. For Hogwarts. For Dumbledore. And for Dobby—especially Dobby, the little house-elf who spent most of the series providing laugh track moments and ended up being the ultimate hero whose sacrifice foreshadows Harry’s and indeed gives Harry the strength to believe once more and to walk forward into his own destiny with courage.

There’s a core, fundamental part of my soul that is built for story, for myth, and for magic. Given the success of the Harry Potter series, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and other quest epics, I think it’s a fair guess that we are all built for story (thank you Joseph Campbell). These stories speak to me in the way that good music does, bypassing the cynical, doubting voices in my mind and going straight to my heart, whispering that there is meaning, there is a bigger plan, there is a reason to believe. Even now, as an adult, I often find peace in difficult theological quandaries by remembering a moment or a conversation from one of these books—for some reason when I can’t find (or listen to) answers in the Bible, I can find (and listen to) answers from Aslan or Dumbledore. (FYI, J.K. Rowling says she can hardly pass by a book from The Chronicles of Narnia without stopping to read it cover to cover.)

When I first started reading the Harry Potter series, I was an 8th grade language arts teacher at an SDA school. One day I noticed several students sitting through all of their breaks—including their lunch breaks—reading the same book. I asked what could possibly be keeping them in the classroom over break, and, voilà, I met Harry and quickly became a fan.

The controversy over the books started quickly at our school. While I read the book with my students over lunch, the six grade teacher banned the book, citing arguments that are by now familiar: the books glorify witchcraft, tempt children to break the rules, and might tempt impressionable minds to dabble in the occult, or, at the very least, New Age philosophy. This was my introduction into the argument that has simmered among Christians about the merits (or dangers) of these books, flaring every time a new book or film is released.

At first, I felt that the books were simply good fun, an amusing and epic tale with good morals. This is what Charles Colson, a leading evangelical voice said at first too.  "The magic in these books is purely mechanical, as opposed to occultic," he said in 1999. "That is, Harry and his friends cast spells, read crystal balls, and turn themselves into animals—but they don't make contact with a supernatural world. ... The plots reinforce the theme that evil is real, and must be courageously opposed....[Harry and his friends] develop courage, loyalty, and a willingness to sacrifice for one another—even at the risk of their lives. Not bad lessons in a self-centered world" (Quoted on the Christianity Today website, July 2007). Colson and others have changed their tune though—he along with James Dobson now oppose the books (Christianity Today has continued to endorse them.)

On a personal note, family members of mine have discussed their worry about the books, feeling that we have been seduced by Satan as part of the last days resurgence of witchcraft. Just last week a friend forwarded an e-mail that I had to respond to—you know, the one about the throngs of children converting to Satanism as a result of these books? This e-mail is largely based on an article from The Onion, a satirical newspaper. I try to take these warnings with a smile, as I know they are offered in genuine love.

The biggest concern parents and others have is the “m” word: magic. As a teacher having to explain why I was allowing students at an Adventist school to read the books, I did have to think long and hard about the “m” word. I ended up citing the magic in Narnia as a predecessor and assuring parents that good and evil were very clear in the books. Now I refer people to John Granger’s Looking for God in Harry Potter where he differentiates between incantational magic—magic that works according to rules just like physics, gravity, and your car radio, and invocational magic—magic that calls upon the spirits of the dead, a practice condemned by all major world religions and not practiced by any character, good or evil, in the Potter books.

I’ve moved past feeling that the books are merely good, wholesome fun though and now believe them much deeper. Although I find several genres present throughout the series—Harry is as much an Everyman as a young King Arthur—they are also very clearly rich in Christian allegory and symbolism.

As I read Deathly Hallows with my husband, Stephen, I kept exclaiming at key moments, “I can’t believe how clear the Christian symbolism is in this book! How can people not see this?” The book spoke to me on a deeply Christian level.

In short, it’s a story about the difficulty of belief—how do we believe in God and that there is a bigger plan when we have so little to go on? When things seem such a mess?

As she’s done in every book, Rowling emphasized key points that seem to me, not just Christian, but down right Adventist: there is a “Great Controversy” happening that most people (muggle and wizard alike) want to deny; there is true evil that must be resisted; material wealth is insignificant, relationships are what matter; the right path is often difficult, dark, and full of opportunities for failure; death is certain, but there are things worth dying for and fates worse than death; we have a choice in our destiny, and, the most consistent theme of the series, self-sacrificing love is the most powerful force in the universe—Voldemort’s weakness was always that he underestimated the power of love because he could not feel it.

Rowling finally admitted a Christian bias in the series in a recent Dateline interview.  She was asked by a child in the studio audience what the significance of her calling Harry Potter the “chosen one” might be. 

J.K. Rowling: Well, there– there clearly is a religious– undertone. And– it’s always been difficult to talk about that because until we reached Book Seven, views of what happens after death and so on, it would give away a lot of what was coming. So … yes, my belief and my struggling with religious belief and so on I think is quite apparent in this book.

Meredith Vieira: And what is the struggle?

J.K. Rowling: Well my struggle really is to keep believing.
(Dateline/Today, 26 July 2007)

I’d like to hear your stories about Harry Potter. Do we have a strong Harry Potter contingent among the Spectrum Blog readers? What have been your experiences with the books? Do you find them not just Christian but even Adventist-friendly with the whole idea of a hidden world with good and evil forces fighting for our souls? Does it help you to know that Rowling did intentionally create religious symbolism in the series—we’re not just reading what we want in (or do you think we’re stretching it?) How about Harry’s sacrifice at the end of Book 7? What was your take on this? Did you find yourself understand the Garden of Gethsemane in a whole new way? Will you read these books with your children?

Is anyone else homesick for Harry?

Comments

[Elaine]

There is nothing uniquely Adventist about a Great Controversy theme. One need only read Job to see the unanswerable question of theodicy. We struggle to make some sense of our world and yet we cannot.

If someone doesn't believe in the magical, how can he possibly believe in a God-man, all the miracluous events told in the Bible? Long before the Bible was written there were half-god half-humans conceived by gods and this paved tje way for the virgin birth story. Had it not been known before, it would probably not been written nor would it have significance. The story of Jesus had to be at least as miraculous as the previous gods: Dionysius, Zeus, and more, or it would have had no following. Anyone doubting this should read Freke and Gandy's "Jesus Mysteries" for the finest documentation of similarity between ancient myths and the Bible myths.

Humans were created to love stories; from the earliest oral tales they were built around stories of heroes, battles, loves, wars won and lost.

[John Granger]

Elaine should read the latest post at the Behold a Phoenix weBlog... http://beholdaphoenix.blogspot.com/2007/08/comment-on-richard-abanes.html

The link between ancient myths and Christian history is not the "sure thing" she thinks it is. A "Virgin Birth" and a "Risen God" are not a story topos, cliche, or "one-better" plot point; they are miracles of historical record.

[Daneen Akers]

Welcome to the Spectrum blog John--are you the same John Granger of Hogwartsprofessor.com and Looking for God in Harry Potter? (I'm a fan of both.) I'd love to hear you expand on your comment to Elaine a bit more.

[Jared Wright]

Daneen, thank you for this articulate and insightful post. I am a closet Potter fan. When my wife first brought home Harry Potter books, I was skeptical for the same reasons as most skeptical Adventists. Last year, I heard several of the series on AudioBook, and I was enchanted. After listening to the entire book 7 in the span of two days, I detected a strong parallel between Harry Potter and the Return of the King in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Now, about their being Adventist friendly...I feel that they are to a point. I certainly don't see them as being harmful precursors to the occult. Magic, as you pointed out, is almost incidental.

The problem I see in the reception of the Potter books among Adventists -- the problem with evangelical Christianity in general is that we've lost our sense of imagination.

How can we possibly conceive of the overwhelming Magic of God in creating a World with his voice if we've already written off magic as demonic? How can we ever envisage the absolute darkness of an evil one if we refuse to use our imagination and creativity through allegory, imagery, and fiction? Reality is often much more far-fetched than fantasy.

But then you have articles like the one written in a recent Signs of the Times reminding good Adventists that the Bible condemns witchcraft, and it is no laughing matter to Jesus and the angels (end quote).

Until we can employ imagination and fantasy for good, as Rowling, Lewis, and Tolkien have done, we will be stuck in a deep rut of unimaginative literalism, no real conception of the force of the great controversy, and a very puny God indeed. Bleh!

[Elaine]

John, perhaps you are willing to expound on the biblical "historical record of a virgin birth and miracles." Simply because something has been written, in no way validates its historical accuracy. On the contrary, most of the contemporary writing when the Bible was written did not even attempt to be accurate historically. The purpose was entirely different. We judge by the standards of today; something totally incompatible with those earlier writers who had an agenda, usually theological, for Bible writers.

[John Granger]

Well, Elaine, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Orthodox Christian tradition rather than postmodern understanding of texts and authors has held for millenia that the Evangelists meant what they said. Given the detail each offers, your position that they are writing mythically leaves me scratching my head. The Virgin Birth is no more miraculous than the Incarnation of the Second Hypostasis of the Trinity as a man -- and it has both scriptural and patristic testimony as support. Your point that these things "in no way validates its historical accuracy" escapes me. As a Classicist, I know we have more textual evidence for Christian claims than almost any other historical event. When combined with the wonders performed by the Apostles and the disciples, not to mention the corresponding growth of the Church, this evidence is only disputable if one projects backwards standards of evidence and demonstration no event prior to the seventeenth century could meet.

But I'm way out of my league here and leave this discussion to Adventists and to those qualified to give qualified judgments in such things. You are welcome to join me at HogwartsProfessor.com, where serious readers of Harry Potter meet to discuss its literary merits -- and where, I promise you, I never go so far afield as to discuss the historical merits and failings of Scripture! If I have offended anyone by speaking out of turn as I have, I ask you to forgive me.

[Garret Akerson]

I think we as Christians often lack a method and a language for addressing the challenges of our current age. We do passionately defend our faith through biblical references and we often demonstrate charity to show God’s love, but we fail to engage the secular world for the most part.

Here is where I think writers like C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Rowling, seem to succeed – they have the power to transform peoples’ thoughts. Lewis clearly depicts myth as being a shadow of the “great story.” Lewis saw in George MacDonald’s writings hints and shadows of God’s truth which led him to Christianity.

Lewis describes our need as the “romantic longing” in man. It is the longing for something transcendent, mythical and infinite to enter into our realm. We are, as Lewis says in The Weight of Glory, always longing and trying to capture something, trying “to get in.” Lewis in his writings spends much time contemplating this longing and frequently asks the question whether we can find any spell which offers genuine “refreshment of the spirit” – lasting refreshment unaffected by the corrosive and eroding powers of time. Lewis clearly believes this refreshment is possible in myths and stories and believes that is the way they have been revealed to man.

I thoroughly enjoyed all 7 of Rowling’s books, but the final book in the series was definitely the capstone, it brought home all of the previous messages of love and sacrifice. I don’t see how it could fail at engaging and transforming readers’ hearts and minds for good.

[Dr. Thomas J. Zwemer]

I'm home sick for Uncle Arthur, John Bunyan, Mark Twain, Longfellow, Kipling,Martin Marty, Philip Schaff, and Sydney Ahlstrom. Of course Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, and Paradise Lost. Tom

[Bonnie Dwyer]

John,
Thank you for a very helpful, gracious comment.

[Raul Batista]

I can understand a Christian or an Adventist having a passion for opera or progressive jazz or the theater, but who can take the likes of Harry Potter seriously? To quote one of my English professors, "there are so many great works of literature to read, and we are allotted such a short time on Earth to read them all, why bother with lesser trifles?"

[Bob Rigsby]

This is a cool post Daneen.

I’ll pass it along to my daughter who is feeling much as you are now! Now married (last month) she’s no longer living here with us. But she formed some wonderful memories for herself and her two younger sibs by reading these books to them. I’ve realized that many Adventists frown on these books, but it seemed to me that perhaps the best way to raise interest in something is to forbid it. And besides, I’m really big into letting my kids learn and decide for themselves; learn to make good choices right here in front of us -- choices that are grounded in an ethic of their own building.

For myself, I never had much interest in the books -- not just sure why. I’m very glad you brought up Christianity Today’s approach which I’ve kept up with and which I’ve found to be quite open and balanced. I do find this whole HP phenomenon offers us a really fascinating window into how differently we humans process ideas of truth and belief and the mysteries of the metaphysical...

And John: I’m excited about passing your site along to my daughter. (if she’s not already found it!) She’s long been suspicious of well meaning censors. She’s heading into a career in creative writing and Literature. But she does confess she mostly reads HP for the shear joy of a story well rendered. Maybe your site will help her see some deeper levels.

Jared: I really like your comments on imagination -- how else, pray tell, may we even dare consider the wonders and vastness of this God we worship… We all, at some level I think, fantasize, speculate, imagine how all these things we “believe” about God actually happen. That some are better at it, and better at talking about it, makes me grateful for them.

Back to you Daneen; I think it’s really good when people are willing to engage our culture, as Christians, and comment thoughtfully. It has seemed obvious to me for some time now that it is in God’s nature to reach out to everyone -- no matter their place or culture. So when I read insights into how God might be doing that very thing in cultural expressions and creative works that we might be tempted to pass off as “secular” or even “harmful” (eg HP) it just helps my vision of the wideness of God’s embrace grow. Christianity Today has many such thoughtful observers.

Elaine: at the risk of redundancy, the reason I find you so interesting is that you are here, enjoy the dialog, yet you (for the most part it seems anyway) simply do not “buy” the story of Christianity. And yet, you “believe”. You believe in a God, that seems pretty clear, yet sometimes I’m not exactly sure why. No matter; one has an obligation to call it as they see it. You do that admirably… I do “buy” the whole Christ story however; not that this makes me any better or special or loved by God. It may just be in the genes -- for all I know! I clearly must admit as “evidence” many things which do not rise to your high standards for evidence. Anyway, I do appreciate your perspectives.

[Wondering]

Elaine should read the latest post at the Behold a Phoenix weBlog... http://beholdaphoenix.blogspot.com/2007/08/comment-on-richard-abanes.html

The link between ancient myths and Christian history is not the "sure thing" she thinks it is. A "Virgin Birth" and a "Risen God" are not a story topos, cliche, or "one-better" plot point; they are miracles of historical record.

Posted by: John Granger | 21 August 2007 at 13:10
=====================

1. Anyone who has ever been into Greek mythology--as I had been for a time a while back, would see how un-mythical the Bible stories are in tone etc; especially in the New Testament.
So many people have made this point before. No comparison is a proper one without a discussion of dis-similarities.
Becuase, supposedly, there are heavy Greek influences in the New Testament accounts.
We have not even begun to talk about differences in tone between the New Testament Apocrypha and the NT itself.
One is clearly intended to be a straightforward factual account subject to normal and accepted levels of scrutiny.

2. I have had the displeasure of having to read a part of a chapter of Harry Potter to a young child once.
It is something I hope I never have to do again.

Sometimes I wonder how far we can stretch this "it's about good and evil, love and other timeless values" line.

Is there anything out there (Mortal Kombat)that does not pretend to be so? Is there any such claim that we can refuse to swallow hook, line and sinker?

Whatever happened to the Hardy Boys, Enid Blyton's Mysteries etc.?
There is no shortage of children's reading out there that is non-dark. I will tell you though, having worked n a store with a large number of donated kids books, the vast majority of them were on some dark theme or the other (magic, dragons, beasts, ghosts etc.). I cannot help but think that there is more to this than modern people care to admit.
I believe that the plan is to so distort the face and nature of Christianity (people seeing supposed "Christianity" in ever darker and more obscure and abstract matter), that when Jesus appears, He will be all but unrecognizable to these "Christians" (don't take offense please) and vice versa.

Worse yet, people will be prime candidates for deception when the enemy ratchets up his deceptions as time winds down--having been swayed by ever more subtle (and non-Biblical) distortions about Christ and the nature of salvation and Christianity gleaned in abstract from many of these books (on "love", "good" and "evil").

If only people (myself included) could devour the Bible like they do Harry Potter.

[Elaine]

Is it anti-Christian to apply the same literary analysis to the Bible as we do to all writings, particularly those of the time the Bible was written?

To ignore such similarities and dissimilarities is to be devoid of imagination. Most every Bible reader will admit that not everything within its covers is, or was meant to be absolutely literal and factual. The dilemma is is determining the differences. There are sufficient principles within the Bible without attempting to literalize every story. Our actions will not, nor should not depend on whether many of the miraculous events actually occurred, although such were not considered extraordinary then. Why should such miracles not be legitimate question today?

For those who would accept a virgin birth story today, please identify yourself. Otherwise, it is an admission that what is considered absolutely impossible today, is nevertheless, easily acceptable because it is in the Bible.

The principles in the Sermon on the Mount; Christ's revelation describing those accepted into the kingdom in Matt. 25; Paul's established principles for the new Christian church does not, nor should it be dependent on miracles. They should be optional for our lives. If we require such miracles before we live by those principles, what does that say about our needs to live a Christian life?

[arlyn]

Wondering, If a dark theme includes ghosts- the bible has it's share of dark stories too. Saul and witch of Endor brought up a "ghost" of Samuel, Eliphaz encountered a nightime phantom that made his hair stand on end (Job 4:15), a bloodless hand wrote on the wall a damning prophecy during Beltashazzer's feast. The last one- hand- may not have been from the dark side at all!

God is brave to risk such details for our musing, knowing what doors to our imagination are opened.

[arlyn]

Elaine,
it is humbling to face your questions.

They do point out to me my own inconsistencies- as a physician I am fully willing to accept miraculous cures that go against expected prognosis because even statistically- a small percentage of cancers do remit without any known cause. Miracles documented by stats.

And yet, you are right, even though I do accept the literal virgin of Jesus (at face value) I probably would be skeptical today of such a story- not because I think it is impossible (so yes, I will identify myself as one who is open to a virgin birth possibility because= ultimately, scientists learn from facts we don't proscribe them) but because I wonder about the reliability of teenagers sexual histories in this time and age.

However, since cloning has become a possibility- even gays may be able to procreate too someday. So truth can be stranger than fiction, eh? And we must be prepared to be amazed, even while keeping our wits (not to be confused with obstinate denial)about us.

[Elaine]

Does consistency have no place in our belief systems?

When a physician today can verify and prove a virgin birth in humans, then I'll be ready to accept the possibility.

Two thousand years ago human biology was similar to ours today, wasn't it? But the difference: Dionysis, for example, was conceived by the mother Semele and the father a god, Zeus. The Greeks accepted these, so they were not uncommon stories in that time.

[arlyn]

Well, now, Elaine.. we do have live birth without previous physical intercourse with a human being.(artificial insemination) I guess, just to tease you a little further- what is your definition of a virgin birth?

[Questioner]

Thanks, Daneen, for starting this conversation.

I started reading Harry Potter in 2000 after my daughter won the first three books in a (public school) reading contest. By then there was already a lot of controversy about the series and I wanted to see what it was all about for myself before I let my daughter read the books.

Oh my. I was instantly hooked. Not only have I devoured the series, I have encouraged my kids to do the same and we have spent many happy hours analyzing them for Christian content, comparing Harry Potter characters to Biblical characters and even finding scripture to relate to different scenes and events.

These books are so very clearly Christian allegory that I am bumfuzzled by those who reject them because they contain magic. I find it interesting that these are often the same people who love Narnia, which is replete with witches, magic, etc., albeit not in the detail JK Rowling has conjured; who compare Lord of the Rings characters to Biblical characters; who have no trouble letting their kids watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or Cinderella; and who grew up on the tv show Bewitched.

Sure, Harry and his friends break the rules. So did Martin Luther, George Washington, and Jesus. As for kids dabbling in the occult after reading Harry Potter, I have yet to find any serious journalism documenting this. Dark? Have you read Revelation lately? What impresses me is JKR's ability to work every major theme in Christianity into a series that appeals to non-Christian and Christian kids alike (as well as their parents). And in the process she has incorporated the basics of Latin, the study of astronomy, the classics of Western literature, and so much more. Magic is simply the milieu for the story, and a darn good one at that, since the reader never knows what's lurking around the next corner.

Others have written about the Christian symbolism including the stag, the unicorn, etc., but to me one of the most powerful references to Christian belief is the charm that is necessary to repel dementors, the beings that Harry finds more terrifying than even Lord Voldemort himself. When Harry cries "expecto patronum" he is really saying, "I expect a savior" or "I expect my father." Wow. What a thing to teach our kids to cry in time of need.

In fact, these books are so laden with Christian theology that well before the last book I predicted to my kids that Harry would have to be willing to die for the good of the wizarding world, and that his death would save others.

I realize that fantasy isn't everyone's cup of tea and I fully respect that. I would just encourage those who want to ban Harry without reading it to bear in mind that this might be the perfect introduction to Christianity and its values for a kid who may find nothing attractive about the Christians he knows and the way they choose to live their lives.

[Jared Wright]

Questioner,

I really like the word bumfuzzled and I intend to use it often if I may. Thanks.

[Elaine]

Oh, now I get it! Mary's virgin birth was through artificial insemination. Thanks for clearing that up. Why didn't I think of that?

Then the obvious question: Did Jesus get his humanity through Mary's genes? At that time, it was not understood that the mother imparted anything to the fetus she carried, only an incubator. How did that contemporary understanding affect the virgin birth story?

[Daneen Akers]

Bonsoir all,

What with major time differences and getting ready to go home to CA, I'm afraid I didn't get to comment earlier today. I'm happy to see a lively conversation though. It's quite late here, but I can't resist adding a few thoughts.

Raul: You quote an English teacher talking about why bother with trivialities like Harry Potter with so many other great books. Well, if you need permission from an English teacher to enjoy these books, rest assured that I am one! I'm actually taking a year to be a full-time grad student this next year, but I'm contemplating working Harry into a freshman comp course in the future. I'm afraid us "English teachers" have turned a lot of kids off to great books by presuming that popular things must not be literary or "canon" quality (if the masses "get it," how can it be great? instinct). While I did start off thinking these books were merely great fun, I've fully migrated to the "they're also great literature" camp now.

Wondering: It sounds like you've only read a small portion of these books (and that at great personal displeasure). I'd say try again, but I don't get the idea fantasy is your cup of tea. However, I will point out that the Hardy Boys didn't last because they are simply entertainment. (Incidentally, this is why I think even with the popularity of The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown's name will fade with history, but Rowling's won't--her books are actually about something with depth and meaning). Books like the Hardy Boys are the popcorn movie of children's literature. Fun, sure, but not important. In the end, children want someone to be honest with them; they want to know what the world is about, what the meaning of life is, why people die, what happens after death--in short, a lot of "dark" topics. Harry Potter addresses death and the fear of death honestly and repeatedly. It also presents a world view that says there is a greater plan in the universe, there is good and evil, your choices matter, and you will have to take a stand. I can't think of better lessons I'd like my kids to learn.

Garret: Love the reminder about Lewis and the Great Story. I also find the similarities between our stories (myths in the most positive sense of the word) and other world myths comforting. I think it points to a universal truth, and I do "buy" the Christian both/and (rather than either/or) view of Christ. I'm not sure I'm quite following the virgin birth conversation here (and just to be clear to anyone who hasn't read the Potter books, that's definitely not a strand in them), but I've long come to peace with the fact that I won't be getting a DNA test back anytime soon and at some point I have to choose what to believe. Interestingly enough, that idea is a major theme in book 7 of Harry Potter--in the midst of turmoil for Harry, with all sorts of lies, truths, and half-truths about Dumbledore (the God/religious authority character), Harry has to choose what to believe without absolute proof.

Questioner: Amen to your post! I'd just encourage you not to be a closet Harry fan!

[Dr. Thomas J. Zwemer]

At least the responders can read. What I can't imagine! Metaphysical nonsense --Hail Mary! Tom

[Questioner]

Jared: It is a great word, isn't it? Use away!

Daneen: I want to be you. Just the other day I was talking with my 15 yr. old daughter about how I'd love to teach a year-long high school literature course on Harry. We'd start by reading The Odyssey and learn about the hero quest. We'd study Greek and Roman mythology and characters like Cassandra and Argus and all the others to which JKR alludes. We'd read about King Arthur and study Chaucer. We'd read Genesis 3 and the Gospels of Luke and John. Only then would we read Harry, and we'd do lots and lots of "compare and contrast" writing. Can I write your syllabus for you? :)

And I am hardly a closet Harry fan. Those who know me even a little bit well know my obsession with Harry, and, in fact, it was a friend across the Atlantic who turned me on to this blog. I just choose to be anonymous here.

[TrudyJ]

Daneen, thanks for a wonderful post! I too am a long-time Harry fan (and an English teacher with both a BA and MA in English, thanks very much) and I too feel that the conservative Christians who get up in arms about the words "witch" and "wizard" are missing out on one of the most powerful spiritual stories of our time. My own rather lengthy review and reflections on Harry are posted on my site at http://compulsiveoverreader.wordpress.com/2007/07/27/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-by-jk-rowling/ -- Nathan Brown has a good post up too, at http://reinventingsdawheel.blogspot.com/2007/07/thoughts-from-harry-potter-agnostic.html . No, the Harry Potter books are not "great literature" but they are "great stories," and as you point out, humans are hard-wired for stories; it's how we learn best. I too am homesick for Harry now that the books are finished, but the great joy of books is re-reading ... and watching my kids discover them. I have told my 9 1/2 year old to wait till he's 10 to start Harry Potter (while I like the books, I think some of the material in the later books is too "dark" for younger kids and they work better for pre-teens) but he is chafing at the bit!!

[TrudyJ]

Note to Jared: "Bumfuzzled" is a great word. DON'T use it around teenagers, unless you can live with a high degree of mockery (learn from my mistakes)...

[Daneen Akers]

Hi TrudyJ--I completely agree that kids need to be old enough before starting these books. I think 10 or so is a great start age. I actually liked how the readership aged as the books came out--the 10-yr-olds were almost 20 by the last book! Particularly from Goblet of Fire on, the world gets serious.

I get quite angry at the theater watching the films (which are a very pale imitation of the books) when I see very young children present. I definitely don't think young children can handle the content, and I think even older kids should read the books with their parents. I think that about a lot of children's lit though--it's an excellent opportunity to deepen your relationship with your child to discuss these great works.

[Elaine]

As the mother of a college English teacher, I often hear him moan about his students lack of reading skills, and dislike of books.

My granddaughter, just beginning 3rd grade, has read at least a dozen of the Nancy Drew books and always has a book or two with her in the car or wherever she is. To see a child turned on to reading is the greatest joy of both parents and teachers. Some of us older folks learned to read from the backs of cereal boxes. Now, I see there are literary quizzes being printed on some cereals boxes in an endeavor to encourage reading.

Even if parents cannot afford to buy many books, most libraries are close enough to keep a child supplied in good books and the librarian is always ready to offer suggestions. An early love of reading is unsurpassed as the tool for learning.

[Jeannieb43]

I love this thread. As a non-reader of Harry Potter I do however enjoy following tales of Rowling and reading the reviews of her books.

My childhood memories consist of Pilgrim's Progress and Little Women which my mother, a physician, read aloud to my sister and me.

We also had learned to read from the cereal boxes. We had library cards before we went to school, and brought home a stack of books each week which we devoured.

Somehow, though, I missed out on Tolkien, et al. My parents used to caution against reading "stories" [novels] -- in spite of their having read Pilgrim's Progress and Little Women to us when we were younger. I recall being aghast when my academy Bible teacher suggested we read The Screwtape Letters. I never got around to doing so; and that's only a small part of the deficit in my totally-SDA-school education.

I'm now in a book club trying to catch up on the classics which we were not taught in academy or college. Maybe when I finish the Dostoyevsky I'm presently reading, I'll try something "light" and start HP....

[Daneen]

Oh, I'm almost a bit jealous Jeannie that you have the whole of Tolkien and Rowling (and maybe Lewis?) ahead of you still. To be able to enjoy them all again for the first time would be wonderful. Do dive in soon (and they aren't all the "light"--and I've read a good bit of the classics).

I'll add here, that I really don't recommend the films unless you've read the books. As always, the movie leaves so much out. They hit the major plot points, but a great deal of the soul gets lost.

I also wanted to tell Questioner how much I loved his thoughts about "Expecto Patronum" --"I expect a savior" or "I expect a father." Just thinking about the implications of that phrase, the longing within it for home, for love makes me tear up a bit. Thanks for reminding us of that.

[Questioner]

Jeannieb43: I am feeling your pain about the Adventist education and the lack of exposure to great literature. I, too, wasn't allowed to read "novels," although somehow Nancy Drew and Little Women made it through the filter. My daughter is now a sophomore at a non-Adventist Christian school and I am getting my education in the classics through her. Just this week she asked me what we studied in English in high school and I can't remember a single thing except a poem called "The O-Filler" about a guy who spent all day at the library filling in the Os and only the Os -- not the As or the Es or the Qs -- in the library books. Speaks volumes about what we're teaching our kids, doesn't it? By contrast, her summer reading included The Crucible and Murder in the Cathedral, as well as some Hemingway short stories. And that was all required before school even started.

TrudyJ: I am curious about how you distinguish great literature from a great story. Can something be great literature without telling a great story? And if it tells a great story, why isn't it great literature? Help me understand the difference.

Daneen: No big deal, but I'm a she.

[TrudyJ]

I think the term "great literature" is so elastic and so subjective as to be almost meaningless, and I was writing in a hurry. I think what I meant to say is that Rowling's strength (like CS Lewis's) is in creating a strong plot with memorable characters whom the reader can identify with and care for. She's not primarily a "literary" writer in the sense that the beauty of the language, the way she uses words themselves, is not one of the things that draws people to her books. I'd say she's a competent writer in terms of how she handles the English language, but there are not many passages in her books that stand out as "beautifully written" (although the beginning of the chapter "The Forest Again" in Deathly Hallows does seem to me to be a lovely piece from a literary point of view).

It seems to me many of these elements are necessary for "great literature" -- good storytelling, great characters, beautiful language -- although of course some writers emphasize one at the expense of the other, and in any analysis of such things the reader's individual taste plays a huge role. Rowling gets two out of three from me on that score. But I wouldn't call her a "literary" writer (much less so, for example, than Philip Pullman, to cite another contemporary young-adult fantasy author).

The other thing that I think fantasy writers are expected to do well is world-building, Tolkein having set the bar quite high here -- creating a coherent and detailed alternate world into which the reader is drawn. I think this may have been the area in which Tolkein was rather contemptuous of Lewis, and I think Rowling is more like Lewis here -- her whole magical world is rather thrown-together to suit the demands of the story and characters, rather than being incredibly well-developed and consistent in every detail, as Tolkein's Middle-Earth is. I can see why some nitpicky fantasy readers find this makes them crazy, but as a reader it's not something that bothers me a whole lot. There are huge inconsistencies and irrationalities in the magical world Rowling has created (as there are many in Lewis' Narnia) but I am really reading for story and character so it doesn't bother me. However, from a fantasy point of view, I think detailed and competent world-building would probably also be a necessary factor in considering the "greatness" of a book.

[Carrol Grady]

I must confess to not having read Harry, and now you've convinced me I should. A few years back I "discovered" history (I'm not a college graduate, but am still glad I chose to drop out and marry my wonderful husband), and having only an academy American history class to my credit, I'm now trying to make up for lost time, so had thought Harry was "less important." Before history, I did enjoy Lewis and Tolkien, so now I'm looking forward to unguilty pleasure in the future with Harry.

[Carrol Grady]

Trudy, in this age of books I think there are so many other authors that can be added to the classics. I read all of Gerald Durrell's witty, informative and slyly sarcastic animal books. Have you read Lewis' Space Trilogy? Would you say he was more successful in them in creating an alternate world?

[Dan Giang]

It's too bad that so many Christians are turned off by JKR's use of "magic" and "wizards" as her fantasy world that they miss a well-plotted saga, memorable characters you can relate to and her critique of Friedrich Nietzsche. ("DUMBLEDORE IS DEAD!") Almost all of Voldemort's lines in the "A Flaw in the Plan" are virtually direct quotes from Nietzsche. Jesus' (and Dumbledore's and Harry's and, yes, Dobby's) way of self-sacrificing love proves (over and over in the series) to be more heroic, more just and authentically human in the end that Nietzsche's will to power. Thus, JKR is really dialoging with Nietzsche's philosophical offspring: existentialism and post-modernism.

Lou Venden had the sermon at Calimesa church today. He showed how Jesus' prayer that God would manifest His power and glory (John 17) were answered by His self-sacrificing love on the cross. That's the same answer Harry Potter gives. Jared Wright, whereever you are, hi from the home church!

[Jared Wright]

Dan,

Welcome (back?) to the conversations! As much as I enjoy meeting new people here on the blog, there's nothing like conversing with people from the home community!

[Daneen]

Hi all,
We're back from Paris now--pretty jet-lagged but home. One of the magazine covers that awaited me when I got home was The Week's "The Gospel of Harry: Does Potter have a religious message?"
http://www.theweekmagazine.com/news/articles/news.aspx?ArticleID=2201

I thought you'd like to read it--I naturally side with the religion writer from the Toronto Star and the Reverend John Killinger.

“I had never read a Harry Potter book until three months ago,” said Jeff Diamant in the Toronto Star. But an editor asked me, as a religion writer, to plow through the entire series in conjunction with the release of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.Now I’ve come to understand why author J.K. Rowling has sold more books than any writer in history. More than a mere fantasy series about wizardry, Potter is essentially spiritual in nature—an exploration of the age-old themes of suffering and death, love and redemption. Harry himself is quite clearly a Christ figure, locked in a mythic struggle against the satanic Lord Voldemort. You don’t have to look hard to find plenty of Christian symbolism, said author John Killinger in Beliefnet.com. In his battle against evil, Harry is equipped with magic powers, yet he’s also all too human (a muggle). In the end, Harry sacrifices himself to save the world, and is reborn. Sound familiar?"

Richard Abanes also is quoted later on (The Week is a news digest, reporting snippets of major stories as covered by a variety of sources). Abanes is a vocal Harry critic and happens to the the author of a recent Adventist Review article about Harry Potter:
http://www.adventistreview.org/2001-1547/story5.html
(It's a reprint from his book that is outdated now as it's only about the first book.) It pained me to see that his voice was the only one that our official church publication chose to promote.

One of Abane's continual gripes about Harry and his friends is that they get away with breaking the rules. I seethe when he cites in snippets from the books completely out of context (for example, he'll quote a section where Harry is angry and thinking cruel thoughts, but not go into the fact that it's Snape or Malfoy that have just deliberately provoked him). The whole rule-breaking issue always leaves me scratching my head because I thought Christians (especially Adventists) want their kids to learn that there is a higher moral code in the universe--sometimes it's necessary to break "man's" rules to follow God's. I also wonder what type of book folks like Abanes think kids will read--they see right through simplistic moral tales of "be good and listen to the adults or else...." One of Rowling's talents is remembering what adolescence is really like. Kids know that bullies like Malfoy exist and authority figures like Snape take advantage of their power; watching Harry deal with the reality of such characters helps kids vicariously battle their own Malfoys and Snapes. Harry does suffer consequences for poor choices though, especially for his unwillingness to trust in Dumbledore's trust of Snape. (In Book 5, the consequences of this are disastrous.)

[Daneen]

By the way, I've loved catching up on the "what is great literature" strand that got started here as well. As an English teacher, I've often wondered this, and I find my definition continually changing. I often come back to a simple idea: great literature somehow captures an essential truth about humanity that we can continually identify with (exhibit #1, Shakespeare).

As for its "literary" qualities, I sometimes find this overemphasized, and too many contemporary novels try far too hard to be literary. I cringe reading some writers who seem to be trying to hard to be great--the prose gets in the way of character and story. By that standard, I find J.K. Rowling to also be quite literary. Particularly when I listened to the books on CD (I can't recommend this enough; the reader is amazing), I really heard her words--she doesn't force metaphors and such on the reader--when they are there, they belong. I've always enjoyed the stripped-down, simple, no-nonsense British voice though (Lewis being another example).

Tolkien certainly looked down on Lewis (and would on Rowling too) for incorporating all sorts of imagery, myth and legend into their worlds. His standard of "world-building" is pretty high to match though (I mean, he wrote the Ring trilogy as a backstory to an entire language he had invented). I find Lewis and Rowling's worlds delightful and quite enjoy bumping into creatures from all sorts of mythologies. For an interesting take on this topic, I'd recommend Stephen King's recent article in Entertainment Weekly (I'm not a fan of horror, but I like his other work and have found his advice on writing to be superb):
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20044270_20044274_20050689,00.html

[Questioner]

TrudyJ: I've been thinking quite a bit about how you define great literature, hoping that something profound would come to me. And while I certainly appreciate a writer who uses the language lovingly and well, I would suggest that time is the true test of greatness. In that respect I guess none of us can really judge JKR's work because enough time has not yet passed. However, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt my children have been so enthralled with the whole HP phenomenon that they will be sharing Harry with their children (and if they don't, I will) and perhaps their grandchildren, too.

This is a story that has captivated millions around the world like no other story ever has. And while some might quibble about inconsistencies in Jo's magical world, that world is so accessible and so easy to believe in that I have no doubt her story will stand the test of time. Heck -- my kids are still holding out hope that their letter might arrive before the Hogwarts Express leaves on Sept. 1!

Daneen: I don't subscribe to the Adventist Review but it pains me to think they are so short sighted to overlook the clear spiritual message of Harry Potter in favor of a knee-jerk reaction to the magic. I'm not surprised, though. Maybe that's why I no longer subscribe. And maybe that's why people are leaving the Adventist church in droves: They no longer see it as being relevant to their lives.

[Pastor Greg]

Nice review of the Potter books in Christianity Today's "Books & Culture" -- click on my name for the link.

[Pastor Greg]

Nice review of the Potter books in Christianity Today's "Books & Culture" -- click on my name for the link.

[Daneen]

Thanks for the link Pastor Greg--I had just tried to read this from the newsletter and wasn't getting the page to come up.

This is an excellent article by Alan Jacobs, an English professor at Wheaton College. He's written other insightful articles in the past about Harry that I've enjoyed.

I especially liked his use of G.K. Chesterton to discuss the "penny dreadful"--the boy's adventure story genre that was so popular during his time. I agree wholeheatedly that Harry is the best penny dreadful ever written, and I know one of the reasons why I love them so much is because they are "always on the side of life."

[Daneen]

Here's that Christianity Today link again;
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/005/1.47.html

I highly recommend it. The only area I'd like to discuss more with Professor Jacobs is Harry as a Christ figure. Obviously it is not a direct analogy (not even as direct as Aslan and Lewis always got annoyed when people tried to push that metaphor too far). However, I think Harry most fully exemplifies a mortal's life trying to live out Christ's example. Even though it isn't implicit in the books that Harry knows Jesus' sacrifice, his moral compass is clearly fixed to follow that example (greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends). Harry is a role model for us, for mortals about how to life out the enormous power of self-sacrificing love and face our fear of death.

[Questioner]

The fear of death is obviously a huge theme running through all the HP novels, and by equipping Harry to face death beginning in book one I think JKR has performed a great service to her readers.

This is something we're coping with in our home right now. My 88 yr. old mother-in-law is in a state of physical and mental decline on an almost-daily basis, and although an Adventist for something like 70 years, I can tell she has no peace as she approaches the end of her life. She feels she hasn't been good enough and doesn't know if she'll really make it to heaven.

My kids and I were discussing this the other day and one of them piped up with a variation on a Dumbledore quote: "But doesn't she know that to the well-ordered mind death is just the next great adventure?" For them the subtext is that if one trusts Jesus as his or her savior, the next great adventure is eternal life with our Creator. My kids understand that in part because of the way we've watched Harry handle the Big Questions of Life that Jo Rowling has thrown at him over the last seventeen years.

[Elaine]

This is not at all unusual for elderly Adventists. I still remember one of our pastors (who was diagnosed with terminal cancer), visiting his 93-yr. old mother in a nursing home and she still "hoped" to be in Heaven, but there was no "blessed assurance."
Doesn't EGW say that we should never speak of the certainty of salvation? At least that was the message that was drummed into us at an early age.

[Pastor Greg]

EGW's remarks were directed at Calvinism's belief in the perseverance of the saints, i.e. "once saved, always saved."

In her view, salvation was like marriage: we can know for a fact that we are saved today (just as we can know for a fact that we are married), but we should not take it for granted that we will be saved (or married) tomorrow, regardless of what we do in the meantime.

[Dr. Thomas J. Zwemer]

A very poor attempt at C.S. Lewis. Tom Z.

[Elaine]

Pastor Gregg, so should we not sing "Blessed Assurance" or "Lean on the Everlasting Arms" but should be a "wee bit" worried about our final destination?

If a marriage is built on such insecurity, faint chance of its success. If one cannot have full confidence in the fidelity and faithfulness of her partner, surely, God is much more faithful than a marriage partner can possibly be. Not a good analogy, In my book.

[Dr. Thomas J. Zwemer]

Elaine

Pastor Greg took a great risk in his marriage analogy. But so did God.

Betty and I have been faithfully married for 58 years and two months--but whose counting? Pastor Greg--Salvation is sure today and tomorrow! God does not move away from His Assurance. Of course we can! I think that is what you inferred. I don't know why we keep referring to Luther, Calvin, or E. G. White when we have the words of Jesus and the understanding of Paul. Why do we always want to second guess either one? Tom

[Pastor Greg]

My salvation is sure and secure today; so is my marriage.

But people who take either one for granted generally run into trouble as the years go by. This is one of the problems that can develop with a Calvinist belief in "the perseverance of the saints" -- and I believe this is what EGW was warning about.

So yes, like any good Wesleyan, you can sing "Blessed Assurance" and "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."

But I'd recommend you avoid the "TULIP Blues."