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The magic of Harry Potter

Myron Penner

How many players are there on a Quidditch team? Who makes “Every Flavour Beans”? What’s a “muggle”? If you can answer these questions, then chances are you’ve been reading the immensely popular Harry Potter children’s series by British author Joanne Rowling (Rowling rhymes with “bowling”). If you’re a Christian and a Potter fan, you’re likely aware that not all of your sisters and brothers in Christ will agree with your choice of fiction.


You see, Harry Potter is a wizard (most of the action in Rowling’s works takes place at “Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Harry, along with his classmates Ron (a likeable fellow from a large, poor family) and Hermione (a brainy, conscientious, teacher’s-pet type), get into all sorts of adventures as they make their way through Hogwarts. Each book covers one year at this boarding school for budding magicians, where mail is delivered by owl and students can take classes like “Potions” and “Care and Feeding of Magical Creatures”. Should Christians read Harry Potter? Alan Jacobs, an English professor at the staunchly conservative evangelical Wheaton College, says that Christians have two main concerns about the Potter books. First, Harry tends to ignore school rules about curfew and certain restricted areas when these rules interfere with his progress in solving the latest mystery. The second, and more significant, concern has to do with the humorous and creative backdrop of magic that permeates Rowling’s books. Jacobs notes that some “feel that books which make magic so funny and charming don’t exactly support the Christian view of things . . . [and might] at best encourage children to take a smilingly tolerant New Age view of witchcraft, at worst encourage the practice of witchcraft itself” (First Things, January 2000).

Jacobs goes on to say that Christians have nothing to fear about the way Rowling portrays magic. The imaginary world Rowling creates in her books is one where magic spells and potions function in much the same way technology functions in our world. The students at Hogwarts learn their craft through mundane and sometimes tedious classes that provide information comparable to what one would expect in science, history or biology class.

This mechanical use of magic is similar to the way magic functions in C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Here Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy discover that a wardrobe constructed of wood from a Narnian tree provides a portal into the land of Narnia. The children can travel to and from Narnia, not by invoking supernatural power, but simply because the particular construction of the wardrobe makes it possible. This machinelike, imaginary magic is of a different order from the magic of the occult.

Charles Colson, another fan of the Potter series, agrees that Rowling’s imaginary world of magic is not “the kind of real life witchcraft the Bible condemns . . . the kind that encourages involvement with supernatural evil”. Rather, says Colson, “the magic in [Rowling’s] books is purely mechanical, as opposed to occultic . . . [Harry and friends] don’t make contact with a supernatural world” (Breakpoint, Nov. 2, 1999). It’s also worth mentioning that Rowling herself doesn’t practise or believe in magic. (She isn’t particularly fond of boarding schools either and has vowed that her daughter will never attend one.) For Rowling, both magic and boarding schools are simply literary devices.

If the magical imagery isn’t enough to make Harry Potter out of bounds for Christian readers, is there anything in the Potter books that commends itself to a Christian audience? The quality of “not being particularly harmful” isn’t exactly the ultimate quality we should look for in any book we read. Are there any good reasons for considering Harry Potter a worthwhile read? I can think of several. Here are two.

First, Rowling has what Jacobs describes as “that mysterious gift, so prized among storytellers and lovers of stories . . . of world-making”. Rowling is a great storyteller with a knack for vivid characterization and extraordinary attention to detail without being too cumbersome. Her books are delightful, witty and interesting – the type that could turn a struggling reader into a lover of books.

Second, Rowling upholds virtues that Christians can agree with. She places realistic limits on the ability of human beings to succeed in the virtuous life, but doesn’t shy away from making her characters responsible for the choices they make. Rowling attacks class distinctions based on wealth and bloodlines, and shows the folly of valuing things of little worth. Colson observes that Harry and company “develop courage, loyalty, and a willingness to sacrifice for one another – even at the risk of their lives. Not bad lessons in a self-centred world.” I agree.

Should Christians read Harry Potter? In my view, there is nothing about the Potter books that automatically excludes them from being on a Christian’s reading list. In fact, I think the opposite is true; there is much about the Potter series that is worthy of praise for readers of all ages. However, it would be a good idea for parents to read Harry Potter before allowing their children to read the books. Colson encourages parents to help children see the deeper themes in the book, including “how the author presents evil as evil, and good as good”.

Myron Penner is a member of Bakerview MB Church in Abbotsford, B.C.

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Last modified December 3, 2000.

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