I first heard of Harry Potter through an e-mail my mother forwarded me.  She probably had received it through one of her Christian e-mail lists that focuses on being a homemaker.  The e-mail quoted children who said they were cursing bullies and kids they don't like, a priest of the Church of Satan (from Salem, Massachusetts no less) who was calling the books a "god-send", and a supposed quote of Ms. Rowling herself in which she stated that "Jesus was weak" and that she hoped her books enlightened kids concerning his stupidity.  To me it seemed that this article / forward was being passed around as fact.  In hindsight i should have seen the truth (the article was hilarious once i realized what it was), but i fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

Today i know the truth:  there was an article published by the Onion (a satirical web magazine) and they were making fun of the Christians who were calling for Harry Potter book burnings.  Somehow this article eventually began to be forwarded in Christian circles as fact and became yet another Urban Legend.  Whether or not the person who started the forward knew the truth about the nature of the article i do not know...  Were they saying "ha ha, this is funny!" and it got taken seriously?  Or did someone say "ah ha, ammunition!" and purposefully send the article to others hoping for people to hate Rowling and her books even more?  I'm sure we'll never know, but suffice it to say that eventually Christians were sending this to their friends as fact, and my mother trusted the people who sent the article to her, and i trust her.  I was more than a little angry when i found out the truth; what began as a joke slid into gossip, into lies, into libel and slander.  Worse yet Christians continue to extrapolate upon such lies and attack those of us who like the series.  I have yet to see one Christian argument against the series that isn't based in lies.

So what is the truth?

The truth is that Joanne Rowling is a Christian who was a voracious reader as a child:  her influences were Tolkien and Lewis (among others).  She wrote Harry Potter for her daughter, was struggling as a single mum, and then suddenly her book got published and surprise! she instantly became famous and rich.  Here is a series of books that has brought children back to reading with a passion that hasn't been shown in years...  And these aren't short books with simple and forgettable storylines, but whomping big ones that are over 300 pages long and have more forshadowing than can be caught during a first reading.  Rowling draws on history and mythology as her inspiration, writes about characters that almost anyone can identify with, and is including a hidden message in her stories about God's love!  These books are less dangerous than Disney movies, but the same people who let their kids watch those films without a second thought or taking the time to preview the content are up in arms about Harry Potter.  Still, i believe that J.K. Rowling's books will one day be considered on par with Tolkien's, Lewis', and MacDonald's works.

As to the debate about Harry Potter world being too magical, "too close to real" for comfort, one must make up their own mind.  Yes, God condemns fortune telling and witchcraft in the Bible (Leviticus 19:26b), but the same God enabled Joseph and Daniel to interpret dreams, Moses to perform many signs and wonders (including the Ten Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea), used Elijah to stop the skies from giving rain and to shame Baal's prophets (1 Kings 18-19), and promised that in the End Times even we will dream dreams, have visions, and prophesy (Joel 2:28).  Jesus himself taught in parables; similarly, Harry Potter is a morality tale that can teach us how to serve God with more faith.

It's been argued that witchcraft is a sin because its ultimate goal is obtaining more power and "hidden" knowledge, yet this is not the case with the magic in Harry Potter as a rule.  Harry has not acquired his powers:  he was born with them.  He does not go to school to learn how to become more powerful but to learn how to control and use the power he already has, much as we go to school to learn how to write and speak properly, and count in better ways than with our fingers, and observe and use what God gave us in the world around us.  Only evil Dark Wizards who are intent on killing anyone who isn't pure-blooded are concerned with getting more power and hiding truth, and they are very obviously the villains in the tale.

Yes, Harry and Ron and Hermione break rules more than a few times and are very obviously sinful by nature (just as all of us are).  But if the members of our Trio were perfect would they seem as real to us, as applicable?  Not very likely:  readers enjoy these books because the magical world seems so "real," and that's not in a bad way.  Even the smallest child who reads these stories knows that magic is pretend, that Harry's world is not our world, but that there are lessons we can take away in reading and be better for it.  These books are focused on doing what is right even when it is not easy; that's why i'm a fan of Harry Potter, not because it is easy, but because (i believe) it is right.

Yes, i still wonder if a Christian did this on purpose, if they manipulated this article for their own purposes.  I am convinced that Satan is doing his best to make sure that most Christians are kept in the dark about the truth regarding Rowling's beliefs and intentions because these books are being used against him.  Rumors like the Onion forward are still started and repeated all the time:  the truth is that as long as people are content to stubbornly believe lies rather than discover the truth then Satan will keep his foothold here and in other areas where we can be blessed by God.  The lies will not stop when Christians perpetuate them and turn a blind eye--indeed, even a judgemental one--towards fellow Christians.  It is my hope that both the saved and unsaved will be blessed in the writing of these pages, that i can shed some light on the lies that have been perpetuated by one article that was misinterpreted, and successfully argue that this series is indeed a God-send.

If you, the reader, has any questions about the series, if you are questioning the tales that you used to believe about the nature of the Harry Potter series, i invite you to e-mail me with your questions.  I also challenge you to read the books and discover the truth for yourself:  don't just take anyone's word for it (not even mine), take Jesus' advice and read the books and compare them to the Scriptures for yourself.  I know that Ms. Rowling is writing these books with the intention of drawing people to Christ, all i ask is that you allow God to use these books to bless you if that is His will.

with love,
K.N. Senko