I (Finally) Read Harry Potter

I was the rare kid who did not read Harry Potter as a kid. A lot of my friends did but I guess they just didn't talk about it around me because I never felt like I was missing out. As I got older, I started hearing the debate among Christians over whether or not people should be reading these books. I decided I needed to read them for myself to draw my own conclusions. After all, how can I make a decision for my own kids if all I have are other people's opinions?

The biggest argument against HP that I heard had to do with the magic. I heard people saying that it was actual spells and had connections to things that interacted with the spiritual realm in a bad way. Basically, it wasn't "made up" magic.

I will pause here to say that I absolutely believe in demons and the spirit realm so this is a legit concern. It's a dangerous world to be involved in and something Christians should not be involved in for sure. But were the accusations true? I knew many solid Christians who read them, including my own pastor's kids!!!

Last summer, I finally decided it was time to read the series. The size of the books has always intimidated me but I borrowed all the books from a friend and got to work. This was also after a good friend of mine had read them and RAVED about how much she loved them. I had a theory going in about what might be causing these "arguments" and debates and reading them only reinforced that theory.

This is going to seem like a rabbit trail but please, bear with me. I will connect the threads. There is something in Christianity that is well-meaning but misplaced and that is where we try to make our convictions on freedom issues into rules for everyone else to follow. In an effort to pursue holiness and live godly lives, we often fall into legalism. If you don't know what that is, legalism is basically when you create extra rules and laws in order to regulate behavior but it never works out because Christianity is all about heart change, which leads to behavior change. You can't start with behavior change if there is no heart change.

We saw this in a huge way with purity culture but for our purposes today, I will give you a couple examples from my own life. I wear dresses and skirts almost exclusively. This is something that makes me more comfortable but is also something I feel convicted to do. (Conviction is not a bad thing in the way I am using it). That's fine but if I start telling people that they have to dress like me in order to really be a good Christian, that is legalism. I'm taking something that God has convicted me on and saying it applies to all other Christians. I'm making extra rules. Now, are there standards for how Christians should and shouldn't dress? Absolutely, but they are broader than some want to make them.

So how does this apply to Harry Potter? Some people, because of their past and background, are more susceptible to the spiritual realm. They have weakness that Satan wants to exploit and for them, things that include magic and wizardry could be a huge stumbling block. It could pull them back into sin. For them, Harry Potter is dangerous because it leads to temptation. However, not every has that same sin struggle. I, personally, can discern that Harry Potter is fake. Is it closer to the kinds of magic that does exist than say, Narnia? Yes, it is, but I still can take it as fiction. I don't know if the spells are real spells or close to real spells. I didn't look into that.

What I found was that people need to know themselves. If you know that spiritual warfare is your weakness, Harry Potter is probably not for you. If you have a friend who you know has that struggle, don't recommend it to them! But if you can read them as fiction, knowing that there is real magic and sorcery that we need to avoid, then you can do so in freedom.

Now, I will say that the books had some very disturbing parts, so I would not let my own kids read them until they were at least in high school and I might wait until they were at least 16, it would depend on the kid. But I know families who let their 10, 11, 12 year olds read them and that's what they have decided to do as a family!

Should Christians read Harry Potter? That's between them and God.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with this! Also, let me know if you would like me to flesh out any of this even more. I know I use some unique phrases and ideas that might be new to people :)

Keep reading for my review of the series and reviews for each book!

My Personal Review

I did find the books to be well written, but not as amazing as I expected based on the praise I have always heard. I liked them well-enough but honestly didn't feel like many characters were developed other than Harry. Dumbledore seemed kind of incompetent, if I'm being honest. I will say that Rowling's villains and antagonists were VERY hateable! (Yes, I know that's not a word.) Snape, Malfoy, & Umbridge. I think I hated them all more than Voldemort!

Harry's constant losses made me very upset. Why could he not have someone who loves him stay alive?! Umbridge made me furious beyond reason. I hate her more thank Loki (and that's saying something for those who know me!) It doesn't help that I was basically living under an Umbridge at the time of reading so it was too close to my real life.

I also didn't love the pairings. What I did like was the friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It was special and I really enjoyed it a lot. I liked Sirius too. He might be my favorite adult.

Quidditch and Diagon Alley were probably my favorite elements of the world. I want to watch the movies to see how they make them "real".

The books were interesting and I'm glad I read them. I don't know that I will ever re-read them. Funny note: I watched Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them before I read anything HP and I loved that movie!

Want to read my reviews for each book?

• The Sorcerer's Stone
• Chamber of Secrets
• Prisoner of Azkaban
• Goblet of Fire
• Order of the Phoenix
• Half-Blood Prince
  
• Deathly Hallows