September/October 2002

Faith, Fantasy and Paganism

by Monte Wolverton

In Penryn, Pennsylvania, a police chief refuses to provide traffic control for the local YMCA triathlon. According to the police chief, the YMCA is promoting witchcraft by including the popular Harry Potter series in its after-school reading program.

In South Carolina, outraged parents demanded that a second grade teacher desist from reading Harry Potter books to her class.

Meanwhile, in New Mexico, a conservative church held a public book-burning, fueled mostly with Harry Potter stories.

One radio preacher is warning that those who view and read the Harry Potter series are "opening up the door of their minds to the subtle wiles of the devil, himself..they are VIOLATING GOD'S LAWS by pretending sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying and delving in the 'black magic' of demonism are merely harmless 'fun.'"

"Whether we want to believe it or not," the preacher fulminated, "God Almighty says society should impose the DEATH penalty for anyone practicing witchcraft!"

While most Christians would probably stop short of calling for the execution of Harry Potter fans, the movie and books have definitely created a "disturbance in the force" of evangelical Christianity. More than 100 million copies of the Harry Potter series have been sold with nearly 50 translations in 200 countries. For some Christians, the movie is simply a tool to condition children to the harmlessness of witchcraft.

The first cinematic installment of Lord of the Rings followed close on Potter's heels. Again, some Christians voiced concern over the occult content of this blockbuster movie.

But Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings are just the tip of the witch's hat. The genres of fantasy, horror and "sword and sorcery" are pervasive in books, movies, comic books, radio and television. Popular science fiction also stresses the supernatural, as attested to by this summer's release of yet another chapter in the ongoing Star Wars saga.

Occult content in literature is by no means a modern phenomenon. Those innocuous fairy tales that generations of children have grown up with were filled with trolls and witches, spells and incantations. Based on fairy tales, such hugely popular animated classics as Peter Pan, Snow White and Cinderella, with their magic and pagan content, might have given some well-intentioned Christians reason to boycott Disneyland, burn films or lynch animators decades ago.

Or, centuries ago, some might have attacked the work of William Shakespeare, the very foundation of English literature, which contains more than its share of references to witches and magic.

Christians in a Quandary

Our historical preoccupation with the occult notwithstanding, anyone who watches television or movies must admit that the occult in entertainment has become more overt in recent decades.

The wildly popular television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed offer up a variety of witches, demons and warlocks wielding supernatural powers. Darker fare is available in the horror movie genre, with frightening films such as Hellraiser, Poltergeist and this year's Frailty. Worse yet, sword and sorcery video games are often violent and grisly.

All this makes even the most liberal parent wonder how his or her child might be affected.

How are Christians supposed to react? Is the great con-artist, Satan, rubbing his hands together in glee as a world full of gullible, slack-jawed yokels is duped by his conspiracy to paganize entertainment?

Should we avoid these movies and books at all cost? Will we become possessed by Beelzebub? Should we forbid such entertainment for our children? Will these books and movies entice children into covens, into sacrificing goats to the devil and leaping naked around ritualistic bonfires?

Is a little fantasy permissible, and if so, where do we draw the line? How alarmed should we be? Should we march on Hollywood, as some "spiritual warfare" groups have done? Should we send letters, e-mails, faxes and phone calls to the major studios, producers and writers?

Are some zealous and well-meaning Christians overreacting out of misunderstanding and fear?

Is it possible that we might be opposing the wrong enemy, spending energy and resources fighting Harry Potter and Star Wars, when far more destructive and violent books, movies, video games and websites that promote the occult are freely accessible?

Perhaps we need to discern between entertainment that is truly harmful and entertainment that is merely a reflection of our imperfect culture.

In order to do that, it's necessary to consider the way in which our culture has developed.

Partially Pagan

Western culture has been shaped and influenced by Christianity for only the last two millennia. Some portions of Europe and the British Isles were converted to Christianity only about a thousand years ago. We are not that far removed from the ancient gods our ancestors worshiped. The names of our days and months echo the ancient deities -- Saturn, Janus, Frea, Woden and Thor.

Early on, the Christian church co-opted some of the ancient, pagan festivals and customs in an effort to redirect the attention of the people to Christianity. Churches were erected on formerly pagan holy sites. Pagan household deities were replaced by saints. God, a pagan Anglo-Saxon word which once referred to deities such as Balder and Thor, came to refer to the Christian Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As the church expanded, pagan territory (intellectual and geographical) was claimed for Christ.

It should come as no surprise then, that the Western culture we sometimes call "Christian," is really an amalgam of ancient paganism, Christianity and other, more recent philosophies and modes of thought.

While artifacts of paganism are all around us -- Easter eggs, mistletoe and the days of the week -- few of us, if any, actually impute magical power to mistletoe, or believe that the ancient god Woden has some special power over Wednesdays. The pagan elements in our culture are no more than artifacts -- reminders of our ignorant and superstitious origins. We cannot reasonably expect our literature, or our language to be laundered of pagan references, names and characters.

Lessons From Literature

Literature is a reflection of culture. Everywhere in literature and movies -- wherever a story is told -- we encounter good and evil. We encounter good characters and evil characters. More true to life, we encounter characters who are a mixture of both, or who are complex and conflicted.

Skilled authors draw elements from the culture to tell their story. At times, some of these elements are pagan. The writer may employ fantasy and magic. But the critical question for Christians is not whether there are pagan elements in the story, but motive -- where is the author going with those elements? What lesson is he or she trying to communicate or even promote?

Would-be Christian censors often focus on the form, rather than the substance. As Christian author Connie Neal observes: "This is what I am challenging people to think through. If we apply the same kind of censorship to other pieces of literature as we do with Harry Potter, where does it stop? If you say, 'I will not read a story that has any wands or spells,' then you have to get rid of over two-thirds of classic children's literature, including Cinderella, Peter Pan and Beauty and the Beast."

When we focus on the form, rather than the substance, we may find ourselves rejecting some excellent literature and letting through some far more dangerous ideas which come wrapped in pleasant and innocuous packages.

Many movies and television shows from the "good old days" of the 1930s, '40s and '50s, for example, may seem wholesomely devoid of pagan elements, and may seem to uphold Christian standards. Yet upon careful analysis and scrutiny, some of these movies and television shows promote racism, stereotypes and materialism.

While wealthy, white businessmen are portrayed as fine, upstanding citizens, African Americans, Native Americans and Mexicans are portrayed in disparaging roles. Many of these shows are still regularly aired, yet few, if any, Christians complain about them.

During that same era, the celebrated Christian theologian and author C.S. Lewis published his Chronicles of Narnia. Some Christians promptly attacked the work, as it contained witches, gods and goddesses and anamistic spirits.

Yet the work has a profoundly Christian message. As C.S. Lewis himself said: "Within a given story, any object, person or place is neither more nor less, nor other, than what that story effectively shows it to be."

In other words, even though the elements in a story may derive from paganism, they are merely being used to tell a story. The important thing is -- what does the story say?

C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter Series) and J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Lord of the Rings series) were, and are, committed Christians. The messages of their work are Christian messages -- the triumph of good over evil.

"At its deepest level, The Lord of the Rings is also a tale about the sovereignty of God. The God who uses even the enemy's wicked designs to bring about the ultimate fulfillment of his perfect plan," comments Jim Ware, co-author of Finding God in the Lord of the Rings.

The Star Wars series, although not necessarily created by Christians, sends the same message -- tyranny and evil may hold power for a short time, but freedom and good will always triumph in the end.

Biblical Bookburnings?

"But," some may counter, "doesn't the New Testament give an example where newly-converted Christians destroyed books dealing with the black arts? Shouldn't we do the same?"

In Acts 19:19 we read that a number of people who had practiced sorcery in the city of Ephesus, reacting to the gospel, destroyed their books on the occult arts. These were not Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings books, written by Christian authors, promoting Christian virtues. They were scrolls containing serious incantations and instructions for practicing actual pagan rites.

While the Bible condemns sorcery and the worship of pagan gods, it does not condemn Christians who must live and conduct daily activities in a pagan culture. Consider the way the apostle Paul responded to the early Corinthian church when a controversy arose regarding whether Christians should eat food that had been sacrificed to idols. He reminded the Corinthians: "We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one" (1 Corinthians 8:4).

Likewise, Christians two millennia later should recognize that they need not fear the powerless gods of paganism -- much less worry about literary references to sorcery and magic.

However, Paul goes on to say that we should be careful not to offend those who, because of a "weak conscience" (8:10) might be sensitive or fearful about such things.

Likewise, Christians of today who find moral significance and meaning in literary fantasy would be wise not to force their freedom of conscience and preferences on other Christians.

The biblical record shows that Paul was by no means cloistered. For someone who had once been a strict and closed-minded Pharisee, Paul had a surprisingly open outlook toward pagan culture. His writings are sprinkled with references to classical literature and poetry, so we may assume that he had read and studied them. He was able to use this pagan literacy to effectively communicate with non-Jews, as he did with the Athenian philosophers in Acts 17.

How to Handle It

Here are some points to consider for parents who are concerned about the impact of fantasy on their children.

1) If you have questions about a book or movie, consult responsible reviews, or better yet, read or view the work yourself. Only then can you intelligently discuss it with your child or decide what kind of guidance to give.

2) Discern the author's intent and motive. What is the moral of the story? Ask God to help you discern.

3) Forbid reading or viewing the material in question if you think you must -- but realize that it may be difficult, if not impossible, to prevent your child from viewing a movie, reading a book or playing a game. Forbidden fruit becomes sweeter and all the more enticing, especially if friends are doing it. That's why the next strategy is preferable.

4) Discuss the material with your child. Play the game, see the movie or read the book with them. Discuss the principles involved from a Christian viewpoint. Give your child all the tools he or she needs to think it through and form an opinion. If the opinion differs from yours, keep the dialog open and continue to let your child know where you stand and why.

Where to Draw the Line

Our world presents parents with a long list of potential prohibitions on which we must choose where to draw the line. How many prohibitions can we invoke before losing our relationship with our children? On the other hand, how many prohibitions do we need to impose to avoid losing our children to immorality?

In a world filled with child abuse, hatred, crime, drugs and child pornography, Harry Potter and other similar popular literary works of fantasy do not seem to call for the kind of absolute-line-in-the-sand that other issues do. 

Additional reading:

What's a Christian to Do With Harry Potter, (WaterBrook Press) Connie Neal.

Finding God in the Lord of the Rings, (Tyndale) Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware.

Tolkien's Ordinary Virtues, (Intervarsity Press) Mark Eddy Smith.

Harried About Harry? by Doug Trouten If the film's detractors are to be believed, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a tool of the devil to deceive Christians and non-Christians alike, catching them up in the world of the occult and leading them straight to the pits of hell. Children who see the film will sell their souls to Satan and in return receive the power to turn one another into badgers, possibly in the car while traveling home from the theater. It's true that the Harry Potter stories deal with magic. They're set in a school where young people are trained in sorcery. But Harry Potter is to the real world of the occult as Santa Claus is to the birth of Christ. The connection is tangential at best. One is real; the other is not. This important distinction seems to be lost on many who've jumped on the Potter-bashing bandwagon. This is no surprise. Organized religion has traditionally been uneasy with theater, with fiction and with imagination itself. C.S. Lewis was criticized for his Chronicles of Narnia, in which good characters and bad alike use magic to battle each other. Today those books -- which author J.K. Rowling acknowledges as her inspiration for her Harry Potter books -- are widely revered as Christian classics. Some Harry Potter alarmists I've read attempt to draw a distinction between Narnia and Potter, noting that the Narnia stories are Christian allegory, while the Harry Potter books are simply intended as entertainment. This is the sort of end-justifies-the-means situational ethics that we'd surely never tolerate in others. If it's wrong to show a good character using magic in a piece of entertainment, it's wrong in an allegory as well. Others say that even if the magic in Harry Potter isn't genuine, it could lead children to the real occult and should therefore be avoided. This is the same sort of zero-tolerance thinking that has our schools deciding they're unable to distinguish between heroin and aspirin, and expelling students for possessing either on campus. Of course Harry Potter isn't for everyone. Children too young to distinguish between fantasy and reality are probably also too young for these stories. And people who are obsessed with the occult and tempted by the dark side of the supernatural world should certainly steer clear of the movie and books. The genuine world of the occult does pose a serious spiritual danger -- one that is all too often ignored. But Harry Potter has as much to do with the real world of the occult as do other magical literary characters ranging from Mary Poppins to the Cat in the Hat. Few Potter-bashers know that author Rowling is a faithful member of the Church of Scotland who clearly states, when questioned, "I believe in God, not magic." Last year she told a Canadian reporter that her Christian faith "seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God." She added, "Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said, 'yes,' because I do. But no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that and, I have to say that does suit me....If I talk too freely about that, I think the intelligent reader -- whether 10 or 60 -- will be able to guess what is coming in the books." Even if there is a remote danger for some in the Harry Potter phenomenon, there is also a danger in overreacting -- in treating innocuous pastimes as unqualified evils. Christian arguments against true social and spiritual evils are weakened if we squander our moral capital preaching against imaginative children's literature. © 2001 Evangelical Press Association.

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