Highlighting Sorcery

by PRASHER, G. | Category: Focus | Feb 2003

J. K. Rowling of Edinburgh has rocketed to wealth and fame through her children's novels about Harry Potter, the bespectacled boy wizard. The phenomenal popularity of the series has resulted in sales of 150 million copies worldwide to date. There have been translations into many languages, including Slovak, Swedish, Hebrew and Chinese. In China thousands of boxed sets of translations of the first three novels were officially produced by the People's Literature Publishing House, the largest printing of any fiction since the Communists came to power in 1949.

Why such widespread appeal? Not only children, but people of all age groups seem fascinated by the stories. Children readily relate to the author's imaginatively created characters. As one Chicago girl aged twelve expressed it: 'The characters really relate to you - they're kids. They have bullies and bad teachers. It's helped me to understand something - people, maybe my friends, my teachers. It's influenced me to read more'. In an interview with an editor of Time Magazine, J.K. Rowling commented on types of young people she knew and admired on whom some of her characters were modelled. Each of them had been in some way disadvantaged, but had risen to the challenge of overcoming their difficulties. This is interestingly reflected in an essay written by a nine-year old boy who had undergone difficult treatments for leukaemia: 'Harry Potter helped me to get through some really hard and scary times. I sometimes think of Harry Potter and me being kind of alike. He was forced into situations he couldn't control, and had to face an enemy that he didn't know if he could beat'.

Many parents regard the Harry Potter stories as an engaging entertainment for their children, which also encourages them to read rather than watch TV or play on a computer. One mother remarked that the good guys always beat the baddies by story-end, so the overall influence is in favour of right and justice. Perhaps also many adults enjoy escaping awhile from the grim realities of an increasingly evil and dangerous world to the fantasy of a world in which things always come right in the end.

These are among the factors which have fuelled the immense popularity of Harry Potter fiction. Why then should many fundamentalist Christians in USA and elsewhere have objected so stridently to the books, and organized protests against making them available to children? Primarily, because they see the Harry Potter series as promoting sorcery, witchcraft and the magic arts, which scripturally are related to satanic powers of darkness. To familiarize children with these things and present as heroes youngsters practising witchcraft is seen to be dangerously harmful. Only a story, but it could well encourage curiosity about the witchcraft increasingly practised in today's world. The head of a magicians' organisation in Frankfurt is reported as saying, 'The books have brought our trade into the limelight'.

It's clear from the Acts of the Apostles that magical arts were prevalent in those times. Chapter 8 introduces Simon the sorcerer, acclaimed by the local populace, who said, '"This man is the great power of God."' When Peter and John came from Jerusalem, Simon had to learn that his power was eclipsed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was solemnly warned of the iniquity in which his sorceries had bound him. In Ephesus 'God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul' (Acts 19:11) Seven Jewish exorcists attempted to use the Name of Jesus in imitation of Paul, but two of them were attacked by the man from whom they tried to cast out a demon, and had to flee from the house naked and wounded. This sensational happening became known throughout the city. One result was that 'many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and found it totalled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed'. How forcibly such incidents illustrate the reality of the powers of darkness underlying sorcery and similar occult practices! That sorcery is classed among such evils as idolatry, immorality and hatred in Galatians 5:20 further emphasizes that the Christian should give it a wide berth. Such references as Revelation 9:21 and 18:23 confirm that it will feature prominently at the time of the end. The relevance of these scriptural considerations to the Harry Potter series calls for serious thought. How thankfully we recall the apostle Peter's firm assurance that 'we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty' (2 Peter 1:16).

PRASHER, G. | Feb 2003
Focus