Harry Potter and the Church of Condemnation

August 20, 2007 by David.

OK. I have to admit that I am a little behind the times. I’ve finally watched the first 4 Harry Potter films and overall, I was impressed. The first two were definitely kid-friendly, but I found the last two to be quite entertaining and a significant step up from the first two. I actually finished Goblet of Fire with a strong desire to see the newest movie. The characters are interesting, the imagery is beautiful and you can tell that J.K. Rowling is a brilliant and gifted writer. The world she has painted is vast and amazing.

What confuses me, though, is the response that Harry Potter has received from many churches here in America. One of my friends attends a church that openly told it’s members to NOT read the Harry Potter books. Ironically, these are also some of the same churches that insist the only valid version of the Bible is the King James version. So, at the end of the day, they are encouraging reading a more confusing, boring, language-challenged book (the KJV Bible) over an entertaining, thrilling book about a boy wizard. Congrats guys. THAT’s the way to encourage people to read the Bible more.

Then I started thinking further. Harry Potter is not the first time the church has stepped in to tell people how to better be Christians (in their view, of course). Remember Disney World and their infamous Gay Days? If I recall, the Southern Baptist Convention responded by telling its members to boycott all Disney products and theme parks. How about AC/DC? I remember being told that it stood for Anti-Christ/Devils Child. Oh good grief.

I’ve done even more digging and this next one might surprise you (or not). At one point in the church’s history, this instrument was labeled a tool of the devil and those churches that brought one into their doors were highly criticized and labeled heretics. Drums? Nope. Guitar? Notta. Bass Guitar? Not even close. What was the instrument? Try the Organ. Yeah - the organ. The instrument featured in so many traditional churches was once called a tool of the devil. Priceless.

You see, there’s this funny trait about people that says “don’t tell me what to do.” It never fails. Anytime you start a sentence with “Whatever you do, don’t …”, the person you tell that to inevitable DOES just what you told them NOT to. We even acknowledge it in our movies. “Whatever you do, don’t look down.” “Whatever you do, don’t look back.” And what happens? Yup - the person looks down or looks back. Heck, even the Bible has examples of this (Lot’s wife). Human history is littered with the failings of telling people what they can’t do. The alcohol prohibition of the 1920s is a perfect example. I would even argue that drug abuse and prostitution fall into very similar categories.

And yet, the church has been one of the first bodies to consistently tell people what not to do. Even though that methodology is rooted in failure.

Here’s an idea. Let’s use Jesus’ example. If you look throughout the gospels, one thing you’ll consistently see is this tendency to not directly address the sin in people’s lives, but to offer them an alternative. Jesus didn’t condemn the woman at the well, as much as he offered her the opportunity to thirst no more. Yes, he did tell her to go and sin no more, but didn’t list those things out for her. I believe that He knew she was more than capable of knowing what was sin in her life. She had no problem identifying it to Him at the well. Yet, He never felt the need to tell her “Go, and sin no more. You know, the adultery and sleeping around stuff. Also, the bad attitude has got to go. Frankly, your attire could use some adjustment as well.”

So, as for me, I’m planning on going to see the next Harry Potter film. While I’m at it, I think I may go buy an AC/DC cd and play it back on a church organ at Disney World just for kicks.

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