Posted: 7/15/05
COMMENTARY:
Why I am looking forward to Harry Potter
By Scott Moore
Baylor University
This article first appeared in Common Grounds Online.
July 16 has been circled on our family calendar for many weeks now. It's not the date for our family vacation or the birthday of one of our five children. It's not a swim meet or a recital or a ball game. July 16 is the publication date for the sixth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and folks around our house are pretty excited.
Some Christians have rejected J. K. Rowling's bestselling books on the grounds that they are contrary or harmful to our faith. On my reading, nothing could be further from the truth. Rowling's work exhibits all the marks of the well-formed Christian imagination. These are wonderful books which explicitly draw upon the deep symbols and classic narratives of the Christian tradition. Christians should read these books in the same spirit with which we read C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia or J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Rowling herself has repeatedly demonstrated her affection for these great Christian writers, and it is easy to see how their work has influenced her own.
Do these books contain witches and goblins and magic spells and even tragic deaths? Yes, but that does not mean that they celebrate the occult. They also demonstrate great truths and show the sustaining power of the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love-not to mention the cardinal virtues of courage, temperance, prudence, and justice. Whether in the wonderful names of the characters or in the spells which the children are taught or in the magical creatures which inhabit the forbidden forest adjacent to
Hogwarts School, every book thus far has drawn on classic Christian symbols and motifs. For instance, in the second book, Harry must fight a great serpent (the historic symbol of Satan) and he realizes he cannot do this alone. In his weakness, he calls for help, and a phoenix (a Christ symbol in the Middle Ages-the bird who dies and rises again) comes to his aid by bringing him a double-edged sword (Heb 4:12). The phoenix assists Harry in his struggle, and though Harry ultimately defeats the serpent, he is badly wounded. The phoenix then comes and weeps in Harry's wounds, restoring him to health.
By Book 5, we've learned that the little band of faithful believers who are united in their struggle against the dark wizard lord call themselves "the Order of the Phoenix." They are a symbol of the Church, and we're not surprised to discover either that the Powers That Be want to root them out and destroy them or that some members must heroically sacrifice themselves for the good of the Order. Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for a friend.
We don't yet know the identity of "the half-blood prince." Ms. Rowling has said that it is neither the evil Lord Voldemort (whose name means "willing death") nor our hero Harry. We do know that much of the animosity in Harry's world is predicated on the racist prejudices of the "pure bloods" (such as the malicious Malfoy ["bad faith"] family) against the "half-bloods" (those witches and wizards who come from non-magical families). We also know that Harry's destiny is inexplicably intertwined with that of the dark wizard.
My children are far less interested in Rowling's use of medieval symbols or her playful puns with Latin words and phrases. When I tried to explain to my fourteen year old son the relation of the game of "quiddich" (the wizard game like unto soccer played on broomsticks) to the philosophical concept of "quiddity" (the essence or "whatness" that makes a thing what it is), he just rolled his eyes. He and his siblings simply know Rowling as a great storyteller, and they just want to know what happens next. They're bound to be right.
Christian families shouldn't fear the Harry Potter books. Read them for yourself. Read them with your children. Talk with them about hope and courage and love. Chances are-you'll be looking forward to number seven as much as we are.
© 2005, Scott Moore. This article first appeared in Common Grounds Online.
Scott Moore is an associate professor of philosophy at Baylor University, where he is also the director of the Great Texts Program.
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