Harry Potter and Other Stories

Much has been said and written about Harry Potter and whether or not it is of benefit to children. There is no doubt in my mind that J. K. Rowling is a talented writer, who has captivated readers from every generation. Many people who want to encourage children to read more are great supporters of the Harry Potter series. When a comment is made about the supernatural content, the reply is that it is great imaginary storytelling. Yes, children need to use their imaginations it is part of their play and their learning. Then where should we stand in relation to Harry Potter? When discussing the Harry Potter stories, I include many other books, television programmes and movies with occultic themes. A few examples are – Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed, The Craft, various witchcraft, fortune-telling magazines, Tarot-Reading kits; the list is endless.

Where does the Orthodox Christian, or any Christian, stand with regard to Harry Potter and other stories with similar themes? It makes sense for an Orthodox Christian to search the Bible for answers, since the Bible is, for a true Christian, the inspired Word of God. The following are but a small number of Bible quotes in which are relevant to the themes of so many of today’s books, videos and magazines. It should be noted that this list is but a very small sample of what appears in the Bible on these themes.

These God-inspired words are very strong and unequivocal in their condemnation of witchcraft, the practice of magic, attempts to communicate with the spirits of the dead (these attempts are usually made by using ouija boards or consulting a medium) and any form of fortune-telling (including astrology and horoscope readings, Tarot-card and palm readings.) We are given a clear message that God’s true people do not involve themselves in such things.

It is not only the Bible which forbids such involvement, the Church Canons (Laws) and many of our saints also warn against the spiritual dangers that one is likely to encounter with involvement in the occult. St. Cyprianos clearly indicates that his practice of magic was possible because he was working with demonic powers. He was aware that there were powers, which he would invite to help him do many things. One such occasion was when a young man enlisted his help so that a most beautiful Christian girl, Justina, would fall in love with him and consent to marry him. St Cyprianos kept sending demon after demon to sway her thoughts, but she remained unmoved. Finally, after much frustration, he himself went to see what the ‘problem’ was. The ‘problem’ was that all the while, Justina was immersed in prayer and the demons could neither harm nor persuade her. When he finally realised that he was working with demonic powers and that anyone who obeyed God’s will could not be harmed or influenced by them, he abandoned his unholy practices. He renounced his involvement with the demonic world and had a public burning of his books on magic and sorcery.

Let us now look at what the Church teaches about the existence of demonic or satanic power and influence. The Church certainly recognises and teaches that not only do these dark beings exist but also that they are a constant threat to our salvation and further, that we must avoid their influence. Apart from the numerous mentions in the Bible as to the existence and activities of Satan and his demons – Jesus said that He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightening (Luke 18:18); we are told the devil is the wicked one (Matt 13:19); he is the father of lies (John 8:44); he tempts man to sin (Gen 3:1-7); is slanderous (Job 1:9); and is deceitful (2 Cor 11:14); these are but very few references to his existence and evil. The Bible also advises us to watch out for the influence and attack of the devil, to fight and resist him (2 Cor 2:11, Eph 6:11-16, James 4:7, 1Pet 5, 1John 2:13, Rev 12:10, 11).

Knowing that the Bible is the inspired and true Word of God, such acknowledgement of the existence and effect of Satan clearly appears for example, in the Mystery of Baptism. This is the Mystery that permits a person to become an Orthodox Christian and opens the door to participation in all the other Mysteries. Orthodox Christians should know that before they were baptised or before they baptise a child, the God-parent stands holding the child, with their back to the altar and renounces Satan and any involvement with him, three times. The Godparent is then asked to symbolically spit upon Satan three times. If we do not believe that Satan exists or do not believe that we should not have anything to do with him, then we must think long and hard about our involvement in Church life.

For those who have had involvement with demonic powers and practices, the Church has her arms open for the person to participate in the necessary Mystery of repentance, Holy Confession; through the priest, we receive God’s forgiveness and reconcile ourselves with God. Such true repentance would see us actively change our nous, our mind about involvement with demonic activities, whether deliberate or out of ignorance. Many times people involve themselves in activities that they think are harmless fun but are actually spiritually very unhealthy and damaging.

The Church also has the prayers and blessings that the priest has authority to read over a person that has involved himself with and has been influenced by, demonic powers. The priest receives this authority at his ordination, whereupon he receives the Holy Spirit, as the Apostles had from Christ. This point is made in order to clarify that, where there is a need to pray over someone who has suffered demonic influence or harm, a fellow Christian may pray for them, but does not actually have the authority from God that a priest has in order to remove the demonic influence. Therefore, so called ‘secret prayers’ and rituals that are conducted by some people because of an apparent ‘evil eye’ are not to be used. Rather we should pray the prayers of the Church for this person and seek the prayers and blessings of a priest. Jesus specifically gave those in the priesthood the authority to cast out demons (Mk 3: 14-15, Mk 16: 15-17).

Let us now return to the issue of Harry Potter and the other stories… The claim that all these things are simply based on the world of imagination is a fallacy. Things to do with witchcraft and the occult are real, real involvement with the demonic realm of the world. Does that mean that everyone who reads a book with these themes or sees a movie with such themes, will become possessed or turn into a witch? No, I believe that the majority will not be led further into the occult. Though one must be aware that many of the internet sites for Harry Potter and particularly the links that can be explored, are of real spiritual concern. It is more and more common to find shop book shelves filling up with such books and kits such as “How to be a Teenage Witch” “How to cast Spells” etc.. So, does all this really matter? The first answer is that yes, it matters because we are slowly being desensitised as a society. We see a movie or read a book with an occult theme (shown in a positive light) and it may create great interest and it could even be quite humorous, for example, ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’. This is like opening the door of our souls to such influences by about one centimetre. Then the programme becomes progressively dark or introduces, more in the way of sexual themes, for example, ‘Charmed’. So now we see the steady and progressive ‘opening of the door’, slowly but surely; we are slowly being conditioned to accept more and more of these themes and they become darker and darker and often times more and more immoral. Today, in our society, we risk being ‘boiled alive’ spiritually if we do not make active, conscious, informed choices. If for example, we throw a frog into boiling water, it will quickly jump out and save itself. If however, we place it in cold water and then very slowly bring it to the boil, the frog will die and won’t even be aware of what has happened to it. In the same way, we must be aware that in society, the erosion of Christianity, its way of life and all its values, is often successful with some people because it is such a slow process; this slow desensitisation is very effective and spiritually deadly.

As a further example to this slow desensitisation, we have only to look at the fact that, now days, any ‘self respecting’ movie worth watching will be littered with four-lettered words and much else in the way of what is generally accepted as bad language. In this way, we allow language and ‘activities’ into our homes that we would not approve of if our family members or people visiting our home were participating in them; so because they are one step removed, we are made comfortable with accepting them. So we see how easy it is to open the doors of our souls and allow all manner of evil influences in, in the name of freedom and entertainment. In the name of freedom, our minds and then our souls are bound into believing that it is harmless; slowly our entertainment becomes the centre of our lives. Just look at where the position of honour that the T.V. has in most homes. Much like the central position of the Holy Altar in the Church, except here, if we are not selective and cautious, we end up sacrificing many Christian truths and ethics, particularly those of innocent young children.

Let us ask the question again, so does it really matter if we involve ourselves in the occult in many and various ways, the most common being entertainment. Perhaps this is best answered with a question that each person, particularly, each parent, should ask themselves. If God has clearly condemned all involvement of any sort to do with the occult, and stated that such people will be cut off from Him and do not belong to Him, then should we involve ourselves with it, even as a light form of entertainment?

Let each person search their faith and grow in understanding of God’s Holy Word and what He wants from us. Let us then decide whether we wish to accept this. And let us refrain from harsh judgement and criticism of those who may not have come to this understanding. For no one has perfected themselves in the will of God. If we are concerned about the type of understanding others have, then let us pray with love for them rather than wishing to ‘burn them at the stake!’ What has been offered here is food for thought. Let us try to take the time to think about and discuss these issues with our family members and make active, informed choices about what we accept into our lives. If we just stop to think about how fussy we are with what we eat and drink – “I’m not drinking that water, it’s got floaties in it.” “I want my money back, that roll had a hair in it!” If we think about what we wear – “Does it suit me?” “Does it make me look too big?” “Does it look daggy, that style’s not really in now, is it?” If we compare how careful we are about what we put in and on our bodies, we will quickly see that when it comes to our minds, very often we open up our heads and literally let all the garbage pour in, without picking out the ‘floaties’ or the ‘hairs’.

Let us make active choices rather than receive something into our lives, hearts, minds and souls passively, just because that’s what someone else decided to put on offer or because someone else decided that that’s what we should have.

May the God of love and mercy help all of us to accept His Holy Word and Will, with ever-growing faith in all areas of our lives, now and always.