Thirty-something

Godless Harry Potter?

I just saw a tweet from one of my favorite professor’s from my undergrad that said the following:

“Saw Potter finale last nite. Good & evil, cross & resurrection, even Gethsemane…but no God.”

Now, I do realize that I have to consider the source.  He is a Christian ethicist and a celebrated thinker in the evangelical community.  Key word: evangelical.

I know that much of the fundamental, evangelical, Christian world sees Harry Potter as evil because it contains sorcery and magic.  There are tons of books on how Satanic Harry Potter is and to keep your children away from it.  However, I do not feel like this is his stance.  He is far too progressive to be in agreement with that kind of thought (silliness).

What I am surprised about, though, is the fact that he is virtually saying that Harry Potter is God-less.  Right?  “…no God” is what says.  I don’t understand this.  J.K. Rowling professes to be a Christian.  More importantly, if you dig deeper into the Harry Potter story arcs from all 7 books/films, there are so many incredibly powerful messages about loyalty, perseverance, sacrifice, courage, friendship, and most of all, love.  What are those things if not of God? 

Does a book or movie need to explicitly say to you “GOD GOD GOD” in flashing yellow letters in order for it to resonate with one’s Christian faith or to, in a small way, reach a soul in need of the message of Jesus?  I mean, give the Holy Spirit a little credit here.  I think God can work through the most unlikely of sources.  If anything, Harry Potter should be used as teaching methods in the Christian church.  It wouldn’t hurt a lot of folks to hear the message.