Why We Don't

**Disclaimer** This is simply what it is. A post about why my family does not do Harry Potter. It is discernment rather than judgement. Every family has to choose for themselves what is right in these kinds of matters. If you enjoy a good Harry Potter movie and are not convicted concerning it, this is not directed at you.

Now, that taken care of....we decided early on not to "do" Harry Potter. Not the books. Not the movies.
Why? First and foremost: I believe the Bible warns us implicitly to avoid anything that smacks of magic/wizardry and sorcery.

• Do not practice divination or sorcery (Leviticus 19:26).
• Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds (Ezekiel 13:20).
• So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty (Malachi 3:5).
• Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power (Acts 19:18-20).

 I have heard the argument "But at least my son/daughter is reading."  Well, there are a lot of things your child could be reading. My kids read non-stop (seriously, I sometimes have to tell them to put the book down!) even with any of the wizard-y, vampire-y stuff outlawed! And they love it! My other argument against that logic is this: Some people read Playboy for the articles. That doesn't make it good material! There are a lot of words you or your child could read...that doesn't make all of them good.  Phillipians 4:8 says Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.  Lest you think I'm a total killjoy, let me assure you that my children have lots of fun! They watch a lot of movies and tv.  Probably way too much. I don't say "no" to everything.


I have also heard this: "It's just for fun."  My son thinks it's fun to play with fire. Do we let him have free reign with that? No. Why? Some things that look fun can be very dangerous. (We do let him, under supervision, make a campfire by the way.)  My toddler thinks it's great fun to run into the road. We, as parents, have the job of making sure he has safe fun.


What about this one: "It's not real, it's just fantasy for entertainment".  I believe the spirit world is very real. The Bible talks often about spirits-bad ones too! 1 Corinthians 12:10 says this: "to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits...." what does that say to you? The note in my 
Bible says " Since there can also be false prophecies that come from evil spirits, this gift is necessary in order for the church to distinguish the true from the false". 1 John 4:1-3 says "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist..."
While Rowling insists her stories are imaginary, she "admits she has been studying witchcraft to make the books more 'accurate,'"  according to Richard Abanes, author of the book Harry Potter and the Bible.


As a parent it's hard to say "no". We want our children to have fun. We don't want them to be left out. We even *gasp* hope they love and like us! But, doing what's right isn't always easy. And for us, NOT doing Harry Potter is right.



In the words of Dumbledore to Harry:

“Soon we must face the choice between what is right and what is easy.”