An Evangelical Christian Response to Harry Potter

(If a handful of televised preachers can say that they speak for all of us, why can't I?)

I'm reading the Harry Potter series, again, for the I-don't-know-how-manyeth time. I'm nearing the end of book 5, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As it continues to challenge my faith and light up my imagination in new ways, I'm reminded of the controversy that once unnecessarily surrounded this series and my blood boils once again.

This delightful series was accused of influencing children toward evil, encouraging them to make poor choices and dragging them away from faith in God in favor of faith in magic. It could not have been more misunderstood. The magic is engaging and clever, but that's not what has kept me reading (and re-reading) the series. The characters, who feel like old friends, guide me through scenarios that force me to imagine what I would do if I had to choose, as each one of them eventually must, between what is right and what is easy. I must imagine whether I would choose faith in Dumbledore, who offers reckless second chances to dangerous people, or try to make my own way. Would I use fire to fight fire? Would the end justify the means? Would I save my own skin? Would I follow the authorities into unethical action? You must see that these themes cause people to grow, not shrink, their faith.

As events unfold, characters take every path. Some choose evil, some choose good, some choose denial, some choose power, some choose fear. It's the complexities that make this fictional story so very true.

So I am here to say, as a card-carrying Evangelical Christian, thank you J.K. Rowling. Thank you for Harry and Ron and Hermione and Hagrid and Dumbledore and the Weasleys and Dobby and all of the complicated choices that you've laid bare in such a beautiful way for me and everyone else who reads these books. Each time I read them I leave, not just entertained, but different. And even a little better, I think.

Book Review -- When the Game is Over, it All Goes Back in the Box

Jeff and I actually listened to this book on CD on our California trip, so I don't have the pages in front of me to flip through as I review it.

First, John Ortberg. I love him. We both love him. Jeff and I read his book The Life You've Always Wanted and it totally changed our lives. It was like having a spiritual formation mentor who is absolutely amazing. His style is clear and comfortable and his self-deprecating humor is absolutely hilarious. The book doesn't just inspire change, it makes you really want to have coffee with John Ortberg.

I liked this book, but not as well as that one. To me, that one is the gold mine because that's the one that describes the spiritual formation process, which to me is the meaning of life. So where do you go from there?

When the Game is Over is essentially a book about priorities, about what Ortberg calls "regret-proofing" your life. Again the clarity and humility in the writing are outstanding and the concept is piercing. He has a way of making you examine yourself to the point that it makes you uncomfortable, which I think is difficult for a book to do. In general books allow a person to stand at a distance from themselves, but Ortberg's brutal honesty with himself leaves the reader with no option but to examine herself deeply. Which is painful.

Example: Ortberg refers to a discussion he had with some pastors at a conference. One guy asked "How's your church going?" He explains that that's pastor-speak for "How big is your church?" which is pastor-speak for "How important are you?" He goes on to discuss how tempted he was to lie in that situation to inflate his own importance. Painful? Yes. True? Absolutely. It's impossible not to relate when you realize that even famous pastors are tempted to inflate their own importance!

My favorite thing about non-fiction (do we call them self-help?) books is the aftertaste -- the thoughts that stick with you. In this case, the thought of regret-proofing my life has stuck with me. It provides a clarity that is extremely helpful to me at a stage where I'm navigating a whole new normal in my life.

The Alyssa Review gives this one 4 out of 5 stars, and I recommend reading it as soon as you're done with The Life You've Always Wanted, which has earned a place in my top 5 books of all time. :)