By Lindsay

The Harry Potter book series became popular in the late 90s / early 2000s. They remain a popular series today, now with corresponding movies, spin offs & a reunion special.

The series is a hot topic for some Christians.

The short answer to this question is that reading the Bible is like eating fruit while reading fantasy fiction books like the Harry Potter series is like eating candy. While candy tastes good in moderation, ultimately it isn’t the best thing for you; too much candy is bad for your teeth, contributes to weight gain & can make you sick. Fruits are sweet and healthy, good for your body, so you can eat more fruit than you can eat candy. When you eat fruit, you feel good. When you eat candy, you enjoy it for a bit, but too much makes you feel unwell.

So, be sure that your body meets its fruit of the Spirit & daily bread requirements by spending time studying the Bible daily & only have a bit of fiction / candy on occasion to keep your soul in good shape!

Wait, you’re a Christian & you read Harry Potter?

Some question if reading books or watching movies with stories that involve magic is ever appropriate for a follower of Jesus.

We only have so much time to spend on things everyday. We should spend as much time as we can in God’s word or in things that honor God.

While the Harry Potter series obviously isn’t scripture or supportive of scripture, it is safe to enjoy in moderation & if you have strong spiritual discernment & keep God #1 in your heart.

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:21‬ ‭CSB‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1713/mat.6.21.CSB

If you take your faith seriously, it is a valid consideration. Let’s discuss it further & examine what the ultimate authority, the Bible, says:

What does the Bible say?

God clearly addresses the topic of sorcerers 🧙‍♂️ in the Bible:

“But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars  — their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.””
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21:8‬ ‭CSB‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1713/rev.21.8.CSB

““I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien. They do not fear me,” says the Lord of Armies.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭3:5‬ ‭CSB‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1713/mal.3.5.CSB

Major issues for Christians

As a Christian, I’d say the major issues I see with the topic of witchcraft & wizardry are:

• When people or characters perform magic they are actively going against God. They call on the earth or false “gods”.
• Performing magic makes one self reliant & therefore separates one from God.
• If something you are participating in doesn’t keep God first in your heart, you enter into the arena of idolatry.
• God doesn’t give magical powers to humans in the sense that we think of; waving a wand or performing a spell to get or do whatever you want. While He gives humans special abilities in the Bible, it is always resulting from a special relationship with Him, equipping them to carry out His instructions.
• While the enemy does not have powers equivalent to God’s, if you are not working with God, there is only one other being you could be working with – the enemy.
• The enemy could use magic as a distraction to uproot your faith, as a bait to tempt you to separate from God. Throw back to the garden of Eden; “Did God really say that?” & “God doesn’t want you to be like Him”.

Furthermore, we know that the enemy can masquerade as things that seem okay or even good, which means strong discernment is crucial to following Jesus.

“And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭11:14‬ ‭CSB‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/1713/2co.11.14.CSB

Ultimately, it could be argued that the Harry Potter series wraps up magic in a cozy package to present it to us in a way that makes it seem okay.

My personal perspective

I started reading these books when they came out when I was a child & they were one of my favorite series. For whatever reason I ran out of steam mid book 4. I set them aside for a few years, then I continued enjoying them into young adulthood.

Then God worked in my heart. He brought me from being a lukewarm Christian to a Christian with my heart set on fire for Him & the Bible.

He opened my eyes & there was no turning back! I cut a lot of things from my life at that time, one of which was the Harry Potter series, which I felt convicted God was calling me to do.

After a few years of intense spiritual growth, God blessed us with our son. As I was looking for books to read him, nostalgia hit me so I revisited the series. They helped instill a love of reading in me as a child, so I hoped they could do the same for him.

The conclusion I arrived at after reading the series again, but this time with my eyes opened by God is:

The 11 year old girl that I was when I began reading these books by no means had a terrible life like Harry did, but she was ugly, awkward, annoying & hadn’t found her niche in life yet. This story show cased someone finding their niche & it appealed to her.

She stayed up late snuggled with her dogs reading these page turning adventures, hoping an owl 🦉 would bring her Hogwarts letter ✉️ so she could ride a train 🚂 through the country side, eating snacks on the way, to go to school in a castle 🏰 & not have to learn math anymore.

While I’ve grown & found my niche & experienced major sanctification, the series holds my focus for different reasons now:

• There are nuggets of practical wisdom hiding in the pages.
• JK Rowling’s creativity is phenomenal.
• In the miserable hot days of summer (the best time to read the books since Harry’s birthday is in July), reading about the characters being cold during their winter lessons gives me hope for what’s ahead – fall! 😍

Reading these books on the other side of growing up gives me new perspectives:

I have always been a bookworm. Now I want to foster a love of reading in my son. If these books can help him learn to love reading, which ultimately would help him with reading his Bible, I would be happy to share these stories with him, but I would be sure to share them with guidance.

• My heart breaks at how Aunt Petunia & Uncle Vernon treat Harry. I want to adopt Harry!
• Um, the FEASTS! At Hogwarts, the dining hall has place settings waiting for students, then the food appears when it is time to commence the feast. There is a large variety of dishes so there is something for everyone. As a picky eater that’s pretty awesome. When everyone is done, the food disappears & the plates are magically cleaned. Who doesn’t love that?

Also, the idea of using a form of this Dumbledore quote as a warning to my son in the future has me laughing:

My conclusion

We need the Bible because we need a relationship with God. The Bible is food for our souls; just as we feed our bodies food everyday, our souls need to be fed scriptures everyday.

While the Harry Potter series is fun to read on occasion, it’s just a book & ultimately it’s just entertaining; there is no value in it beyond that.

As long as you have a solid relationship with God, read your Bible everyday & keep God #1 in your heart & life, He will give you guidance & discernment.

If you listen to God’s guidance, have strong discernment, a good understanding of God’s word & you don’t feel led otherwise, you can safely enjoy the creativity of these stories as long as you do not idolize them.

f you have time to read these books you have time to read the Bible. They should never be prioritized above Bible study. If they are coming before Bible study, that’s a 🚩 that you may be idolizing them.