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CHRISTIANS AND HARRY POTTER
First things first. Harry Potter books are a best seller, capturing public imagination,
like none in the contemporary literary scenario. Rave reviews predictably abound on
the ability of these books to fire up ones imagination! Again, no doubts on J.K.Rowling’s
tales involving young Harry’s visit to steep, spooky castles hosting flying witches’
in their anti-gravity brooms, surreal creatures ready to kill and swallow et al generating
that eerie feeling which many long for. So public feast generously on these ‘offerings richly
spiced in black magic’ and ‘drink deeply from the cup filled with witchcraft’.
What about us Christians? Do we go along with
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world, flying in the ‘magic carpet’, as
it were, carried away by this unprecedented ‘Pottermania’? Firstly, let us consider,
what are the foundational pillars of Harry Potter tales? Are they not ‘Black magic’ and ‘witchcraft’?
What has Bible to say about them?
“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices
divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells,
or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.” –
Deuteronomy 18:9-11
Divination, sorcery, witchcraft and spiritism, are they not the main ingredients,
which go to make the Potter ‘masala’, so enticing besides rendering it a ‘forbidden fruit’?
Should we sink ‘our teeth into this’, giving a weak justification that eventually
‘good prevails over the evil’. Forget the end, till we come to the so-called climax should we
not spare a thought, on what we were gorging upon, till then?
In the New Testament, we see witchcraft
(Gal 5:20) being enlisted amongst the fruits of the
evil spirit. Do we need further proof about God’s opinion on this issue?
Then what about ‘peer pressure’? “Hey, in which age are you, that you are desisting from
enjoying the Bestseller of our times?” would be question shot at most of us. The answer should be in the…
‘Biblical age’ (it doesn’t go out of fashion for us!), even if it is contemptuously equated to the
Jurassic one by the wicked, as already prophesied
(I Peter 4:4).
Also take heart from the way early Christians at Ephesus (which was the hot bed for the despicable
trade of black magic and witchcraft at that time) not only handled ‘peer pressure’
on the said issue but also were willing to incur a huge financial loss for their Master’s glory.
Acts 19:19 records the scene in a way, which cannot be more touching underlying their commitment
to please Him Who had set them free from the fetters of these very detestable practices’.
“A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them
at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.” -NLT
Millions of dollars, going up in smoke and no regrets for those who were torching their magic formulae
and incantation books? Obviously NO! And here we are complaining about relatively easy-to-handle
‘peer pressure’? The scene at Ephesus must have been long remembered, as a strong proof of honest
conviction on the part of the sorcerers and a striking triumph of Jesus Christ over the powers of darkness.
The workers of evil were put to scorn, like Baal's priests on Carmel, and the word of God mightily grew and
prevailed.
In schools, colleges, offices’ and business places, as we turn our backs to this ‘modern mania’, imagine the
impact, we would produce on those who keenly watch our movements? Would not opportunities arise
for us to ‘testify’ as to why we are keeping these books-the literary world of fiction considers
as ‘staple diet’- at an arms length?
So even if the world is a great ‘hurry’ to know about ‘Harry’ and his fate, let us be concerned about
the ‘fate’ of our testimony. As always…LET NOT THE SALT LOSE ITS FLAVOUR…
(Suresh Manoharan)
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The list of essays to follow
- Is it wrong to visit graves?
- Is Childlessness a curse?
- The ways of protest
- "Can women preach?"
- Casteism in Christians
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