Harry Potter’s End?

First published in The Daily Sentinel, Friday, July 20. 2007

By the time this column is published, no doubt some people will have already devoured the seventh Harry Potter book. For them, this is the most important event in their lives. More important than the war in Iraq. More important than who’ll be elected next U.S. president. Maybe even more important than what’s for dinner tonight!

Granted, many of these devoted fans are too young to fully comprehend the importance of real world events. Hogwarts seems much more real than the Middle East or even our own Tri-counties! But there are others who are old enough to know better. So what gives with Harry Potter? How has a work of fiction become such an important part of our culture so quickly?

I read the first five Potter books and watched the first three movies. I enjoyed them on their own terms. I grew up reading fantasy and science fiction novels. Anne McCaffrey, Robert Heinlein and C.S. Lewis are some of my favorite authors – but they have not affected the general culture as J.K. Rowling has. Lewis’ Narnia stories are now getting more attention thanks to the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe movie released in 2005, but his books were first written a half-century ago.

Perhaps part of the Potter saga’s appeal is its seeming reality in the midst of fantasy. We identify with Harry’s conflicted emotions, the loyalty of his friends, the aloof but ever-watchful presence of his professors. We commiserate with his experience with the Dursleys. And we fear/loath/enjoy the climactic showdowns with Lord Voldemort.

All of this drama is wonderful and appropriate as long as we keep things in context. After all, this is just FICTION!!! I am embarrassed by some Christian leaders who think Harry Potter is the worst attack on Christianity since Jesus was hung on the cross. Many have made the Potter story out to be Satan incarnate – drawing our gullible culture into a perverse love affair with wizardry and witchcraft. But there is a huge difference between the fictional world of Harry Potter and the real world in which Christ died for us!

There are much more important issues for Christians than Harry Potter. The conflict with radical Islamic forces, the spread of nuclear warfare technologies, the corruption and greed in corporate boardrooms, the moral failings associated with extra-marital sexuality, addictions to drugs, alcohol, pornography – I could go on and on. But the real point of life isn’t to draw up lists of do’s and don’ts. Jesus tells us what is truly important in Luke 6:45: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings up evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks.”

I don’t know how Harry Potter’s story ends, yet. I do know how Jesus’ story ends, even though we have yet to experience its completion. Out of the goodness of Jesus’ heart, we have new life and a new opportunity to become God’s people. The same goodness of Jesus can be ours – all we have to do is ask for it!

The next time you’re faced with a moral dilemma, remember how Jesus gives you the ability to make the right choice. Remember how Christ bore the pain of the cross the next time you feel the pain of illness, disease or a broken relationship. And best of all, Jesus doesn’t need a wand, a jinx, or counter-curse to save you from evil. He simply rose from a tomb and said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Not even Harry Potter can match that!