A Harry Potter Christmas!

If the news reports of the last week or so are any guide, the most important figure in children's thinking at this time is not Santa, but Harry Potter! The release in Sydney of the first Harry Potter move follows record-breaking releases overseas. Everyone is talking about, and promoting, Harry Potter!

The Harry Potter quartet of books have already been hailed as the greatest thing in children's literature for a very long time. They have done for this generation of children what the Biggles books did for mine, and Enid Blyton did for my children. They have got today's children reading again.

But now, with the translation of the first book to the movie screen, this phenomenon has moved to a new stage. Children are rushing in droves to interact at a new level, with this world of magic, witchcraft and a hero of their own age, who has power they can only dream of. In a world that has suddenly, since September 11th, become more unstable and insecure, here is an escapism that seems to touch a responsive chord in the hearts of very many of the younger generation.

Since the Harry Potter phenomenon first burst upon our consciousness several years ago, I have seen numerous responses by Christians who have decried the strong emphasis on magic and witchcraft in the books. Only last week there was a TV report on a Christian school that had banned the books for this reason. Certainly, magic and witchcraft (even so-called 'white' magic) are condemned in the Bible. God's people are strictly commanded not to have anything to do with them, and Christian children today might find that a good principle to follow. Nevertheless, the Harry Potter phenomenon is clearly with us, many children who have nothing to do with Christian things are enthralled by it, and we do well to reflect on what that means.

Our society has for decades rubbished any suggestion of the supernatural, and many Christian theologians have sought to remove, or water down, the supernatural elements of the Christian gospel. But the heart of man is not really satisfied by such a message. As Saint Augustine recognised way back in the fourth century , there is a 'spiritual' hunger in all of us for a reality and power beyond ourselves. The Harry Potter phenomenon is just one form of many new kinds of 'spirituality' that are emerging today to meet that hunger.

I read this week a report on two major papers published recently which look at "some challenging trends in church life". A researcher from New Zealand has noted that statistics show a major decline in church attendance around the world, that is most marked amongst Generation Y (those born after 1978) . However, researchers have also found that Westerners remain quite religious. In N.Z., for example, the numbers of those who believed in God, believed in life after death and who prayed several times a week all rose significantly.

We are approaching the celebration of one of the crucial "supernatural" elements of the gospel, that God came into our world and was born of a virgin in order to save us from our sinful condition. We do well to remember to proclaim and to demonstrate that the power of God that broke in upon us at that time is far greater than any magic and witchcraft. That was seen in the early days of the church when a world that was dominated by magic and witchcraft was transformed by the gospel of Jesus' love. We need to remember that Jesus, not Harry Potter, is the Saviour of the world.

John Davies
2 December 2001