** P1 **- OMITTED DUE TO SIZE
**P2:**Tolkien presents an epic which intentionally depicts the Christian struggle against the corrupting influences of the personalized use of supernatural power, in which humility is the key to spiritual freedom, and the end game is one of being rid of the burden of supernatural power. Unlike Tolkein, Rowling knits together a mere caricature of mythological history. Tolkein’s is an intentional analogy of the Christian struggle against sin and death; Rowling’s is an intentional analogy of occult libertarianism, crafted for a modern market, and those who read into it a Christian analogy are finding in it what they want to find - not that which the author has planted there. This approach in itself is a rejection of the traditional approach to literature, which seeks the lessons the author has to offer. Orthodox Christian readers should know better than to fall into this imaginative and speculative game.
See next postThe works of J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis are fantasy literature with an explicitly Christian purpose, which have stood the test of time, and which draw on the mythology of once living Orthodox Christian cultures - yet even these qualities do not make these books required reading for Orthodox Christians, young or old. They may compliment the Orthodox life, but they are not central to it.
**P3:**The Harry Potter series offers far less than these classic Christian sagas, offering the vague impressions of modernity and sprinklings of the occult as a caricature of a mythical English culture, stripped of its Orthodox Christian qualities. It, too, is not required reading for Orthodox Christians, yet for those who would choose to read it, it offers many elements which do not compliment or support the struggle to live the Orthodox life, and at least a few elements which are very real stumbling blocks to the formation of an Orthodox view of the world.
**P4:**For Orthodox Christians, the biggest threat of the Harry Potter phenomenon is not something as simple as the popularization of the occult: it is the forgetfulness of the mind of the Church, the Orthodox inheritance as it is and was, intentionally expressed in cultures past and present. For Orthodox Christians bombarded by the deluge of modern pop culture, perhaps it is time to take refuge in that traditional inheritance once again - and leave Harry and Hogwarts out in the dustbin
Paragraph 1: Ultimately, he is making claims that don’t really exist. Gandalf does magic to amuse the children just as he does to duel with the head of his order, Saruman. It is a tool that cannot be used all the time, but I wouldn’t say it is leading Gandalf to demonic slavery. On the other hand, the use of magic resurrects him, and his sacrifice is rewarded as he is made glorious, no longer Gandalf the Grey but now Gandalf the White. Furthermore, in Harry Potter, they can only use the magic in the confines of school - are strictly punished when they don’t, and all wizards know certain spells are immoral and illegal. I would hardly call it ‘exploiting’ magic, and can remember no such instance in the book where this would be the case.
Paragraph 2: On what basis is the claim made that Rowling intentionally based her books in occult libertarianism. She herself is a ‘progressive Christian’ and I think that the obvious Christ-life references show the Christian background of the author. And her lessons that she is trying to teach are about love, self-sacrifice, fighting oppression and tyranny with virtue, not using ‘evil ways’ to accomplish your ends, etc. Furthermore, by referring to Tolkien’s work as ‘an epic’, he seems to be trying to give it a free pass on certain issues, but one could argue that the Harry Potter series is a coming-of-age epic. The similarities between the 7th book and the LOTR trilogy are not merely items to note in passing.
Paragraph 3: I’ll paraphrase for him - The other two writers are known for being Catholic/Christian, so that’s why you see those elements in their books. Rowling, though Christian, isn’t considered a Christian writer, so her uses of similar elements involving magic relate to the Occult. Oh, and they’re writing about Orthodox England, and she’s writing about modern England, with its huge numbers falling away from religion and orthodoxy. Also, note the use of the word ‘classic’. He is praising the other books - not exactly a biased literary opinion (not that I disagree that they are classics, but using that as a comparison against a relatively new series is quite unfair - give Harry Potter 50 years to withstand the test of time).
Paragraph 4: The real point of the Father’s essay - a return to orthodoxy. Harry Potter is his scapegoat of the moment - he is using it to draw people back into orthodoxy. It’s these liberal, modern Christians reading and enjoying Harry Potter who are letting in the occult, and only a turn back to strict orthodoxy can save us all from it. Sorry, I am orthodox, I attend the TLM, have marched over 10 of the last 15 years in DC at the March for Life, pray the Rosary, pray every morning and every night, etc. It isn’t about orthodoxy. At the root of his argument, he barely distinguishes between the magic of Lewis and Tolkien versus that of Rowling (and I’m not even partially convinced by his reasoning), and then goes on about orthodoxy and how Harry Potter doesn’t live up to the standards that he has based off of Lewis’ and Tolkien’s “classic Christian sagas”, now could any series he doesn’t deem fit since he is using subjective principles, not a universal moral idea to make this judgment.
