Review of Harry Potter 5

I've returned from the movie; like I promised here's my opinion:

Harry Potter is not as bad as some have made it out to be.  Yes, it has witches and wizards; yes, it has people casting spells; yes, it has "bad guys" i.e., it is scary.  Now, I am not espousing the idea that we should all be like Harry Potter or that all should see the movies/read the books.  What I am saying is that Harry Potter does not teach anyone how to be demonic -- and that good can come from the rabid interest.  (To be fair, I have note read any of the books; there is a slight chance that the books do advocate occultic practices that the movie does not show.)

I guess that places me in the same category as Chuck Colson.  He, back in 2000, wrote:

What the fascination with Harry Potter really illustrates what C. S. Lewis meant by Sehnsucht -- the longing for the mysterious, the wonderful, the other- worldly that our daily experience does not satisfy.

The great appeal is that Harry Potter is the story about children who, living in the modern age, are forced to deal with a great evil that is threatening their livelyhood and their very lives.  They have a chance to stop it  The movie is very dramatic and epic (which is most likely why I enjoyed the film).  The trouble comes not from advocating the use of magic (the use of witchcraft is a sin) but rather because the Truth is not given.  In the words of Mr. Colson:

The appeal of other-worldly stories like Harry Potter is that they tap into our hunger for God's wonder. The banal world of video games, television, the pursuit of wealth, and other diversions can never satisfy this longing. The Potter craze reflects the longing in our kids' souls for God.

But Harry Potter is not the real thing.

And, because it is not the real thing, it can bring trouble to the confused.  Those who start to view magic as a way to escape from real troubles and have Harry Potter as a leader of sorts will be led down the wrong path.  It is not "just Christians" who are worried about Potter.  Others too, think that the boy wizard has begun to deal with non-kid issues.

One interesting note is that Dr. James Dobson has been totally misquoted as saying that he supports Harry Potter.  I am begining to wonder if it was a carefully constructed plan to generate more money for the studios/publisher.  For

"the movies gained huge victories when conservative ministry heads such as Dr James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, and Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship Ministries gave their stamp of approval."

Neither of whom, by the way, did.  Dr. Dobson expressly is opposed to them.  What Mr. Colson said was "if you... put your kids on to stories that recognize the real thing we all yearn for -- the Harry Potter phenomenon may turn out to be a pretty good thing indeed."

Conclusion

So where does that leave me?  Well, movie wise I don't think this one was as good as the first, and none of them have been that great (perhaps because I'm not the target audience?).  What this movie did do is open my eyes as to why Potter is so attractive - people are hungry for God.  They recognize that they need a greater power than themselves to save them and are willing to believe in anything - even a prophecy about a young boy who is able to defeat the great evil with the power he has because of who he is.  Sound familiar?  It is like a very bad copy of the story of Jesus - who is able to defeat the enemy because of who He is. 

Do I aspire to be like Potter? No.  Do I want to copy him? No.  Does this movie lead me to the occult? No.  Will I now want to go out and cast spells? No.  Why?  Because I know the Truth.  But what about you?  Or your neighbor?  Ms. Rowling wrote a book that is now a fad; we have a mission, 2000 years old, to bring light to a dark world.