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bible, books, C.S. Lewis, children's books, christian, fantasy, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, literature, magic, scripture, Timothy J. Stoner, Tolkien
I cut my teeth on comic books. As a quiet little boy who loved to read, the fantastic powers of Superman and Aquaman and The Flash captured my anything-but-quiet imagination. As I grew, so did my love of fantasy and science fiction; I enjoyed reading books and stories by Madeline L’Engle, O. Henry, Isaac Asimov and others.
When I became a Christian in 1975, my reading (along with my life) took a sudden, decidedly serious turn. In fact, for the next 20 years or so following my conversion I read only one work of fiction–The Chronicles of Narnia. Now, in the last few years, primarily because of looking for good books to read out loud to my kids, my own childhood (or childlike) love of fantasy and fiction has been reignited.
One of the authors we’ve grown fond of is N.D. Wilson, son of theologian Douglas Wilson. I bought Leepike Ridge
So, having read several of Wilson’s books, I naturally found this quote on Justin Taylor’s blog, taken from an old interview with Wilson, thought-provoking and at the same time potentially controversial. It did in fact spark quite a bit of discussion on JT’s blog, which may still be going on by the time I finally get around to posting this. Here’s the quote. It’s Wilson’s response to a question about the proper role of magic and the supernatural in children’s literature:
I consider the appropriate role of magic in kid lit to be the same as the appropriate role of magic in reality—though it will look different. This is, after all, an extraordinarily magical place. Sunlight makes trees out of thin air (literally), tadpoles turn into frogs, human love turns into children, and you can trick the air into lifting an enormous steel bus full of people up to thirty thousand feet if you know how to curve a wing and harness explosions. And it’s not all cheerful, happy, kittens-in-baskets magic either.
What happens if one of our wizards splits an atom? I think magic in children’s books is at its best when it wakes kids up to the mind-blowing magic all around us—when it overcomes the numbness of modernity and makes them watch an ant war on the sidewalk with all the wonder it deserves. Ironically, Christians, who profess outright to believe in magic (what else is water into wine, resurrection from the dead, calming storms, etc?) are the most upset when you put it into a book, while authors like Pullman (a materialistic atheist who believes reality to be all mechanism as far as I can tell) works with it comfortably and well. It really should be the other way around.
I think it’s undeniable that magic has a certain amount of universal appeal. But many Christians take exception to statements like the one Wilson makes. After all, it seems pretty clear from Scripture that magic, sorcery, and witchcraft in any form is condemned as evil. (If you doubt that, go to the ESV Bible Online and search first for the term magic and then for the partial word sorcer)
That puts me in an awkward position. I recognize the power and beauty and even what I perceive to be the legitimate value of fantasy literature. I also recognize that magic and sorcery are always portrayed in a negative light in Scripture. Those two observations appear to be odds, and I’m not sure how to reconcile them, or if it’s even possible to.
But setting aside my dilemma for a moment, let’s suppose that it is possible in some way to justify the use of magic in literature. Immediately other questions arise: Does all magic have equal moral value? Is it possible that something subtly sinister lurks just beneath the surface of at least some of the magic found in our books and stories? Those are questions that many thoughtful Christians have pondered. Author Timothy J. Stoner addresses some of those questions in this incisive critique of the fantasy genre in general and the Harry Potter series in particular:
According to Tolkien, the compelling impulse behind fantasy is “the realization of wonder”. Its “holy” purpose is to awaken us to an imagined world which is so wonder-full we become more open to reverential awe of its Source. Whereas mystery humbles us, fantasy awes us. But both point away to the One Who is Above and Beyond and is to be worshipped. While Lewis and Tolkien succeed, Rawlings [sic] does not even make the effort. Nowhere in Rawlings’s [sic] writings are we prompted to humbly bow and worship. What is lacking in her world is the holy. There is only impersonal power used for good or ill by those who intend good or ill.
Tolkien admonishes us that we, image-bearers and thus “sub-creators”, are fallen and all too easily tempted to use our creative gifts toward idolatry and the creation of a reality that is antithetical to that of our Creator’s. This is what I would argue is ultimately askew at Hogwarts. It is a world in which God does not exist. He is absent. And what has taken His place in the cosmos is impersonal energy which can be manipulated by the clever and the committed. Aslan (the Good, the Holy, and the Mighty) never appears. There is not the slightest intimation of His presence anywhere.
Kevin Bauder expresses similar (though not identical) concerns about Harry Potter in this paper, and comes to this conclusion about the Harry Potter series:
I do not believe that mature readers will be harmed by these volumes. Even should they fall into the hands of our offspring, the damage will probably be minimal. Harry Potter is not spiritually healthy fare for the immature, but it is more like junk food than it is like poison.
Neither Stoner nor Bauder conclude that the Rowling’s fiction is altogether pernicious, but both think it’s seriously deficient, in significant ways, when compared to the fantasy of Lewis, Tolkien, and others.
I had no intention of writing about Harry Potter when I started this post, nor am I now either condemning or condoning the series. In fact, I’ve never read a single page of any of Rowling’s books. And with the limited amount of time I have for reading, it’s unlikely that I ever will, given that I still read mainly non-fiction.
However, my original intention was to stimulate some discussion about the propriety of magic in literature for Christian readers, in light of the clear biblical condemnation of magic and sorcery. As is often the case, I have more questions than answers.
What do you think? Is the fantasy genre and all of the magic and sorcery it entails inappropriate for Christians? Why or why not? Can you defend your answer biblically? I have to say at this point I don’t believe it’s inherently inappropriate, but I’m afraid I can’t give a solid biblical justification for my view. And that bothers me.
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I feel magic, is neither good nor evil in itself, but like any other talent, it is judged by the use to which we put that talent. The good and evil question is then, not one of abillity, but one of authority. The Witch of Endor had the ability to call the spirit of Samuel from beyond the grave. But she was deemed wicked because she was overreaching her authority (she was not authorized to do that). Moses had the ability to strike the rock and bring forth water, but he was reproved by God because God did not authorize that act. Take a look at Luke 4:25-27. The prophets we admire were restrained to work the work they were authorized to do and no other… I suspect they wished they might be allowed to do more…
It just doesn’t seem to me that Scripture anywhere views magic as neutral. Rather it seems without exception to view magic and sorcery in a negative light. Here are two verses that I think are pretty representative of that fact:
And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. (Acts 19:19)
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. (Rev. 21:8)
Agreed, but you need to be careful about universal condemnation based on a few passages. “Money is the root of all evil” but do you use money? Throughout history, good minded paeople have concluded in the same way that all sex was condemned (The shakers, for example… not to mention the Roman priesthood).
In a real sense, both the prophets and aopostles, at times, showed extraordinary “power” over creation. We recongnize “magic” as nothing more or less, so what is the difference? Why are the apostles and prophets exercise of “power” acceptable, but the other not? Authorization.
Consider this: We accept microwave ovens (for example) because we have learned to harness that force (microwaves) by artificial means. What makes that OK, but a person being able to harness the exact same force in there person is to be condemned?
For the record, the Quakers condemn microwaves in their artificial forms as well…but I ask, then, what is the idea of taking “dominion over the earth?”
I am not one to defend magic and sorcery. By no means. But I am not quick to universally condemn the posibility either. I think the evil in it goes deeper than the ability. Like all evil, it is a matter of the Spirit.
Look again at why Simon the Sorceror was condemned. It was not for doing what he could do. The apostles did not forbid him from doing what he could do. It was for thinking he could buy the power to give the Holy Spirit with the laying on of hands… It was not his to give? That sounds like a matter of authority to me.
NOTE: This reply is for M.G. Kizzia’s Comment #3.
I’m just going to have to disagree with you on this one. Not once in Scripture is it ever even implied that the prophets or apostles used magic. Not even when they were directly opposed by magicians, as in the case of Moses and the Egyptian magicians, or Daniel and the Babylonian magicians, or Peter and Simon the Magician. Not once. I’m not the one condemning magic. I don’t need to. It seems clear enough that God, in His Word, has already done that. Please do the search I suggested in the original post.
Um NO….It says the LOVE of money is the Root of all evil. If your going to use scripture use it correctly.
I would argue that fantasy points to a world beyond the natural here and now. So even though secular fantasy fiction doesn’t point us to God, it points us beyond ourselves.
As Bauder, in his series on fantasy literature points out, the fantasy or fantastical/magical tale plays by the rules its author creates. It is a parallel world. It is wrong to judge it on the basis of our world without taking thought of the story element of it. There are many acts on screen (and I’m not defending the display of nudity or anything) which in the real world would be indefensible. But for the story to be told, we must see the deed. The Bible also shows us evil deeds and yet doesn’t condone them. Still the evil is necessary to convey the storyline of Scripture.
Anyway, I read the Harry Potter series with low expectations. I was totally and completely blown away. The writing was superb and the story gripping. And in the end, the last book, has many hints of substitutionary atonement, resurrection and Christian thought. There are bleak parts in the story and the characters don’t always respect others and revel in hate for certain characters for a time. I am not defending that. But the use of the magic in the tale has to be judged by the fantasy world that was created. In that world magic is not evil, there are good and bad magicians and good and bad magic, but most of it is harmless and fun.
Biblically we are to rejoice in good works in literature and the arts, they image God in a limited fashion. We should not rejoice in evil for evil’s sake, and for me that is what goes on in dark vampirish tales (but I haven’t read them). But with Harry Potter, the tale had a glorious resolution and teaches a great many lessons along the way.
If people stop and think here, so many of the kid’s tales we value as a culture (thanks in part to Disney) are very blatant magical tales. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White… where do those tales weave in the presence of God? Where do they point to our Maker? Well, they don’t. But they broaden the mind and fill us with categories for right and wrong, evil and good, hope and suffering, and the supernatural element which undergirds all of life as we know it. They resonate with children and adults and all. And this experience of such tales, is certainly not antithetical to the Christian metanarrative of the Jesus’ reconciliation of the world through the Gospel.
Bob, I actually agree with your opening sentence and appreciate your argument. Furthermore, I thoroughly enjoy reading fantasy and find it fairly easy to defend the genre and its literary devices philosophically. I’m just finding it hard at the moment to reconcile my defense of it with Scriptures like the ones in my comment above. What I’m searching for is a biblical defense of magic and sorcery in light of the biblical condemnation of both.
We must, however, distinguish literary magic with actual magic. The Bible condemns actual practices of magic, and the magic books burned in Acts were not stories about magic, they were tools of the trade.
Some books are written to entice one into occultic practices. Such books should not be read indiscriminately, and a case could be made they shouldn’t be read at all. Harry Potter in my estimation does not fit the bill. The world it creates is not an actual world and it’s magic is not the occultish variety that could be practiced in the real world, necessarily.
Just my two cents. Also, the Bible doesn’t address all issues, but does guide us in how to approach any issue.
I appreciate your input, Bob, and basically agree with you, but I think I’m still going to have to chew on the subject a little more. Thanks!
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Barry,
Have you read Tolkien’s assessment of fantasy literature? Here’s the pdf of his article “On Fairy Stories”. This link talks about that essay.
It is quite good.
Blessings,
Bob
I have read it before, Bob, but it’s been a long time. As I recall, I found it engaging but still lacking the kind of clear biblical argument that I’m looking for (and maybe I’m looking for too much, as you implied earlier). I’ll reread it this weekend, though. Thanks, brother.
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Barry, the problem here is that we’ve got a set of English words that have a whole range of meanings, and we import those into the biblical texts that, because of translators’ decisions, happen to use the same words. I think the mistake is in assuming they’re talking about the same thing.
I’ve never seen anything in the Bible that discusses the scenario where there’s some naturally-occurring gene that gives people the natural ability to do things that we would be inclined to call magic. I have seen some references to pagan practices that involved attempts to acquire or use power that doesn’t naturally belong to human beings, most of which involve practices banned in the Torah because of their associations with the worship of pagan gods.
If God had created people with the ability to do the kinds of things that wizards in the Potter books do, then they simply wouldn’t by so doing be engaging in the practices that scripture condemns. The practices scripture condemns happen to be called by the same words, but that’s an accident of history. Utilizing natural abilities that go along with your kind is perfectly fine, and that’s what goes on in Harry Potter.
By the way, what do you make of Daniel being chief of the magicians in Babylon? The terms the ESV translates as “magician” are themselves referring to very different things, never mind how different both are from the usual idea in English now, which is closer to the Harry Potter idea.
Jeremy, I agree that different meanings of the word itself creates some confusion. Your point, though, about there being nothing wrong with the characters in the Harry Potter series using the natural abilities of their (imaginary) created order seems helpful to me, though.
I had given a little thought to Daniel being called chief of the magicians. I didn’t look too deeply into it, but I wondered if it wasn’t simply a reference to him being placed in authority over them because of the superior wisdom God had given him.
Given his training in Babylonian wisdom in ch.1, I suspect the term is just broader than what the translation makes it sound like. He was trained in their best education, and that did involve things like their wisdom tradition, which in many ways is similar to the Hebrew one, but it also involved things like astrology. I think it’s interesting that he and his friends are hailed for their unwillingness to violate the dietary laws, but no mention is made of their being educated in the Babylonian ways. I don’t expect they made any attempts to do anything like what we might associate with magicians, of course. I think it’s more a lesson that there aren’t always good equivalents in English for what a word in Hebrew or Greek really means. Given what I’ve read about the Torah ban on what’s translated as sorcery, I think that also applies. It seems to me to be restricting certain practices engaged in by the Canaanites, and I think the idea of levitating a feather with a magic wand (for example) if it were possible would not fall under that condemnation, and whether it would be wrong would depend on a lot of factors, foremost among them having to do with where that ability came from.
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This has always been a struggle for us in our household. I, too, grew up with a fascination for fantasy. I agree with you Barry that the Bible always shows magic as an evil practice. It is troubling to me to see how often it was used. The fact that the pharoah’s magicians could do some of the same things that Moses did is terrifying.
I personally think that our culture has become desensitized to magic to some degree. We just pass it off as fun and interesting. Having experienced some intense spiritual warfare, I gained a new, very real, perspective of the darkness and heaviness of evil. We truly underestimate its draw and its power, and it is nothing to be played with. For those reasons, we ‘try’ to implement two things when dealing with the subject:
1. We try to follow Philippians 4:8 – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. If we begin to question something, we try to come back to this verse. For example, Camille and I recently went to see Sherlock Holmes. In the movie, there was a heavy presence of magic and satanic worship. We knew it was fake, and that it would be revealed to be a hoax in true Scooby Doo style at the end, but we could not shake the discomfort we felt exposing our mind and soul to that, so we got up and left.
2. Our other factor, and this is purely subjective on our part, is to ask the question, does this promote the occult to our children? For me, although I understand that Harry Potter is wonderfully written literature, I have not exposed it to my children because it promotes magic and witchcraft to children. We have, on the other hand, allowed them to read and watch Narnia, and Lord of the Rings, because we felt, once again purely subjective on our part, that it was clearly distinguishable from the Harry Potter movies.
I admit it is difficult. And my love for the world still draws me in to watch and read these items. The other thing we must realize is that nature worship, wicca, and the like are much more popular now than when we were kids. Last year, when I was in Jeff City for business, I stopped by Barnes & Noble one night to look for a book. On the end cap, where they had the staff recommended books, I was so discouraged to see an entire collection promoting witchcraft. It is real, and shouldn’t be toyed with.
I’m not sure if this helps any or even responds to the proper question, but I wanted to offer this from our personal experience. The main thing is to pray for God to plant the vision for you and for your family regarding these specific matters. When faced with a dilemma, you then bring it back to the vision the Holy Spirit has put inside you. If it contributes to the vision, then go for it…if not, reject it with joy.