Convicted
A few years ago, I mentioned to a friend that I had never seen or read Harry Potter. They immediately called me a heathen. While they were only joking with me, I ended up replaying this conversation in my head over and over. About 20 years ago I watched the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone trailer for the first time. I remember the uneasy feeling in me as I learned about this story that centered on a young boy who learned to be a wizard. I recall stating to my mom that I was uncomfortable glorifying a child practicing sorcery. I more or less tucked this feeling away and just knew that I wanted no part in the Harry Potter franchise. When I was challenged on my stance, I couldn’t keep ignoring this uneasy feeling any longer. It was time to ask myself why I felt the way that I did. I had reached a point in my life where I was almost ready to give up on this conviction. I recognized that watching a movie that happened to be about wizards would not cause me to compromise my beliefs. It seemed like I was the only person who felt the way that I did and I was ready to give into those around me, but when I felt challenged, I was forced to understand why I felt the way that I did. I was ready to enjoy this fantasy world full of adventure that has permeated culture, but instead my conviction only grew stronger.
I attribute my early gut response to Harry Potter to the Holy Spirit at work in me and to the way in which I was raised. I grew up knowing that witchcraft is real. My parents told me a story about someone they knew who had been a practicing witch. I also heard stories about people I know dabbling in the dark side of the spiritual world. These stories helped me see that magic is not just something from movies, but it is real and exists even in the “safe” world in which I grew up. These stories helped me understand that there is evil power, and it is attractive because it can let you do amazing things. In addition, my dad’s work occasionally takes him into areas of the world where witch doctors are community leaders. His encounters furthered my understanding of just how widely practiced witchcraft is. While I have not experienced first-hand the effects of engaging in witchcraft, the numerous first- and second-hand accounts that I grew up hearing about were enough to show me just how real this stuff is.
One of the hallmarks of my childhood is the way that I would completely embrace some fantasy world that had its roots in reality. I would learn all that I could about both the historical and fictional sides of whatever story had its hooks in me. My mom would then help me craft a costume that allowed me to visit the world that I had been exploring. I bounced from obsessing over pirates to Robin Hood to cowboys and so on. Whatever the genre, I made sure that I was educated on the real thing. I could see my younger self doing this with Harry Potter, too. I love action-adventure movies. If I had grown up in a different home I would not be surprised if I had latched on to the world of wizards. Inevitably, I would have learned that people actually do practice witchcraft, and I would then want to explore how I too could do it so that I could be more like the characters in Harry Potter. I don’t think it is unreasonable to think that there are other people like me who would not share in my conviction.
At this point in my life, I am rooted in my identity as a child of God. I don’t think that watching Harry Potter would have a significant effect on my life, but I still choose not to partake. I have come to understand that the issue is not that I risk rejecting the light in exchange for darkness, but it is instead an issue of becoming desensitized to evil. It seems to me that the culture in which I live treats the spiritual world as a means of entertainment. Satan is very good at distorting things so that they seem innocent. Halloween seems like it is an excuse to dress up, get candy, and have some fun feeling scared by going through a haunted house. There is nothing wrong with playing pretend, eating candy, or getting an adrenaline rush, but when the way that these ends are achieved is through packaging monsters and murderers as fun, we have a problem.
Not long ago, I was reminded by a Francis Chan sermon about the devil, of a concept that keeps coming up. Satan likes to attack us in areas where we invite him in. Francis commented that when people are under attack from a spiritual being, it’s usually because they have invited it into their life. I don’t think that if you go trick-or-treating or watch Harry Potter you will be tormented by a demon, but I do think that choosing to engage in these activities adds to the desensitization and gets us closer to a place in which Satan has a foothold from which to launch later attacks. I believe that as a Christian my life should not look the same as those around me, but instead should reflect Christ to them. The choices I make regarding my interactions with things of a spiritual nature are one way that I can do this.
