I published this post on my book blog, Fat or Fiction, and thought I would republish it here as it might have more of a readership.:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Finished it this week with Reuben. Amazing. I sure wish my Christian friends could "get over" the magic stuff and see the amazing story written here. It is not about magic, that is just the vehicle or setting of the story. It is about relationships, laying your life down for those you love, choosing the hard road, doing the right thing even when it is painful, trust, discipline, faith, failing and then getting up again and becoming a better person, in a word, redemption. This book is about finding out your purpose and then fulfilling it, even when you don't have all the answers and allowing others to walk along side of you because none of us can do this thing called "life" alone. So many of the characters who had chosen a bad path saw the truth and turned back to the side of goodness. I loved how she wove this forgiveness and acceptance of those who came "home" to the truth. I loved how imperfect everyone was. No one was a superhero, they all fought together for freedom and justice and they won!
Some have said to me that they do not want to introduce magic to their children. If you have allowed Narnia or Lord of the Rings or even the Wizard of Oz into your children's lives, then please drop the "magic" protest and see what inspiration could be waiting for you and your children in these books. You won't regret it.
8 comments:
My responce was way to long...so I posted it on my blog....I figured I would get all you "people" out of the way at one time !
Hey Julie, this is Willem. For a while I've been thinking that I should get rid of my LOTR stuff. This confirms it. We have been the proverbial frog in the heating water.
There are other movies that are far more dangerous, attacking the christian faith at it's foundation; planet of the apes, 2001 and hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy. When my son comes home quoting the movie, 'the book of god's mistakes', that's disturbing. The real spiritual world is very serious business. What am I to do with you, girl?
Well Jules, you know that I love you, and because of that, I'm going to be honest with you.
Your post made me angry when you said that we need to "get over" the magic stuff. You know, we have allowed LOTR into our home, but there has always been a question in our minds, if that was really the right decision. Even though the author was a believer... We've been talking about getting rid of the movies, and now we are.
As a believer, It should be our goal to be set apart. I do not think that we had any business allowing LOTR into our home, as there was always a "check". With that being said, I can say now with new reslove, that we will never allow any form of fiction, or non fiction that resembles anything to do with witch craft into our home.
Wow, Julie, you've actually hit a nerve in this crowd haven't you?
I guess I'm a pagan, because I've been able to find a lot of beauty outside of the Bible. May God have mercy on me.
In my mind this subject falls into the category of "If it don't feel right, don't do it" - or as Paul explained, "if you can't eat meat sacrificed to idols, don't - and don't do it with people who'll stumble if they see you."
I honestly don't think you can really protect our children from outside questioning of our faith and I like to feel strong enough in our own home's messages to confidently send our children out.
Willem, you can't possibly be blaming Julie for your son quoting that line? There's nothing to 'Do' with Julie as she does not need reprimanding.
I'm just sorry that we all can't enjoy with as much freedom as you.
(and, just as an aside)
The Bible itself is full of more murder, violence and witchcraft than many, many books I've read. Its not the subjects but how they are handled that we should be concerned about.
I hope all of this will not cause any hard feelings...Jules..you know I love you..even if we don't agree. I want to make sure this doesn't cause a division in an awesome group of friends. I just felt like I had been silent long enough...it does make you feel kind of picked on when someone goes out of there way to push something that they know someone eles is against. I get little comments about this subject all the time....like I am abusing my child because I won't let her read this book. I hope I have not hurt any feelings by stating my thoughts. I love ya!
I think we've all known each other long enough to enjoy some healthy disagreements, don't you?
Yes Elicia, I do.
Jules, I am a firm believer that everyone has to find their own path to God. Some can place the spiritual in a sufficient place of priority so that reading books like Harry Potter are compatible with their ideas of faith, and others have a relationship with God which has no room for such ideas. As for me, I have taken the Christian themes in the book as my own and accept the rest as mere divertisment, nothing more. If I don't make the cut at the rapture, however, I believe that it will not be Harry Potter that kept me out.
I'm glad you liked the book. I liked it too.
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