Douglas C. Face

Professor Nicholson

Composition II

October 09 2007

Harry Potter:

Work of Fiction or Tool of the Devil:

        There are many different opinions about the Harry Potter books that were written by author J.K. Rowling. Some Christians believe that reading books and watching movies about the witchcraft performing fictional character, Harry Potter, will lure a child into a love of the occult and therefore into the grasp of Satan. The association of witchcraft and Satan by the afore mentioned Christians is an association based on ignorance. I am going to provide evidence that the followers of Wicca, the religion of witchcraft, do not even believe in Satan, much less worship him. With that evidence, I will show that if the controversial Harry Potter books are based on witchcraft, there is no possible way that the books can lead a child to worship Satan. I am going to provide evidence by quoting various sources that show that the Harry Potter series does not follow any religious doctrine. Simply put, The Harry Potter series is a work of fiction.

        The problem comes from the Christian mislabeling of non-Christian religions. Most Christians believe that there is one true God and that any deviation from the teachings of the Bible is the work of Satan. This belief stems from the words of Jesus Christ. "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters"(LK. 11.23). Jesus said this while talking to people who accused him of doing the work of Satan because he commanded a demon to leave a deaf man. The basic meaning of this passage is that all that is of God must cling together and that anything that does not cling to God is lost. The idea in itself is a good one. The people that Jesus was talking to mistook an act of God for the work of Satan. This alone shows how easy it is for a religion based on fear to cause even a good action to be mistaken for a bad one, like the people that Jesus was talking to, there are modern Christians that take something that is good and they try to make the good in it bad because they don’t understand it.

        There are Christian leaders that take a character like Harry Potter that represents good in J.K. Rowling’s series and disavow the good because Harry uses witchcraft. The basis of the whole Harry Potter series is that good triumphs over evil. When a great idea like good defeating evil is thrown out on a technicality, it makes me question the reasoning of the people involved. To find out why some Christian beliefs seem so illogical, I will delve deeper into Christian Beliefs. Here is what one Christian leader thinks.

        Kjos wrote the article, "Bewitched by Harry Potter." In it he says "Unlike most children today, their [sic] parents and grandparents were raised in a culture that was, at least outwardly, based on Biblical values. Whether they were Christian or not, they usually accepted traditional moral and spiritual boundaries." Kjos believes that there is only one moral and spiritual way. The definition of ("moral") is "concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior." Kjos, like most Christians, believes that there is only one right way. The Christian Bible teaches that Christianity is the one true way. This is called black-and-white thinking, and it isn’t productive. Black-and-white thinking in this case has lead Kjos toward a misconception about the practitioners of witchcraft.

        The truth is that a basic belief of Wicca is that good and bad are within each of us. So the characters in the Harry Potter series are representing this belief. The good characters, Harry and his friends, are following the basic idea of Wicca. They try to do what is right. This is the basis of the Wiccan Ethic

        The good characters do exhibit the strong moral fiber of a Wiccan. Harry and his friends make a good role model for any child. Kjos black-and-white thinking, groups the good moral ethics of Wicca into a lump with some not so savory religions.

        Christians are taught that any religion other that Christianity is considered pagan. The definition of ("pagan") is "a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions". Wicca is fast becoming a major American religion. Wicca is even acknowledged by the American government as a federally accepted tax exempt religion. (Cantrell 39) According to the Web Site for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Pentacle is even allowed to be placed on a Government furnished headstone for our fallen military members (U.D.V.A). Even if Wicca were considered to be a Pagan religion, the problem is that the common Christian belief system lumps Wiccans in with religions that commit human sacrifice, Satanists, and every other non-mainstream religion. Let’s take a closer look now at the differences in Christian history and the history of Wicca, and see just what those Biblical values really are.

        Kjos used the phrase "based on Biblical values." Biblical values can be scary to somebody reads the Old Testament. The Old Testament is chocked full of things I wouldn’t want my child to ever see, much less emulate. In Genesis God tells Abraham to kill his only son and burn his body as a burnt offering (Holy Bible, Gen. 22.2). Later in Genesis God stops Abraham and lets him know that it was only a test (Holy Bible, Gen. 22.12). If a man were to consider sacrificing his son in the name of God today, he would probably be hospitalized and medicated for his and his son’s safety.

        Another example of Biblical values in the Old Testament is in Exodus which states that "If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do" (Holy Bible, Ex. 21.7). This not only says that God condones slavery but that it says that it is ok with God that a man sells his own daughter into slavery. If a person were to sell his daughter into slavery today the sale would be considered an unthinkable act. There are many more unbelievable examples of Biblical Values. In Exodus, a slave owner that has beaten his slave to death with a rod must be punished (Holy Bible, Ex. 21.20). Exodus goes on to state that if the slave is beaten and "gets up after a day or two" he (the slave owner) "is not to be punished" because "the slave is his property" (Holy Bible, Ex. 21.21). This is petty when you consider the term "Biblical values" include human sacrifice. In Exodus, God states, "You must give me the firstborn of your sons" (Holy Bible, Ex. 22.29). This is so detestable an act that even a Satanist would not see it as acceptable. According to LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan and the author of the Satanic Bible, harming a child or sacrificing an animal is unacceptable. In The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth, LaVey declares to Satanists in the ninth rule "Do not harm little children." LaVey goes on to state in the tenth rule that a Satanist is not allowed to "kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food." This proves that the Biblical values of the Old Testament, sacrificing human children and animal sacrifice, are detestable even in the eyes of the Church of Satan. To continue on with the dissection of Kjos "Biblical values", The Holy Bible contradicts itself in at least one passage. It is the first passage that the term witchcraft is used. In Deuteronomy the law states,

        I have shown previously that God has commanded the sacrifice of the first born son and this passage contradicts that law. In the quote above, human sacrifice is lumped in with divination, sorcery, spell casting and anyone who "engages in witchcraft." My next responsibility is to show that killing children and animals in the name of God, unlike in early Christianity, is unacceptable in the practice of witchcraft. Modern witchcraft is known as Wicca.

Animal sacrifice is appalling to a practitioner of Wicca.

        Cantrell goes on to separate Wicca from human sacrifice by saying "We even recognize that in some cases human sacrifice may have played a part in some of the Druidic celebrations, at least as far as those celebrations are described by Julius Caesar." Keep in mind that the Druid religion and the Wiccan religion are not the same even though the Christians lump all pagans together. Cantrell continues with "those acts are or were viable parts of those religions, and they are or were meaningful and important to the practitioners, just as much so as our rites and rituals are to us." Cantrell concludes his statement on human sacrifice by saying "I only wish to make it clear that these actions are not, generally speaking, practiced by Wiccans today." Unlike in the Old Testament, human and animal sacrifices have never been an accepted practice in Wicca. I will continue on by examining the misconceived relationship between Satan and the Wiccan religion.

Dr. Dominguez states,

        The author has grouped beliefs from different unconnected religions into one belief. The Author has not only grouped a practitioner of divination into Satanism, he also ignorantly states that the "slave-girl" has a spirit in her and that it is a Christians’ duty to "cast out Satan from him in the name of Jesus." As previously quoted in my first paragraph, Cantrell states "Satan is a Christian concept." The book "Wiccan Beliefs & Practices: With Rituals for Solitaries & Covens" is a book used to inform its reader on the basic beliefs of the Wiccan religion. The author Gary Cantrell states in no uncertain terms that

        This being the truth about Wicca, if a child were drawn to witchcraft by watching or reading about Harry Potter, there is no need for the topic of Satan to be a part of said child’s life unless the child returned to a religion like Christianity that had Satan as a negative figure in its belief system. As Cantrell stated above, "The devil and hell are parts of the Christian theology." What this means is that if a child were drawn into witchcraft, the child would never again have to deal with hell or Satan.

        In conclusion, the world of Harry Potter is made up of many different ideas and beliefs and not one sole belief shines through as the basis for the books. Harry Potter is a fictional conglomeration that does not fit into one religion. The world of Harry Potter is based in a magical land where witches and wizards are the norm. Having provided evidence in the above paragraphs that Satan isn’t even believed in by witches, and that Satan is a Christian concept, in a story where the characters are witches and Christianity isn’t even mentioned, watching Harry Potter can not lead a child toward Satan. The books would have to involve Christianity for Satan to even be involved.

Works Cited


            Cantrell, Gary. Wiccan Beliefs & Practices With Rituals for Solitaries & Covens. St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2003.

                     U.D.V.A., United States Department of Veterans Affairs,. "Available Emblems of Belief for Placement Government  and Markers." 25 April 2007. 26 Sept. 2007 http://www.cem.va.gov/cem/hm/hmemb.asp.