1. HG Ferguson says:

    Zachary, you’ve raised a lot of questions some would rather not be asked, and pointed us in the right direction. I would say in addition that we — myself included most of all — need to be very sure that we don’t let the content of what we choose to read (or watch) mold or influence our thinking if that thinking is not the way God thinks as revealed in His Word. Not everything we read unfortunately stays where it belongs, sometimes it creeps in where it shouldn’t. Since you raised the issue of Harry Potter, I applaud your example. There are many things to admire in this extended story, such as Harry’s refusal to embrace darkness, Voldemort splintering his soul to cheat death but ultimately losing that very soul, and the immortal Snape reveal. We can enjoy this, learn from it, and should. Problem is however, Harry’s world also contains some truly unbiblical ideas, chief among them being magic is some kind of neutral power we can tap into and bind to our will by speaking certain words and pointing little wooden sticks. I am afraid this notion of “magic” being somewhat good or at best neutral and/or ambiguous has crept into the thinking of some Christians, which is definitely not what God says about the subject in terms anything BUT neutral or ambiguous. I bring this up not to re-establish my reputation as a blunt hater of the boy with glasses (here goes that judgmental Ferguson guy again), but to show how due to this work’s success, popularity and appeal to our baser natures to want to be “powerful,” we can be deceived if we let out guard down. Or take for example Star Wars. There is also much to be enjoyed about this story (I loved ROGUE ONE) but we dare not, must not and cannot allow its Taoist worldview in SF dress to influence how we think about God. God is light, and in Him there is not one single speck of darkness at all (Greek, I Jn 1;5). YHWH has no “dark side.” Enjoying the Jedi saga is one thing, but the expression “May the Force be with you, His Name is Jesus” [I saw this on a bumper sticker once] is as blasphemous as it gets. We just need to be careful not to believe every spirit, but to test them (I Jn 4:1). Discernment — the kind of discernment you encourage us to practice — is precisely what we need, especially today. Thank you for reminding us of this truth. Jesus Dominus Est.

    • notleia says:

      As far as Harry Potter goes, I find it hard to worry about something that has no real-world application, like the concept of neutral magic (or the idea of magic at all). If he who controls the spice controls the universe, what if there is no spice? (Dune reference, for the uninitiated.)

What do you think?