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CUTTING THROUGH THE HARRY POTTER HYPE
Shirley Scurlock - Staff Writer
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Harry Potter has swept the country off of its preverbal feet. The church world has fallen in line and many churches have endorsed the series as a way to teach positive values to our youth. From the world's point of view, the book has morally good characters, which have come to life both on the page and screen. The imagination that brought life to Harry Potter is unsurpassed in recent years. The fiction genre, once lacking in original material, now booms with new and exciting manuscripts. Harry Potter has certainly caused a stir among the literary minds of today.

In the days of superheroes like Superman, Spiderman, Flash Gordon, and even Wonder Woman, children acted out their fantasies to be their favorite hero with make believe capes, masks, and mimicking cries from the newest episode. Today's hero is a student of witchcraft. Harry casts spells, flies on broomsticks and studies the black arts. Twenty years ago, endorsing witchcraft would have been paramount to heresy; today everything goes. Harry Potter teaches our children the craft of witchery, with the churches blessing.

How can we teach the things of God by glorifying those who seek to control the world around them by the power of a dark force, whether you call it Satan or not? Light and darkness cannot have fellowship with one another. The light cancels out the darkness. How confused can our children be, when we who proclaim the word of God, call ourselves Christian, and declare we are His children, yet use the weapons of His enemy to teach His will. How insane is that?

In Galatians 5:20, Paul calls witchcraft a work of the flesh, and those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. How do you explain this insanity to the young people? Do you tell them that in some odd way witchcraft is fine with God? Is Harry an example of good? Does Harry live the kind of life you wish for your Christian children? What will your reaction be when your toddlers begin to cast spells on one another, or on you? How will you explain to them that what was once a good thing has now become evil?

The Bible teaches us that we need to love one another as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us. Witchcraft teaches them that they have no need to trust God; they can affect the natural world around them by using a power outside themselves. The power they seek to use forces others to bend to their will. Adults learn to allow others free choice, although we desire everyone to be saved and we pray toward that end, we can't force our will on them. Those practicing witchcraft seek to force their will on anyone who crosses them.

Our children will emulate someone. They learn by mocking you. Doing what you do. When we give them a hero to look up to, shouldn't it be a person who exemplifies our values. Jesus is the greatest hero ever. If we as Christians can't find the heroic in the Word of God, we are of all men most miserable. The Bible is filled with men and women who have faced challenges, overcome foes, and conquered personal weaknesses through the power of the risen Savior.

If your child is interested in unexplained phenomena, consider the real life miracles at the Red Sea. The fire and clouds that held the Egyptians at bay while the Children of Israel fled across dry ground. What about the three Hebrew children who were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to worship another God? They not only did not burn, but their captors were lapped up as they threw them in. When the king looked into the fire, he saw four men loose and walking around. True, these stories are not fictional, but they are more worthy of honor than those of a young man who practices the black arts. The Bible may be old fashioned but it will never be outdated, and in this fast-paced world we live in today, old values are still the best values.

When our children face a situation where their conscience must be their guide, what will they have to call on? Will they remember how to cast spells to impose their will on others? Will they recall a simple story of the Bible, which taught them the values that have produced Christians of superior caliber for centuries? The world may call it foolish to remain faithful to the word of God amidst all the questions concerning its effectiveness and relativity, yet those who live by it understand that there is no more appropriate book on earth. Fiction or nonfiction alike, there is no other book which contains the literary genius of the Bible. For those of us who follow Christ, anything in the Bible is superior to everything in the world. When our children sit down to play, mimicking some hero they've chosen to emulate, I pray that they choose us, because when all is said and done, what we choose for them makes us the real heroes in their lives.

In 1 Corinthians 11: 1, Paul says, "Be ye followers of me (or imitators of me), for I follow Christ. Oh, that our children would follow us as we follow the Lord, not into darkness but into the light.

YOU CAN REACH MS. SCURLOCK AT Sms2003@localnet.net