The Danger of Harry

Quite a number of people have asked me of what I think about reading the Harry Potter books. They were all Christians or people who have heard sermons where the pastor spoke against reading the books or watching movies. One pastor even raised the call to burn those books.

I can understand his zeal in not wanting his church congregation to learn the ways of witchcraft practiced at Hogwarts and by Voldemort. But honestly, to forbid the church members to read the book will make the book even more tantalising. Forbidden fruits taste sweeter after all.

I tried reading the first book of the series but found it quite boring. In fact, quite a few other friends found that it to be nothing fantastic. But they decided to join in with the crowds in the mad rush to get their hands on Harry Potter 7 anyway. Some did it because they simply must have the complete set of the series. Others did it out of sheer kiasu-ism to be the first to read that book - yeah, who says only Singaporeans can be kiasu? Malaysia also boleh!

And still some others wanted to get hold of all the books AFTER hearing what that preacher said. I have to hand it to JK Rowling. She has great marketeers promoting the books for her seven years running. Even the preachers are unknowingly marketing it for her. Negative publicity is better than no publicity. Perhaps even better than positive publicity.

The danger of reading books like Harry Potter is that it promotes magical thinking. People can be influenced to think that if they could say a few magic words or wish really, really hard then everything will be ok. Their problems will vanish into a puff of smoke. The thing is, real life doesn't work that way. There are no quick fixes, no short cuts and certainly, no magic wands to defeat the giants and the Lord Voldemorts in our lives.

And as for witchcraft, its tantacles can even be found in some churches, homes and places of work. For the spirit behind witchcraft is manipulation and control. Harry Potter is the poster child of the art of sorcery and witchcraft because he is so famous. And it's true that kids probably now think it cool to wear black wizard garments and broomsticks are all the rage.

In my opinion, forbidding people to read books would only want to make them read them even more. But what the church could do is to educate their congregation about the dangers of taking short cuts and quick fixes in their lives. Expose the real truth behind witchcraft for what it is - and that it's not just a group of reedy frizzy haired ladies flying about on broomsticks. That it is more subtle and prevalent than we realise.

You can choose to hide your head under a pillow but the fact is that Harry Potter is the biggest hype in town for now. It can be a great conversation starter that can lead to deeper and more meaningful discussions.

And yes, I've read the spoilers and I know the ending already

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