On Banning Books in general…
December 18th, 2006
…and Harry Potter, in particular. A mother in Georgia has been trying for a year to get HP banned from her local school's library, and the Georgie Board of Education has upheld the local school's decision against her. Thank God. The woman is no doubt a good Christian and devoted mother, and of course has every right to instruct her local school library not to permit her own children to check out the books, but this whole "banning" business is so wrong-headed and counterproductive. To begin with, it assumes that there is only one valid judgment for a well-intentioned person to have on a book (or movie, or what have you), and that is rarely the case. There are certain cases–say, some Anton LeVayish Satanic Bible, or pornography or whatnot–which is almost universally condemned by the populace, and which should not be in schools, though I would not have them banned altogether, much as I would personally wish to see every piece go up in smoke in a spectacular case of spontaneous combustion. But HP is not anywhere close to a case of universal condemnation. Many believers (and I am one of them) are big fans of Harry, and see the books as eminently Christianable, perhaps even examples (as were Tolkien's) of "stealth Christianity." Rowling, let us remember, is an Anglican, not a Wiccan. Moreover, according to this local blogger, the Georgia mother would replace HP with books like the LeHaye end-of-the-world series–similarly controversial books, which many Christians love and many others (like me) find either goofy or offensive, and certainly terrible writing and terrible theology. Free speech does not make for a perfect society, but as the saying goes, it's way ahead of whatever's in second place. Christians in particular should keep it well in mind that if it becomes a normal practice to ban certain books or movies, theirs will be at the top of many influential people's blacklist–witness The Passion of the Christ mess, and recent calls in Hollywood to boycott Mel Gibson. While it's perfectly appropriate to withhold support from companies or books or movies which one feels are inimical to one's beliefs, I've come to think that movie banning, and even public calls for organized boycotting should be tactics which are rarely used by Christians. It's a critter that's not easily tameable, and is likely to come round and bite us on the rear. In fact, it does every year around this time, when curmudgeons crawl out of the woodwork to demand that public Christmas trees come down, or religious carols be omitted from the local elementary school's "winter concert." Besides, when it comes to an open contest–free speech on all sides–Christians have little to fear.
Kelly Hatzenbihler on 
4 Responses to “On Banning Books in general…”
Hello Debra,
I do not understand your position: “Many believers (and I am one of them) are big fans of Harry, and see the books as eminently Christianable, perhaps even examples (as were Tolkien’s) of “stealth Christianity.” Rowling, let us remember, is an Anglican, not a Wiccan.”
By “Christianable,” I assume you mean capable of being made Christian. But then it cannot therefore be Christian, or an example of “stealth Christianity,” as is, regardless of whether Rowling is an Anglican (there are many Catholics who say “I am Catholic, but I do not believe the following doctrines (x,y,z), do not accept the following paragraphs (a,b,…, f) of the Catechism, disagree with these encyclicals (d,c,f), and refuse to abide by these provisions of canon law (c1,c2, c3)).
Warmly,
John K.
I agree wholeheartedly that we must be for free speech. Today the Christian message is far more likely to suffer than to profit from censorship.
But on the suject of Harry Potter, I do think there is a problem, and it has nothing to do with the promotion of witchcraft. Harry Potter is profoundly un-Christian in its moral tone, not because of the witchcraft, though that is somewhat problematic in the sense that it associates heroism with super powers. We need to assert that all of us, even the halt and the lame, are called to heroic virtue. But the deeper problem is that Harry Potter encourages that most dangerous of modern ideas: If I am on the right side, the rules to not apply to me. Harry Potter never met a school rule he did not break, and yet at every turn he is rewarded and encouraged because he is “Harry Potter”. He is special. The rules do not apply to him.
Contrast this attitude with Ged’s sin and its consequences in Ursula LeGuin’s “A Wizard of Earthsea”, which shows a genuinely Christian attitude to power and gifts.
Kids today are constantly being told this insideous lie — that they are special and that therefore the rules do not apply to them. The Christian, by contrast, knows that the rules apply to everyone — even to Christ himself, as he accepted in Gethsemane.
That is the problem with Harry Potter — he is not a hero in the mold of Christ, but a hero in the mold of James Bond or Dirty Harry. If a Christian were to decide to steer their children away from the Harry Potter books, it should be for that reason.
I’m not sure I get why Harry Potter should be dismissed as a hero because he breaks some school rules. That would suggest that Hogwart’s “do not go out past 11″ rule is somehow equal to one of the Ten Commandments. Harry breaks rules, yes, but so did Christ — when the rules were those of the Pharisees’ or the Romans, not those of his Father’s. The long litany of Catholic saints proves that in certain contexts the rules of earthly institutions are at odds with God’s rules. So far as I’m concerned, Harry’s bravery, loyalty to his friends, love for his parents, desire to do good, persistent denial of the temptation to power over love, and willingness to sacrifice himself in the name of truth and love all clearly mark Rowling as a writer operating from a Christian ethos. Harry doesn’t inspire me to break rules just to break rules — he inspires me to break rules if the life of someone I love is at stake, or if the forces of evil threaten to swallow the love and goodness in the world. As for all the magic and wizardry, is Lord of the Rings any less Christian for being set in Middle Earth?
Intelligent, good discussion. Recently, I was listening to a radio program, in which the author of “The Power of Art” was describing the challenge of telling the truth in artistic terms today. He said that great art of lasting value has three attributes: beauty, wisdom, and gravity.
I perceive that “Harry Potter” has all three–beauty in the central ethos of self-sacrificing love, wisdom in seeing what’s at stake and the importance of what we choose to fight for or against, and gravity in dealing with the ultimate realities of love, life, friendship, loyalty, virtue.