[from 2004]

For those of you who’re not familiar with my literary preferences, I’m a huge fan of Tolkien & Lewis, and especially of Tolkien’s epic, The Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings is NOTHING like the Harry Potter series. While I would have serious reservations about allowing my children to read Harry Potter, I have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings out loud to them several times.

I know that many Christian parents have quite legitimate concerns about anything which might engender an interest in the occult among their children. I share their concerns. I am VERY uneasy with many of the elements of the Harry Potter series. Harry is in many ways an admirable figure. He’s a nice kid. He values friendship and loyalty. And he struggles to defeat/thwart enemies who are clearly evil. BUT, I am very uncomfortable with the presentation of Harry’s magic powers as neutral and the school he attends to master magic skills as just another school for gifted and talented kids.

The most troubling aspect of Harry Potter is the confused way in which the author plays with traditional western symbolism of good and evil. It is very dangerous to present witches (with brooms & familiar spirits) as not necessarily evil just misunderstood. The unspoken (but powerful) message is a sort of literary moral relativism. The idea that nothing is inherently evil is morally pernicious. And very confusing and potentially dangerous for children.

By contrast, Tolkien’s epic has an entirely different approach to magic – especially the central symbol of magical power, the ring. The ring is very powerful and dangerous. Over and over again we are reminded (and shown) that it is perilous to attempt to use the ring and that anyone who did attempt to do so would inevitably be corrupted by it. Frodo wins, not by mastering the ring, but by resisting the temptation to use it. He must struggle using his natural abilities.

Gandalf is a much less troubling figure for me than ANY of the figures in the Potter series. Gandalf is much different from the wizards in Potter’s world. The most important difference is that Gandalf NEVER attempts to recruit or train anyone in how to use magic or spells. There is no possibility for any of the hobbits (or any of the men) to become wizards. In Tolkien’s world, Wizards are a small, chosen, race – set apart – more akin to guardian angels than to mortal men, though they do have bodies, and they can die.

Gandalf is the chief advisor who cautions against the use of the ring or of ANY of the tools of the enemy. Gandalf actually reminds me of the Prophet Samuel – or of Moses.

These are important distinctions. And it is important that we talk about these things with our children. Our kids have not read the Potter books, not because we’ve had to forbid them, but because there are so many other, better books available to them. I WOULD forbid any of my younger kids from reading Potter if they asked. One or more of our older kids (16 & up) may read some of the Potter books in order to be able to intelligently critique them (as have I). I wish there were a simple rule for selecting books for our children. Its not simple. One can’t simply say that all books with witches in them are bad , There’s a witch who figures prominently in the book of Samuel. So there must be other, more subtle criteria. Anything which awakes a fascination with magical powers is dangerous. I think Harry Potter potentially does. I think Tolkien’s tales warn against the inherent, inevitable danger in dealing with magic. There are many other virtues taught and portrayed in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings as well. Courage, perseverance, self-sacrifice, loyalty, etc. Plus it’s a marvelous story with an incredibly rich and delightful level of detail.

– Rob Shearer, Publisher
Greenleaf Press