Christians and Harry Potter. Mission Statement.Frequently asked questions.The Good... and the Bad.
What Religious Leaders Say.Reviews.RecomendationsTestimoniesLinks
Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged
VHS/DVD
Hosts: Robert S.McGee and Caryl Matrisciana
Genre: Propaganda

Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged

Description from producers website (www.caryltv.com):

Hosts Robert S.McGee and Caryl Matrisciana, author and occult researcher, show Rowling's presentation of the following elements of Witchcraft: Mother Goddess, evolution, reincarnation, communing with the dead and spirit world, seasonal nature celebrations, sorcery, divination, spells, curses, meditation, occult symbology, black magic, demon possession, dark aspects of Witchcraft, and more. Viewers will see how young readers today, more than any other time in history, have an abundance of occult resources easily available to them and learn how to answer difficult questions and clearly explain the Harry Potter series to their children, grandchildren and concerned friends.

Webmaster's Notes: It's hard to respect a video when you see so many fallacies simply in the blurb. Let's go down the list:

Mother Goddess: There is no Mother Goddess in Harry Potter. There is no earth worship or even a strong sense of environmentalism. There is no raising of the women over men. Lily is able to save her son by sacrificing herself, but it is sacrificial love (a very Biblical concept) that saves Harry. There is nothing special about Lily being female. Religion is downplayed in Harry Potter true, but then how many times is God directly mentioned in the Chronicles of Narnia? (Also while Goddess worship is integrated into much of modern Neo-Paganism and Wicca, it is not a defining characteristic of witchcraft.)

evolution: I've read the Harry Potter books at least three times and never saw a single mention of evolution or an evolutionary concept. The books don't discuss the origins of man. (also a modern concept and not an integrated part of witchcraft)

reincarnation: The Phoenix a mythical bird that dies and is reborn is present in Harry Potter. It's made clear several times though that there is no magic that can bring back dead people. There is no indication of any characters having had past lives. (reincarnation is an old idea and not Christian, but again it's not an integral part of witchcraft)

communing with the dead and spirit world: Harry does talk to ghosts and magical creatures. But he does no special magic to draw these things to him as is done in real witchcraft. Nor do the ghosts or magical creatures have anything to do with the magic Harry performs. They are most all borrowed from long established myths and fantasy traditions. (yes, this actually is a large part of witchcraft)

seasonal nature celebrations: Like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter? I can think of no others. If J.K. Rowling was really promoting witchcraft, why not use Wiccan holidays like Samhain and Solstice instead of their Christian counterparts?

sorcery: There's no doubt that the characters perform magic. I personally believe the nature of the magic Harry performs is not what the Bible warned against, however I can see this as a reasonable objection from people wanting to avoid even the appearance of evil.

divination: Divination is present in Harry Potter, but the attitude toward it in the books is overwhelmingly negative. The only two predictions in Harry Potter that are given any credence don't come about through any means of divination, even though they do come to the teacher of that subject, and even then, Dumbledore (the voice of authority) says the only reason these Prophecies come true is that the people involved choose to follow through with them. This is actually quite insightful as to how divination works, but no, practicing it yourself is a bad idea for many reasons.

spells, curses: Again, no denying it. But the nature of the magic in Potter's world is not like magic in our own. However, it may be a good idea to discuss the ethics of how characters use their spells and curses.

meditation: Meditation is neither occult nor evil. The Bible actually tells us to meditate on the law and that which is good. Now, meditation can be used to a bad purpose. If Buddha rather than God is your focus, that indeed is bad. Harry Potter never uses the term meditation. There are times when Harry must focus his mind on something. Occlumency has some similar techniques to meditation, but the purpose of this is to keep something evil out of Harry head, not let it in.

The NIV version of the Bible mentions meditation at least 17 times: ( Genesis 24:63, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2 Psalm 39:3 Psalm 48:9 Psalm 77:12 Psalm 119:15 Psalm 119:23 Psalm 119:27 Psalm 119:48 Psalm 119:78 Psalm 119:97 Psalm 119:99 Psalm 119:148 Psalm 143:5)

"May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts." - Psalms 119:78

occult symbology: Symbolism is an interesting thing. The Homosexual Community has adopted pink triangles and rainbows as symbols. There is nothing innately sexual about a pink triangle or a rainbow though. J.K. Rowling borrows from a wealth of mythical symbols and uses them to her own purposes. The early Christian Church often did the same thing, using symbols that were familiar to pagans to explain the gospel, thus transforming (or redeeming) these once pagan symbols and putting them to a Christian purpose.

I will explain this more elsewhere, but the word "occult" is being used poorly here as well. But I challenge you to find a Bible verse that forbids hidden or spiritual knowledge (in blanket, rather than specific examples)....seriously, I've been looking. If you find one please send it along to comments@christnhp.org

black magic: The term "dark magic" is used in Harry Potter. But the attitude towards it is even less favorable than the attitude toward divination. Harry never finds his answer in dark magic. Now yes, the villains use dark magic. They're the bad guys. Boo, hiss, we don't like them or what they do. What they do is identified as evil.

demon possession: There is no demon possession in Harry Potter. But the villain Lord Voldemort has some qualities of Satan, and he does possess and tries to possess people. This is very clearly identified as a bad thing. What saves Harry from possession is the fact that his heart is filled with love (I don't mean wussy feelings, I mean Agape style kick-butt love). This is not a far cry from the way to resist possession in the real world. The devil does not have room to move in when the heart is full. Having Jesus is your heart is a sure fire way to keep demons out.

dark aspects of Witchcraft: Again, be careful to note *who* is performing the dark aspects. Is it the heroes or the villains? If it's the villains, all J.K. Rowling is doing is identifying that these things are indeed bad.


Viewers will see how young readers today, more than any other time in history, have an abundance of occult resources easily available to them

This is arguably true. The Internet and advances in printing makes access to all kinds of material far easier than it once was. I'm not defending witchcraft, witchcraft is bad. But I do wonder why there is so much attention being focused on Harry Potter while "real" spell books and far more deliberate presentations of Wiccan ideas pass by without criticism.

What I worry most is that by calling the relatively innocent magic in Harry Potter "Real" that we may send the message that real witchcraft is as innocent and delightful as the magic of Harry Potter. It's not, and Matrisciana should know that better than anyone.

I'm also troubled by the number of exaggerations and misinformation in this blurb alone. We are not to bear false witness, however "noble" our cause. Who is going to respect the words of Christians who ignore such a basic commandment?

The only conclusion I can come to is that Matrisciana is a frightened woman who has seen the worst of the witchcraft and the occult, and therefore overly sensitive to the slightest hint of such things how ever removed they are. I suggest she take some time away from her occult studies and study her Bible more thoroughly. She seems to have forgotten that God is our protector, and that we are saved by grace through faith...not by fear.

Note: I’m not saying that everything Matrisciana writes about is false or that she is a bad lady. If you dig deep enough into her website, she does point to things worthy of our attention, consideration, and even action. However, I think she has a tendency to over focus on the evil of man, forgetting his potential, and her calls to action often lack reasonable plans for those actions. She tends to make villains and “others” of the very people who most need saving.

Reviews should be a minimum of 200 words. We are specifically interested in reviews that deal with parental and Christian concerns. To submit a review on this book, write to submissions@christnhp.org

Notes
Disclaimer: This website does not represent Warner Bros., J.K. Rowling, any publisher or religious organization. We are simply Christians and fans who want to provide useful information and discussion on the topics of and surrounding Harry Potter.