When J.K. Rowling’s "Harry Potter" series became a film franchise in 2001, it intensified an existing controversy among some evangelical Christians, who argued that its positive portrayal of witchcraft could desensitize children to the occult, blur the line between fantasy and real spiritual practices, and serve as a gateway to interest in actual witchcraft or Wicca.
Others argued that the magic in the series was purely fictional rather than real occult practice, that the series promoted moral values such as courage, loyalty, and self-sacrifice, and that it could be read with discernment or even used to illustrate Christian themes.
While the "Harry Potter" dispute is largely a thing of the past, the debate over whether or not it is sinful for Christians to watch movies about magic and witchcraft remains.
On a recent episode of “Live Free with Josh Howerton,” co-hosts and pastors Carlos Erazo and Paul Cunningham dove into the debate.
While Erazo and Cunningham disagree on the issue of movies with magic and witchcraft themes, they do agree that such entertainment falls into the “matters of conscience” category, described by Paul in Romans 14 as disputable issues on which Christians should follow their own convictions without judging others for having different convictions.
Erazo, who is more restrictive with entertainment, says he asks himself four questions before deciding whether or not something is OK to engage with:
- “What type of content am I consuming?”
- “What is it glorifying?”
- “Who is the author, and what's his intent or purpose?”
- “Is it redeeming that which the Bible calls a sin?”
When he applies these questions to the "Harry Potter" books and movies, for example, he walks away with a conviction to abstain from them.
“'Harry Potter' glorifies something the Bible explicitly condemns, and the specific things it glorifies, I believe, are spiritually dangerous,” he says, citing Deuteronomy 18’s forbiddance of practicing divination, fortune-telling, sorcery, charms, necromancy, and the like.
“'Harry Potter' portrays all of these elements as good, exciting, and heroic, and in many ways, we are invited to love these characters, see them as heroes, and love what they do. And so as a Christian, I reject that,” says Erazo, emphasizing that witchcraft is not fictional but a very real practice used by millions of people.
Cunningham sees the issue differently. He draws a distinction between committing a sin and watching a fictional character commit a sin.
He gives the example of the "John Wick" series, which Erazo says he enjoys watching. The film revolves around a retired assassin who goes on a sustained killing spree for revenge.
“If you use that train of logic,” Cunningham argues, “I think you have to land at the exact same place with 'Harry Potter' because both 'John Wick' and 'Harry Potter' … [have sins] that happen in the real world and can happen in the real world. In those movies, it glorifies them.”
To hear more of the debate, watch the episode above.
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