Goodness and Evil and Harry

I'm not going to say that we skulked into the movie theatre last evening, but there weren't many couples in their fifties, sans children, in line for the new Harry Potter film. For some reason I have never taken to this series of books and pictures the way the rest of the world has. Just the same, they are good and this latest, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is about as grown-up as they get.

I see why some reviewers suggest that it isn't suitable for younger children because of frightening scenes. Goodness and evil, light and darkness are strong themes here and evil threatens to prevail. J,K. Rowling reminds us as well that life is not always fair and we carry with us heartache that can be overwhelming without support from beyond ourselves.

Does this sound vaguely familiar? A recent Washington Post article tells us that conservative Christians in the U.S. are now taking a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach to Pottermania. After decrying the witchcraft of the stories, they are making the connection between the themes of the Potter stories and our Christian story of redemption and the defeat of darkness.

There are vacation bible schools this year with titles such as Wizards and Wonders.

Why not? There is nothing new under the sun.