Great well-balanced response. We have to teach our kids how to discern good ideas from bad ones, rather than putting things into safe vs unsafe categories and hoping for the best. As for the clear lines of good vs evil part. I really think the lines are quite clear in HP. 🤷🏻♀️ There is clarity in the end who is good, evil and deception are revealed, and there are even opportunities for redemption. I don’t know, I think there are great opportunities for discussion with kids and a lot of parallels with the “greatest story ever told.” We love fantasy & quality literature that displays human nature, flawed characters and character arcs, and sacrifice/redemption. ❤
Like you, I never read the books, but watched all the movies. I liked most of the first one, but the overall feeling of all of them was dark to me. I couldn’t stand to watch them again. You have a very interesting take, and I appreciate caution, conscience, and age consideration. I’ve had a problem with Christians outright saying they are GOOD, and you SHOULD read them, and downplaying any negative. I have seen people let their children read all of them too young. I have also seen someone who calls herself Christian and witch simultaneously, that rereads the hp books yearly. I’ve also seen a friend with a centerpiece shrine dedicated to hp in their house after 13 years of private Christian school - books, paraphernalia, wands, etc. I’ve met several people who have read Harry Potter, and basically nothing else. They might even called themselves readers based on that alone. I met a girl who was going to major in literature in college, and so I was very excited because I love books, so I asked her what were her favorite or books that she’s read and liked. She literally couldn’t name anything else except Harry Potter. On my shelves, we have literally hundreds of wonderful books filled with rich literature. We won’t be having time for hp, and it would be a waste of my shelf space. If my children want to read them, I’ll ask them to wait until ~18 and do library check out.
This was really well done - it's definitely a conundrum for parents these days and I 100% agree that Romans 14 is most applicable here. I also appreciate your observation that the lines between good and evil are very blurry in the HP series...that succinctly describes one of the biggest concerns I've had about it (I've read the first book and seen all the movies). Thank you for for yet another VERY thoughtful episode.
Great approach to this topic, Elizabeth! It is brilliant when we as Christian parents walk alongside our children and have an open relationship with them. We should encourage discussions about the things of this world in light of the truth of God's creation and the Gospel. We should be willing to equip them to walk the narrow path, even through darkness. We should be the ones to take what is popular in culture and teach our children how to handle it, but also be open so they feel safe to discuss and filter their own questions and ideas. We grow in discernment ourselves when we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we teach discernment to our children. Above all, whatever we do, we must be seeking to glorify God and shine the light of His Son Jesus into this world.
You really just articulated well where I fall on this issue. I was once a huge HP fan. But I was definitely convicted on how big of a fan I was. For example, I felt convicted that I read the HP series more than I read the Bible. I was also convicted because I thought of it more than I thought of God. I talked about it more than I talked about God's Word. I felt the conviction to walk away from the fandom, but I don't think there's anything wrong with the books or movies. So I decided I will be introducing it to my kids but I want to talk to them the way you described. I also think it's very important to teach them the difference between fantasy and real life. So many people my age wanted HP to be so real it lead them to the occult. I always stress with my 6yo that any time we read or watch anything with magic that it's not real and any real witchcraft or "magic" is evil and we should flee from it. So I think HP is a great opportunity to teach kids the difference between fantasy and reality and to teach them that books and movies can be fun, but it's not the center of what we're to fixate our thoughts on.
I really appreciated this! As a child I wasn’t allowed to read it either. As I grew I didn’t understand what the difference was between that and the Disney movies with magic, that I was allowed to watch! I like what you opened with…that HP takes place in a fantasy world. That is a crucial fact, I think. I have read them, as an adult, with my husband and I enjoyed them but I still feel on the fence whether we will let our kids read them when they are older. I liked that you suggested the option of reading them WITH our kids and asking questions. I appreciate all of your videos!
Our funny Harry Potter story: My niece, who had near blindness (was born with a rare eye disease) was at 12 yrs old, supposed to be learning Braille. She refused, “because, Mom, I’m not quite fully blind!” This niece was also begging her mom to let her read the Harry Potter series, but the books were never available in the library. My sister solved 2 problems. She ordered the Harry Potter books--IN BRAILLE! My niece became fluent in Braille during those hours of reading her beloved Harry Potter stories. And when she did lose the rest of her eyesight in college, she was prepared for all the Braille materials!
I’m reading these books aloud to my 9 and 7 year old right now and it is one of our favourite things we do together. These books are good fantasy literature, in my opinion, with well crafted writing.
We just got our copy of What is Truth! I’m glad you weighed in on this topic, I personally feel like some of the topics like sacrifice, are well highlighted by this series and I can’t wait to introduce my children to this series… that being said I will be talking about the archetypes in these novels with my kids. Love your content I recommend it to all my friends!
I think for those who have these kinds of questions, they should ask people who came out of the occult and know the extent of what Harry Potter portrays and the things you’re exposing your children to. No offense to you I love hearing your perspectives on things but witchcraft is a dangerous subject to downplay and is very real no matter how innocent a character can make it feel and look. ❤
Great well-balanced response. We have to teach our kids how to discern good ideas from bad ones, rather than putting things into safe vs unsafe categories and hoping for the best.
As for the clear lines of good vs evil part. I really think the lines are quite clear in HP. 🤷🏻♀️ There is clarity in the end who is good, evil and deception are revealed, and there are even opportunities for redemption. I don’t know, I think there are great opportunities for discussion with kids and a lot of parallels with the “greatest story ever told.” We love fantasy & quality literature that displays human nature, flawed characters and character arcs, and sacrifice/redemption. ❤
Like you, I never read the books, but watched all the movies. I liked most of the first one, but the overall feeling of all of them was dark to me. I couldn’t stand to watch them again. You have a very interesting take, and I appreciate caution, conscience, and age consideration. I’ve had a problem with Christians outright saying they are GOOD, and you SHOULD read them, and downplaying any negative. I have seen people let their children read all of them too young. I have also seen someone who calls herself Christian and witch simultaneously, that rereads the hp books yearly. I’ve also seen a friend with a centerpiece shrine dedicated to hp in their house after 13 years of private Christian school - books, paraphernalia, wands, etc.
I’ve met several people who have read Harry Potter, and basically nothing else. They might even called themselves readers based on that alone. I met a girl who was going to major in literature in college, and so I was very excited because I love books, so I asked her what were her favorite or books that she’s read and liked. She literally couldn’t name anything else except Harry Potter.
On my shelves, we have literally hundreds of wonderful books filled with rich literature. We won’t be having time for hp, and it would be a waste of my shelf space.
If my children want to read them, I’ll ask them to wait until ~18 and do library check out.
This was really well done - it's definitely a conundrum for parents these days and I 100% agree that Romans 14 is most applicable here. I also appreciate your observation that the lines between good and evil are very blurry in the HP series...that succinctly describes one of the biggest concerns I've had about it (I've read the first book and seen all the movies). Thank you for for yet another VERY thoughtful episode.
Great approach to this topic, Elizabeth! It is brilliant when we as Christian parents walk alongside our children and have an open relationship with them.
We should encourage discussions about the things of this world in light of the truth of God's creation and the Gospel.
We should be willing to equip them to walk the narrow path, even through darkness.
We should be the ones to take what is popular in culture and teach our children how to handle it, but also be open so they feel safe to discuss and filter their own questions and ideas.
We grow in discernment ourselves when we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we teach discernment to our children.
Above all, whatever we do, we must be seeking to glorify God and shine the light of His Son Jesus into this world.
You really just articulated well where I fall on this issue. I was once a huge HP fan. But I was definitely convicted on how big of a fan I was. For example, I felt convicted that I read the HP series more than I read the Bible. I was also convicted because I thought of it more than I thought of God. I talked about it more than I talked about God's Word. I felt the conviction to walk away from the fandom, but I don't think there's anything wrong with the books or movies. So I decided I will be introducing it to my kids but I want to talk to them the way you described. I also think it's very important to teach them the difference between fantasy and real life. So many people my age wanted HP to be so real it lead them to the occult. I always stress with my 6yo that any time we read or watch anything with magic that it's not real and any real witchcraft or "magic" is evil and we should flee from it. So I think HP is a great opportunity to teach kids the difference between fantasy and reality and to teach them that books and movies can be fun, but it's not the center of what we're to fixate our thoughts on.
I really appreciated this! As a child I wasn’t allowed to read it either. As I grew I didn’t understand what the difference was between that and the Disney movies with magic, that I was allowed to watch! I like what you opened with…that HP takes place in a fantasy world. That is a crucial fact, I think. I have read them, as an adult, with my husband and I enjoyed them but I still feel on the fence whether we will let our kids read them when they are older. I liked that you suggested the option of reading them WITH our kids and asking questions. I appreciate all of your videos!
Our funny Harry Potter story:
My niece, who had near blindness (was born with a rare eye disease) was at 12 yrs old, supposed to be learning Braille. She refused, “because, Mom, I’m not quite fully blind!” This niece was also begging her mom to let her read the Harry Potter series, but the books were never available in the library. My sister solved 2 problems. She ordered the Harry Potter books--IN BRAILLE! My niece became fluent in Braille during those hours of reading her beloved Harry Potter stories. And when she did lose the rest of her eyesight in college, she was prepared for all the Braille materials!
Book :Hollywood heroes by Frank Turek is a very good accompaniment to watching/ reading fictional books like these 👍
I’m reading these books aloud to my 9 and 7 year old right now and it is one of our favourite things we do together. These books are good fantasy literature, in my opinion, with well crafted writing.
We just got our copy of What is Truth! I’m glad you weighed in on this topic, I personally feel like some of the topics like sacrifice, are well highlighted by this series and I can’t wait to introduce my children to this series… that being said I will be talking about the archetypes in these novels with my kids. Love your content I recommend it to all my friends!
I'll just quote the little song "I'm bringing home a baby crocodile, won't my mommy just giggle and smile"
I think for those who have these kinds of questions, they should ask people who came out of the occult and know the extent of what Harry Potter portrays and the things you’re exposing your children to. No offense to you I love hearing your perspectives on things but witchcraft is a dangerous subject to downplay and is very real no matter how innocent a character can make it feel and look. ❤
Yes this!
Comment for the algorithm
Grooming children into a lifetime of ignorance and shame.