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The Trouble With Harry Potter- 4

CONNIE: There’s a classic check list of eight things, Philippians 4, that are to define the thoughts and reading habits of the born again Christian. Things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, etc., and some of the churches are complaining, that Harry Potter, Ron, Herminie, Harry, simply don’t measure up.

CONNIE: Hello this is Connie Jeffery, and we’re pleased to welcome you to part four of our series visit with Pastor Steve Wholberg. The pros and cons of the Harry Potter series is what we have been talking about this week. And Steve has written a booklet on Harry Potter and the dangers inside, and we’re standing by ready to give you a gift copy of his book. Now let’s get back to Steve and Lonnie.

LONNIE: Some families are ordering free Harry Potter books for their kids in order to prevent a civil war from erupting, because all the kids want their own copies, don’t they? They have just absolutely skyrocketed unlike any other books we have ever seen.
STEVE: Potter mania has become a huge retail phenomenon. There are Potter books, there are Potter toys, Jellybean, lunch-boxes, t-shirts, you name it, and the list goes on and on. It’s a multi million-dollar enterprise; people are getting rich over Harry Potter.
LONNIE: Now we got to brass tacks yesterday on our broadcast, let’s talk about Bible, and dive right into Deuteronomy right now to see what God said to his people.

STEVE: This is probably the main section in scripture that specifically outlines a list of occult practices. Witchcraft and Wicca have been around a long time, and it’s a real religion not just a fun little dress up game.

LONNIE: Let me take verse nine, and you come in and comment on this. God tells His people, when you come into the land that God has given you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations, and obviously we need to be careful not to educate ourselves in these areas.

Steve, that’s right! And this shows that this was probably written 3000 years ago and that there were real nations back in the time of Israel, and these nations were actually practicing, what the Bible calls abominations. They were steeped in the occult.

LONNIE: I have actually been up to some of those altars, and it was horrible to think of some of the practices that happened there. So it says here in verse 10 of chapter 18 that there shall not be found among you, anyone who makes their sons or daughters pass through the fires, or one who practices witchcraft or sorcery.

STEVE: It also says that people who call up spells, or conjure the other side are an abomination to the Lord. It’s interesting that in the Potter books, Harry Potter is a young orphaned wizard boy who eventually discovers that he is a wizard and goes to wizard school to learn how to develop his occult powers. He has classes…he has a spells class, he has divination class. He has classes, where in Deuteronomy 18; preach out against the very things that Harry and his friends were doing, as far as the magic part of it is concerned.

LONNIE: Is that why these books are so popular?

STEVE: I Think that there are a lot of reasons, I think there’s a lot of kids in this world that growing up in this world with a lot of problems, Alcoholism, drugs, abuse, their lives are a whirlwind of disaster, and what Harry Potter does is he learns to develop supernatural powers to deal with his enemies. So kids want power to deal with their problems in their lives, and a lot of the real Wicca books offering kids knowledge of how to cast spells.

LONNIE: Steve, some people may be sticking their tongue in their cheek saying, c’mon Steve, this is such innocent fun.

STEVE: But it’s not all that innocent.

LONNIE: Because you have to look at who is really behind all of this.

STEVE: Is the Bible true or not? If the bible is not true then the Harry Potter books are just simple good fun. But if the Bible is true and there is a real Satan in the invisible world, who inspires the real world of Witchcraft and the occult, then when we read about spells and potions and all of these things we are entering the domain of what the Bible is evil. Revelation 12:9, it says that the devil will deceive the whole world. Again, I’m not saying that there aren’t good elements in these series, I’m just saying beware of the stuff hiding right under the surface. The potter books are a blend of good and evil, and it’s the evil that concerns, me.

LONNIE: Let’s talk for a moment about good fiction, could you name any books that we could read that would be good fiction?

STEVE: Sure. And before I mention a book let me just say that fiction is a great communicator in our world, and helps us to understand many things, and fiction helps us to better understand what affects character. So, I’d like to offer a wholesome alternative to those aforementioned books. Probably the best fiction I can recommend is a book written about 300 hundred years ago called Pilgrims progress. You have a man named Christian and he leaves his city and journeys on the narrow way to the celestial city, and he encounters friends and foes along the way, and that book is exciting, it’s fun for kids, its fiction. But it has powerful lessons that affect kids lives, and make them choose God and obedience, choose the Bible and turn away from evil.

LONNIE; Now listen all you parents out there, if you are concerned and want your kids to read something other than Harry Potter, than here it is, Pilgrims Progress. But we have also talked about C.S> Lewis on our show, and how great those books are as well.

STEVE: There are lots of really great books out there, and you can read my book that points out the dangers of Harry Potter. Parents say that they have shared this book with their kids and it steers them in a different direction. There is lots of book sin the store, especially the Good Book the Bible.

LONNIE: Tomorrow we are going to discuss what parents and educators can do to help kids steer away from these bad sinful books, and look to more uplifting books.

STEVE: Yes, and I will discuss how to break free from evil and embrace God.

LONNIE: So, if you had to choose one verse in scripture to show to people about this subject what would it?

STEVE: It would be Matthew 11: 28, 29, where Jesus said, Come to me all ye who are weary and burdened and I will give thee rest, and then he said, Learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. The Bible says than we shouldn’t learn from occult practices. Jesus said come to me and of me. He loves kids and wants them to be in heaven with Him.

CONNIE: Thanks Lonnie, and Steve. That was a very informative interview.