.gif "Enjoying God Through the Final Four Harry Potter Movies")
I’ve written a book titled The Harry Potter Bible Study: Enjoying God Through the Final Four Harry Potter Movies. It’s available in paperback and various e-reader formats. Here’s where you can purchase it:
Paperback:
Amazon: $9.99
Barnes and Noble: $12.95
E-readers:
iBookstore: $2.99
Smashwords: $2.99
Nook: $2.99
Amazon Kindle: $2.99 ,
£2.13 (UK), EUR 2,99 (FR), EUR 2,99 (DE)
Lulu: $2.99
To those who buy it or who have read it, please rate it on these various sites, and leave a brief review (especially on Amazon).
Here’s the back blurb from the book:
This Bible study reveals how Christians can enjoy God through the final four Harry Potter Movies:
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
In God’s world, all truth is God’s truth and all lies are Satan’s lies. The Harry Potter series, like all forms of media, presents truth and lies interwoven into a complicated web. The purpose of this Bible study is to help Christians take every thought captive to obey Christ as they untangle this web. Readers will develop and exercise a Christian worldview by learning how to reject Satan’s lies while connecting nuggets of truth from the movies to the Creator and Sustainer of all that is good, true, and beautiful. This connection is made through understanding the Scriptures and the creating, sustaining, and redeeming work of Jesus Christ. As a result of watching Harry Potter in this distinctly Christian manner, readers will enjoy God through enjoying the final four Harry Potter movies. After all, enjoying God is the ultimate purpose of life.
I hope you enjoy it!
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A Harry Potter study on God? Really? Really!? Talk about keeping company with the enemy. I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, so I won’t rehash it for you. Just get ready for a lot of bible believing people to put you through the ringer for releasing this “study” based in a movie series that glorifies witchcraft and is desensitizing our youth (and culture) into believing it is “ok” to like black magic, as long you you can throw a little Jesus into the mix and try to Christianize it.
Jeff, how do you not know that I’m condemning the magic in Harry Potter? You and others automatically condemn the study even though you may agree with it more than you realize.
If you read my post again you will see that I was talking about the Harry Potter movies. I mentioned your study was based on the things of Harry Potter. I would say that your release of the “study” is opportunistic and pragmatic (at best). Instead of a pastor leading his flock into shunning things of the world and black magic, this gives the impression that you are condoning both and that we are to look into things like this to find spiritual applications.
I have no idea what your study says or does and probably wouldn’t understand it anyway, since I have never seen any of the Potter films. But my level of agreance with what you say doesn’t counteract the use of the worldly. I have, however, seen studies based on Gilligan’s Island and golfing on the local Lifeway store shelf and thought they were, too, opportunistic and pragmatic. I understand the mentality of those that think they need to pull the world into the church to make a point, but that doesn’t mean I agree with it. My point is that as a pastor and shepherd of God’s children releasing a book that says “look at the world to make a spiritual point” is dangerous, not even to mention dragging black magic, witchcraft and whatever else these movies glorify into a spiritual context.
I would say that I do put this study on par (no pun intended) with the golfing study, “Gilligans Island and the 7 Deadly Sins“, “The Beverly Hillbilies Bible Study” or anything else pulled into the church as a catalyst to gain an audience. When was God’s drawing power and His Word deemed insufficient in captivating a man’s mind and heart? Why do we delve into pragmatism where the end justifies the means, even though the end is worse than the beginning? I am sure you and others will label me a Pharisee for saying look to scripture instead of the world, but so be it. I have not said anything contrary to the Word of God. If so point it to me and I will humbly as forgiveness and apologize.
It’s a bit like having a “Bible Study” on Rick Warren’s junk. Very few people could see the problem with that, so no surprise that we’re now slid den much farther down the downgrade.
Paula, do you have time to show where Scripture backs up your argument?
Jeff, the Apostle Paul quoted a pagan poet three times in the New Testament. In Acts 17:28 he writes, “for “In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ This pagan worshiped false gods, and yet Paul took truth that he said, extracted it from him, and connected its author, to God through Christ.
My goal is not to “pull the world into the church,” my goal is to pull the church into the world. In other words, our God owns this world in its entirety. He owns all truth that exists in His world. Furthermore, Christians know God more intimately than the world, through Christ; therefore, we know the Reason why these various truths exist. We know why 2+2 = 4, why the law of gravity exists, the laws of logic govern communication, etc. Thus, when we recognize these truths that God creates and sustains, we can extract them from the surrounding evil, and connect them to God through Christ in light of the Spirit’s work through Scripture.
Concerning the other studies you mention, I’m only familiar with the Mayberry study, and my study is nothing like it. I have no interest in using the Bible to teach moralism. My goal is to teach the reality that God owns all things. All truth is God’s truth and all lies are Satan’s lies. All forms of media, whether moralistic or not, contains truth and lies interwoven into an ungodly web. The Christian’s task is to untangle this web, extract the truth, reject the lies, and connect this truth to God through Christ.
Finally, my goal is not to “gain an audience.” My goal is to train Christians to redeem their cultures unto the glory of God. Our God owns Harry Potter and all those involved in creating it. It’s high time for Christians to rise up and redeem their cultures instead of retreating to self-righteous caves.
Jared – Can you show me in scripture where it says that Christians are to redeem their culture?
“My goal is not to ‘pull the world into the church,’ my goal is to pull the church into the world.” Exactly, my point. Yikes!
So, from your methodology I gain that you think it would be OK for a pastor to use “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC during Sunday morning worship services? Or how about having a service modeled around MMA fighting? Perhaps using nothing but 80′s hair metal songs for a month as a catalyst for a message series? Or how about extracting “truth” from a Hustler magazine and applying it to Song of Solomon? You are on a slippery slope, but you have many there with you which will readily fight along side you to claim the world or “pull the church into the world”. I am thinking that we are to be separated from the world (2 Cor. 6:17) and have no appearance of evil (1 Thes. 5:22) and I assume that also means to not participate in those evils as well).
I also don’t think you can take Paul quoting a poet to be equal with a pastor writing a book that encourages watching a movie series based on sins that are expressly forbidden in scripture. Sure, there are truths out there that God reveals, but they must conform to scripture to be seen as truth, you can’t squash the Word of God by making it conform to Harry Potter and witchcraft. You try to justify your stance using this passage, but your reasoning isn’t in accordance to the whole of scripture, you have plucked a passage and smashed it into your context to ease your conscience. Surely if you are right to think it is OK to hold hands with witchcraft you can show me where that is found in the Bible.
Jeff,
First, to be fair, I wasn’t saying that Christians should be worldly, but that Christians should influence the world. We’re to redeem our cultures.
Second, you didn’t deal with the fact that Paul obviously read and quoted pagan poets. Do you think Paul enjoyed God through the truth He found in pagan poets? Truth, wherever it is found, is true because our God, the only God, created it and sustains it.
Third, concerning Christians redeeming their cultures, what do you think Jesus meant when He spoke of Christians being “salt and light?” What about Jesus praying in the Lord’s prayer “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Is there lies in heaven? No, so Christians must expose the lies, reject them, and only think on truth. What about humans being created in the image of God for the purpose of mirroring God (Gen.1:26-28)? If humans mirror God, then we can be pointed to God through this mirroring. What about the Triune God creating everything for His own glory, including humans and creation (Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:16-17)? What about creation pointing to God, this includes all truth regardless if it’s said by pagans or not, encouraging all observers to run to God in worship (Psalms 19:1-6)? What about Paul commanding the Corinthians to eat, drink, and whatever they do, to do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)? Creation exists for the purpose of enjoying God; and Christians should enjoy God through creation. Because we live in a fallen world, the only way to enjoy God is if we separate the fallenness from the truth, and connect it to God through Christ and His Spirit’s work through the Word of God.
Fourth, no, I’m not ok with using ACDC in a worship service; however, what I am ok with is Christians listening to ACDC outside of worship for the purpose of enjoying God. The Bible is clear that in worship, Christians shouldn’t have to separate truth from lies. Only truth should be shared in worship: 1 Thess. 5:20-22. Corporate worship is different from everyday life, for we gather for the purpose of enjoying God’s special revelation. I a wicked world though, we must live, yet without sin.
Fifth, what you fail to realize is that legalism is just as slippery as liberalism. I have denied nothing biblical, you however have created some arbitrary standard in your mind that you’re trying to force me to agree with. What Scripture have you brought to this discussion? Furthermore, you outright ignore the clear example set by the Apostle Paul. You must answer why the apostle Paul was able to read pagan poets, extract the truth, and connect it to the Why, connect it to God through Christ.
Finally, I am being separate from the world. What worldly, lost person is taking Harry Potter captive to obey Christ (2 Cor. 10:5)? What worldly, lost person is separating the truth and lies in Harry Potter, and taking the truth and connecting it to God through Christ in light of the Spirit’s work through the Word of God? Also, where have I advocated “participating in evil?” I have not argued this. We’re not to participate in evil. That’s my point, we’re to reject evil while constantly thinking on truth (Phil. 4:8). What’s “evil” about thinking on the truth present in Harry Potter if God created these things true before the foundation of the world, and continues to sustain them?
Once again… where did I ever say that Christians should “hold hands with witchcraft”? You should read my book, and then respond. Because right now, you’re arguing against a straw man that doesn’t exist. In other words, you’re arguing against things that I don’t believe or argue in my book.