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By the
way, I’m curious—what do you think of the Potter and Tolkien fantasy
books?
 n their psychological effect, the
Harry Potter books are clearly anti-Christian. It may seem on the surface
that the books offer only harmless
entertainment, but magic and sorcery have no
place in Christianity, and, in fact, the emphasis on self-serving power
contradicts basic Christian values of humility
and self-surrender to God. How can children
learn to value sacrifice and prayer when their heads are filled with fantasies
of using magic to get what they want?
Such books really have no legitimate
place in a Catholic family—except, perhaps, to illustrate the extent
to which our culture in general thrives on anti-Christian
lore.
J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord
of the Rings trilogy is, well, a different story, literally. Tolkien
was Roman Catholic, and he attempted in his fantasy writings to convey a
sense of underlying Christian values.
But, ultimately, he really
wasn’t all that successful, because, if he were, then readers of his
books would be flocking to the Church saying, “Well, we’ve seen
the faint imitation, now we want the real thing.”
And why aren’t Tolkien’s
readers flocking to the Church? Well, they never get past the allure of the
fantasy structure itself. Most readers get stuck in the seduction of the
Elves’ “natural” purity and magic, or they become fascinated
with the grandeur and power of the sorcerers. The self-sacrifice of Frodo,
which is supported all along the way by the Elves’ magic and the
sorcerers’ protection, comes only at the end of the final book, so
it’s more of a denouement in the context of a larger battle than a gripping
metaphor for Christ’s journey to the Cross.
So, in the end, all fantasy
literature must encounter its own moral failure. It’s just not possible
to use glamour and power to convey the deep meaning of Christian humility
and self-surrender. And, to be perfectly blunt, a devout Christian life grounded
in quiet faith and the patient endurance of
adversity is, by entertainment standards, simply
boring.
Of course, fantasy literature
does have some value. All children need toys and playful fantasy in order
to develop a sense of social functioning; but eventually, as Saint Paul said,
there comes a time to put away childish things and take up the
cross.
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Many of those
who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former
practices. Moreover, a large number of those who had practiced magic collected
their books and burned them in public. They calculated their value and found
it to be fifty thousand silver pieces. Thus did the word of the Lord continue
to spread with influence and power. |
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—Acts 19:18-20 |
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What the
Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
2116 All
forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring
up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the
future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of
omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all
conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis,
other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They
contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
  
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