Why all children should be required to read Harry Potter

Having recently inducted my self into the Hall of Harry Potter Geeks, a depth of geekdom I had until recently left unplumbed, I feel that a few things need to be pointed out about the worldview of the books, and address what some well-meaning Christians see as a promotion of real world witchcraft and occultism.

If you don't know the premise behind Harry Potter....get stuffed. Go read 'em. But briefly: Harry = wizard, Lord Voldemort = evil wizard, Dumbledore > all wizards, Percy is a prat. (If you don't know what a prat is....you're probably not British. Apparently it is a really great put down for uptight suck up yes-men which I shall endeavor to use more in the future.)

So why all the fuss about books that really are nothing more than great stories? Well, for starters there are apparently a lot of prats in the Christian world. No surprise there, Christians are not perfect, and it is easy to see that a little Samuel Paris still lingers so long after Salem.

Some objections about the books are:

• The obvious use of the words "Witch" and "Wizard"
• Descriptions of subject matter learned by the young characters particularly: "Divination" (It should be pointed out that except of a couple of occasions the Divination class it treated like something of a joke)
• Darker subject matter especially as the stories and plots progress
• It's about witchcraft...I mean come on! EVIL!
• The books give children an unrealistic view of how witchcraft works in the real world

The above arguments hold water in my mind only if the reader is under the impression that the way witchcraft and magic works in the real world is in any way related to what goes on at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Which, of course, it is not, and anybody intelligent enough to read through several 700 page books is sure to understand.

There are some really great themes in the Harry Potter books that need pointing out. These theme point to a worldview that is more similar to a Christian ethic that to any thing a modern day witchcraft or Wicca would teach.

• The good guys are really good and the bad guys are really bad. Tolkien-esque romanticism at its finest
• There is sacrificial love displayed amongst the protagonists in almost every book. (i.e. Ron sacrifices himself in the chess game in Sorcerer's Stone so that Harry can proceed and triumph)
• Ethics and morality are upheld by the protagonists. Study habits, sportsmanship (i.e. quiditch), no foul language (apart from a few "hells", a "prat", and a "git" -which I shall also endeavor to add to my vocabulary-) friendship, & loyalty
• **Possible Spoiler** With out giving anything away in the most recent book: there is emerging a definite image of a Christ-like character....

In the end I think too much is being and has been made of the setting of this magical world where the stories of Harry Potter takes place. We need only to read the books as simply very good stories, which they are.