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Harry Potter: Radical Inclusion, Unconditional Love
Reverend Elizabeth StevensJuly 17, 2005
Reading –
How many of you have heard reports of Christian fundamentalists boycotting, banning, or evenburning Harry Potter books? I had heard a couple isolated stories, but I didn’t realize until justthis past week how widespread and vituperative the conflict has become. There are books,whole books, on why the books are evil and dangerous. And, this is a crazy example, in atown in Pennsylvania, a police department refused to divert traffic during a triathlon sponsoredby the local YMCA, just because the teachers at the Y’s childcare program read Harry Potter aloud to some of the kids.Now, the people who are protesting would claim that the reason the books are dangerous isbecause they encourage sorcery, and make magic look appealing. More sophisticated criticssay they’re simply too dark for children, and the portrayal of evil is too vivid, while the portrayalof good is morally ambiguous…i.e., the good guys sometimes break rules. Horrors!Meanwhile, the most vituperative among the religious right book burners actually claim thatthese books are quite simply tools of satan, meant to lead children into sin and depravity.Here’s a fun quote:“Despite God’s warning”Apparently found in Matthew 6:6-8, which reads: But whenever you pray, go into your roomand shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secretwill reward you. When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words…That’s clear, isn’t it?“Despite God’s warning many Christian youth are heavily involved in Potter books. They areunknowingly opening the door to the spiritual world of the occult, often leading to destructivepatterns of sexual promiscuity, drug use, depression, etc.”I don’t buy it. If mentioning magic were really what made Harry Potter books dangerous, thelist of banned books would be a lot longer, and would include about two thirds of literatureaimed at children and teenagers. I think I know why the religious right really doesn’t want their kids reading these books. It’s because of passages like these:We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort’sgift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing anequally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language arenothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.From Dumbledore’s speech to the students at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Or this exchange with Cornelius Fudge:Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. “If the magicalcommunity got wind that I had approached the giants—people hate them, Dumbledore—end of my career—“
 
“You are blinded,” said Dumbledore, his voice rising, the aura of power around himpalpable, “by the love of the office you hold. You place too much importance, and youalways have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it mattersnot what someone is born, but what they grow to be!”What is it about these passages that would offend the religious right? They’re thinly disguisedpleas for tolerance, cooperation, and diversity. Makes me wonder if the similarity between theGoblet of Fire and our own Flaming Chalice isn’t just a coincidence….
Sermon-
So how many of you have read Harry Potter?How many of you stayed up late last night reading The Half Blood Prince?The few, the proud.Don’t worry, those of you who haven’t read it yet.I promise I won’t give anything away, this morning.I tried to play it cool, said to myself, “I don’t need to buy an advanced copy this time.I’ll get around to it when it goes on sale.Then last week, I don’t know what happened…I was in Barnes and Noble and I just got so excited…And I put a hold on it.I picked up my copy yesterday.To me, the books are fascinating, and fun,And the secrecy surrounding them,And the hype that goes along with each new release,Well, it may not be entirely justified,But it’s definitely contagious.Of course, there are other peopleFor whom the books, the movies, and the hypeAre neither justified nor benign,But a dangerous attack on so-called Christian values.Richard Albanes has written a book called Harry Potter and the Bible,In which he argues that the books teach not only “anti-Christian” lessons on the occult,But “moral relativism.”He points to multiple examples of rule-breaking,By the “good guys.”Harry, and Hagrid, as well as Hermione and RonAll break the rules if they feel the situation calls for it, and they usually get away with it.Meanwhile, characters who are more hard line about the rules…Like Delores Umbridge, Professor Snape, and Argus Filch,Are portrayed as mean-spirited and unpleasant,If not downright evil.“Relativism makes morality a matter of preference,And denies that there are universal moral rules.Instead, it assigns to individuals the capacity to determine the contents of morality.”(Baggett, in Harry Potter and Philosophy, p. 163)
 
The fundamentalists don’t really like moral relativism.They have a lot invested in promoting their own set of universal moral rules.I think that’s at the heart of their discomfort with Harry Potter.Because they don’t agree with this first premise,They choose to believe that Rowling’s booksHave nothing relevant to say about the nature of good and evil.They’re wrong.These books have a message of radical inclusion,Unconditional love,And personal integrity and responsibility.There’s a lot to them,And a lot to learn.Rowling has a distinct world view,One that’s uncannily similar to our own as Unitarian Universalists.While the “Bad guys” espouse racial purity,Self-delusion,Blind adherence to rules,And thirst for power and material wealth,The “good guys” in all of these novelsWith various degrees of sophisticationHave an anti-racist, anti-oppression, multiculturalAgenda.With humor, and love,And courage in the face of terrible odds,They pursue that agendaAnd usually win out at the end of the day.Using whimsy and imagination and suspense to keep readers on the edge of their seats,Rowlings manages to show her readers thatWe don’t have to think alike or look alike or act alikeTo love alike.She reminds us that there is no one right way to be human.Having read all six of these lengthy books,I don’t think it’s possible to distill all of the meaningful partsInto one sermon…But I’d like to lift up just a few thingsTo start us thinking…If not reading.Let’s start by looking at the “good” characters.They’re a rather rag tag,Interesting bunch.You’ve got Harry Potter himself.Scrawny and unsure of himself,
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