Tag: Wizardry

Deeper Waters Podcast 2/4/2017: John Granger

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Harry Potter has been called the boy who lived. His books came to America here in 1998 and the first movie came out in 2001. Since then, all of the books were best sellers and all of the movies were hits, the final book even having to be divided into two movies. He was either loved or hated, but Harry was the talk of the town.

That was, of course, several years ago. The craze then was Pottermania, and surely that was it. Harry Potter was fun for awhile, but then, like so many other fun things, the time comes to move on. His fame lasted for a time and it was no more and will be no more.

But the boy who lived still lived.

Last year, the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them came out as well as a book continuing the series twenty years in the future called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Based on sales, one would think that Pottermania had never died. The book was a bestseller and the movie was a box office hit. (I must confess, I have not seen the movie, but I did get the book for my birthday and read it in a couple of days.)

What’s the Christian apologetics community to do with this? Is this harmless fun? Is it actually a satanic plot that will get our children to fall into the clutches of satanism? Or could it actually be a story that is surprisingly Christian at the core? My guest, someone well read in the classics, goes with the last option. His name is John Granger. Who is he?

IMG_2438

Tagged “The Dean of Harry Potter Scholars” by TIME magazine’s Lev Grossman, John Granger has been the leading expert on the subject of the artistry and meaning of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels since the publication of his first book on the subject in 2002. The author or editor of eight books, ‘The Hogwarts Professor’ has been a Keynote and Featured Speaker at more than twenty academic and fan conferences, and spoken at twenty-five major universities and colleges. John has a Bachelor’s degree in Classics from the University of Chicago, a Master of Fine Arts ion Creative Writing, and is working on his PhD thesis at Swansea University (Wales). He blogs at HogwartsProfessor.com and podcasts at MuggleNet Academia.

What is it that has led Harry Potter to be such a phenomenon such that even years after the original series, the theaters and bookstores are filled with fans again wanting to see the latest on the boy wizard? What is it that actually makes Granger think that these are Christian classics? Are these not stories of witchcraft and wizardry which would be condemned by Scripture? Are there not many examples in the stories of Harry misbehaving in ways that we should not accept as Christians?

We’ll be discussing all of this and more so if you’re a fan of Harry, or you know someone who is, this will be a show for you. Please be looking for the latest episode. Also, please consider going on ITunes and leaving a positive review of the Deeper Waters Podcast.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast: 11/16/2013

What’s coming up this Saturday on the Deeper Waters Podcast? Let’s talk about it.

Readers of this blog know that I’ve always been a big gamer. Sit me down in front of Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy and I’m happy. Whatever I do, I do seriously and so when I play a game, I play to win. The world of fantasy has always been appealing to me.

It’s also known that in the Christian world, there’s much suspicion of many interests. Claims of something being occult or demonic quickly pop up. When the Harry Potter Phenomena started, this turned out to be no exception. Concerned parents did not want their children having any part in the phenomenon.

That included John Granger.

Until his pediatrician gave a copy of the first book to their daughter. Granger said he would read it first to show why that kind of garbage is not allowed in the house.

The next day he went out and bought the next two books in the series.

What caused this kind of book to be such a phenomenon? I had noticed that myself. It wasn’t just watching it, but I went and checked out from the library the books on audio so I could listen to them while I was driving, seeing as I was busy studying most of the time and didn’t have that leisure to read like that. Before too long, I found myself saying “I’ll turn it off after this sentence…after this one…after this one…”

The series is excellent! When the final book came out, I was one of those people waiting in line at the bookstore at midnight to get my copy, and mine was in audio again. (Jim Dale is amazing with the voices.) I spent the next few days sitting at home at any moment listening because I just had to find out how it ended. When I got off of work, I was going to my place to listen to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Today, I own all of the movies and have indeed seen all of them.

John Granger, my guest, now describes himself as Hogwart’s Professor and teaches a class on the series. In fact, he not only denies that it is non-Christian, but sees the series as entirely Christian, just like one would think of the Chronicles of Narnia as being a Christian series. He thinks the series is written from the worldview of a Christian to express timeless Christian truths?

But if that’s the case, then why is it set in the real world with real witches and wizards? Doesn’t the Bible condemn witchcraft? Another objection based on something not covered in the books but revealed later is the homosexuality of Dumbledore. How does this fit?

We can also discuss much deeper questions than this. How should Christians respond to that which is different? How do we examine that which we’re concerned about? How do we honor the imagination as Christians? Do we worry too much about such things? What can be said to those still concerned about the series?

I hope this show will explain one series as an example that will be used to help Christians think through anything else that they interact with and maybe give us a greater appreciation for pop culture and engaging the life of the mind through the imagination.

The show will air from 3-5 PM EST on 11/16/2013. The call-in number if you have a question is 714-242-5180. The link can be found here.

In Christ,
Nick Peters