The Spiritual Dimension of Fantasy

[Gauracandra 1]

Here is an article about the religious response to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I saw it the other weekend and thought it was rather good. I never read any of the books, though many adults at my work have and say they are exceptional. The movie was a bit long, but interesting. If I have one complaint it would be that I never really understood the motivation of the bad guy. I think a more developed back story would have made him more ominous. Anyways, on with the article:

 

The Spiritual Dimension of Fantasy

 

BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: This holiday season is expected to be a blockbuster for the big screen, thanks to a couple of fantasy films. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE was released last weekend and is already smashing box office records.

 

Another literary favorite, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, is also expected to be a hit when the film version is released next month.

 

People be may seeking escapist entertainment, but Kim Lawton reports these fantasy films also have a spiritual dimension.

 

KIM LAWTON: These are worlds of mystery and magic. Where children learn witchcraft, evil threatens, and wizards rule.

 

They are worlds where hairy-toed creatures called hobbits set off on an epic journey to challenge the forces of darkness, where cataclysmic battles unfold. And through it all, they may also be worlds of deep spiritual meaning.

 

PHYLLIS TICKLE, (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY): What fantasy really is, is its author or creator's description of how he or she sees the interior world. It's what make-believe is. It's a world you've made out of thought, and those are always spiritual worlds.

 

LAWTON: Fantasy literature is by no means a new phenomenon, but it's experiencing a resurgence of popularity. Riding on the Potter coattails, sales of fantasy books by other authors are also skyrocketing, including books by authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that were written 50 years ago.

 

HARRY POTTER's runaway success is generating millions of new fantasy fans. It is magic-filled entertainment, but some observers say the new national attention to fantasy could also have theological implications.

 

MS. TICKLE: What the child at nine reads as a story and takes into himself or herself becomes part of the building block of a life, and that child, turned 39, will have in his or her repertoire of understanding of theology, of religion, of morality, of spirituality, the context and the message of that story. So story is a very subtle thing, always.

 

LAWTON: Children and adults alike are spellbound by the story of Harry Potter, the young orphan who discovers he's really a wizard. Transported by a magical train, Harry and his friends hone their skills at a boarding school for witchcraft and wizardry. There they confront monsters and mysteries.

 

At a birthday party for Harry Potter in New York, fans came dressed as their favorite characters. They reflected about what draws them into Harry's world.

 

JACKIE DINAS: The magic part makes it the most interesting, because there's this hidden magic world that we live in.

 

LAWTON: Thirteen-year-old Jackie Dinas shares her Harry Potter books with her dad, a longtime fan of Tolkien's books. He sees similarities between the two works.

 

PAUL DINAS: I found the value system basically one of respect and goodness that comes through, even in the face of adversity and that's what I love about the books because the values system, even though it is magical, does emulate the values that we want all our kids to have.

 

LAWTON: But some adults worry that HARRY POTTER may be transmitting the wrong kind of values.

 

MARQUIS SCOTT: Magic is cool. It means, like, you could trick people. You can make them do things that they don't want to do.

 

LAWTON: Some adults say Harry Potter and his friends too often get away with bad behavior.

 

RICHARD ABANES (Author, HARRY POTTER AND THE BIBLE): The Harry Potter books contain moral teachings that are relativistic, meaning the ends justify the means. You decide for yourself what is right or wrong. There is no standard of what's right and wrong outside of one's self.

 

LAWTON: Even more troubling for some conservative religious communities is the emphasis on witchcraft. A few Catholic and evangelical schools have banned Harry Potter books.

 

Richard Abanes is among those who believe the books and the movie glorify the occult.

 

MR. ABANES: You have divination, medium-ship, channeling, crystal gazing, astrology -- all of these things that are real. And a kid could become very curious, go to the internet, go to the bookstore, go to the library and get more information on that and in that way, get involved. That could be problematic for some kids, not all, but some.

 

LAWTON: Fellow evangelical Connie Neal has been debating Abanes about HARRY POTTER. A former youth pastor, she's read the Harry Potter books with her own children.

 

CONNIE NEAL (Author, WHAT'S A CHRISTIAN TO DO WITH HARRY POTTER?): This is a rich piece of literature. Complex, not simple. I say to parents, you do what you believe is best for your kids. You need to know what is in these books. You need to know what it means to you. You need to know whether your child can distinguish between fantasy and reality.

 

LAWTON: Phyllis Tickle says all fantasy needs parental supervision.

 

MS. TICKLE: If we let a child wander in to the dark forest and the wonderful dining halls and all of the mountain spaces and the caverns and the caves of fantasy literature and don't hold his or her hand either literally or psychologically or emotionally, we do that child a great disservice.

 

LAWTON: HARRY POTTER author J.K. Rowling has denied any ties to modern witchcraft or Wicca. She says she's just telling stories, not transmitting any messages.

 

J.R.R. Tolkien, on the other hand, called his LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work." While there are no explicit references to religion in the books, Tolkien said the religious element, is "absorbed into the story and the symbolism."

 

In THE LORD OF THE RINGS, as in HARRY POTTER, an unlikely hero discovers he has access to untapped magical powers -- powers that can be corrupted and used by the forces of darkness. A hobbit named Frodo Baggins and a fellowship of friends embark on a mission to destroy a magical ring and save the world from the domination of evil.

 

Apart from debates about witchcraft, many observers say both HARRY POTTER and THE LORD OF THE RINGS -- like all works of fantasy -- contain more subtle spiritual messages. There are grand themes of temptation and redemption, courage and fear, sacrifice and salvation. Themes that are often, at heart, theological questions.

 

MS. TICKLE: In fantasy, we are dealing with the ultimate issues. That's the nature of fantasy. Fantasy always is the struggle between good and evil, stripped naked, to its absolute plot line.

 

LAWTON: Fantasy may be so popular right now, some say, because people are yearning for that kind of spiritual exploration.

 

MS. NEAL: Kids are hungry for the supernatural. People, not just kids, we are hungry for more. We were made for more. So that's why fantasy literature, it stirs up that desire for something beyond this world.

 

LAWTON: And many say exploring that spiritual realm takes at least a little imagination.

 

MS. TICKLE: One of the great gifts of fantasy literature to the adult is the opportunity to go back and to remember again, or to touch some of the wonder that was his or hers as a child.

 

LAWTON: I'm Kim Lawton reporting.

 

ABERNETHY: THE LORD OF THE RINGS motion picture will be released on December 19th.