Question

I know that some non Church of Christ believers (and possibly Christians also) hold the view that reading Harry Potter books or watching the movies is a form of sorcery and should therefore be avoided. We do not adhere to that belief, because we know the difference between fact and fantasy. We view Harry Potter just the same as Disney movies with fairies or genies, the tooth fairy, voodoo or werewolves and vampires... all fantasy.

My first question is does it fall into the realm of Romas 14 when a brother in Christ has a problem with it (assuming that it is not sin) as long as he does not try to bind it on others? We heard a very good and learned preacher mention that drug abuse is a form of sorcery. He just touched on the subject and did not elaborate. I want to email him and ask him, but I know he is dealing with a lot of loss because of the storms in that area so I wanted to wait. In the meantime, I thought I would ask you for teaching purposes. Forgive me if this topic has already been addressed in your teaching newsletter, but we would still like to know from you, what God says on the subject.

Answer
Keith Sharp

Of course the Harry Potter books and movies are simply fantasy stories for the purpose of entertainment. The Bible contains some fantasy. Judges 9:8-15 contains the story by Jotham, half brother to Abimelech, about the bramble being made king of the trees. Surely none would argue it is a sin to read Judges 9:8-15.

Furthermore, the Bible has at least one story about witchcraft. 1 Samuel 28:7-20 relates the account of a woman of En Dor in Israel who was a “medium” (New King James Version) and who conducted a “séance” for King Saul. A “medium” is one who pretends to communicate with the dead, and a “séance” is the act of pretending to communicate with the dead. This is a form of witchcraft, which, by the way, figures prominently in the Harry Potter stories.

Yes, the Harry Potter series falls into Romans 14, being something that “is not unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean” (verse 14).

Your preacher friend is correct about drug abuse. The Greek word for witchcraft or sorcery is “pharmakeia,” which, of course, is the source of our English word “pharmacy.” W.E. Vine gives a good descriptive, definition of the word.

... primarily signified the use of medicine, drugs, spells; then, poisoning; then, sorcery.... In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention or power of demons but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer (An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. 4:52).