Harry Potter

In light of the dim view taken by many in the Religious Right of the Harry Potter series of books, what I'm about to say is heresy:

I love the Harry Potter books!

I may be wrong, but I'm of the opinion that some people react to "hot button" words like wizard and magic and condemn the books without ever having read them.

I know it strains the bounds of credulity to believe this of some of my fellow "Christians", but there it is: I've said it.

(The picture is of the original cover of the first UK edition of the first book. Notice that the title changed from Philosopher's Stone to Sorcerer's Stone when it was published in America)

The books are more about life in an English boarding school (albeit an unusual one) than sorcery. They are no more a cleverly disguised instructional guide to Black Magic than the Chronicles of Narnia (which I also enjoyed). They are about good vs. evil and love vs. hate, and are well-written with characters the reader cares about.

I never had a problem distinguishing fantasy from reality, especially as a kid. I read and was read to such things as Grimm's Fairy Tales, the Arabian Nights and super-hero comics. They all had in common fantastic creatures and beings with supernatural powers and you always knew who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.

Some atheists have even been offended that the Harry Potter series is a Christian allegory. I won't go that far, but they are fun and entertaining and less dangerous to children than most stuff on TV.

They have influenced me to want to rename my dog Harry (the one with a penchant for lifting his leg frequently), just so I could say in my best Robbie Coltrane, "You're a whizzer, Harry!"

There! Now that it's out, think of me what you will.