5 reasons to read Harry Potter.

(You didn't think I could miss writing about the end of the Harry Potter movies, did you?)

Last night, my mom and I went to a 9:00 PM showing of The Deathly Hallows, part 1, then a midnight showing of part 2.

Epic. Simply epic.

I liked most of the movie, although there were some changes I didn't understand that seemed unnecessary and like they may have taken away from the story a little bit. However, overall I was extremely impressed with how it was handled.

Today, I thought it would be appropriate to share a few reasons for why you should read Harry Potter. I encourage you to watch the movies as well; but, as is true so often, the books are just a more fulfilling experience.

1. Harry Potter is this generation's redemptive Christ parallel.

If you don't already know why this statement is true, read this article. It's a well-written explanation of what I'm talking about. Spoiler alert - if you don't know how the story ends, don't read the article yet.

My dad has Lord of the Rings (by the way, great movies as well); and my grandfather had The Chronicles of Narnia (or is it the other way around? I don't know, they're both old, so we'll go with it...). While I love both of these series as well, Harry Potter is that type of story for my generation. I grew up anticipating the next move in the Harry Potter series, whether it was the next book or movie release.

As a Christian, I feel like this is the most important reason to be familiar with Harry Potter. We are extremely good at distancing ourselves from pop culture because we're afraid of it. I found the picture below on the Facebook page of a Trevecca employee - it's a great example of being petrified of pop culture and losing a possible creative outlet of worship.

[side note]

I love dance. I think it can be used as one of the most effective worship expression, if it's done well, and it makes me extremely sad that this doesn't happen, because we lumped all dance into the category of evil, lustful, provocative, please-have-sex-with-me-with-my-clothes-on dancing. If you're not aware... this is not the only form of dance.

[end side note]

We also did this with popular music. I heard a sermon once (I can't remember the preacher's name; my husband would know, if you're interested) preached by a man who was once friends with a man who worked in the music industry as a band manager. This friend was asked to be the manager of... wait for it... The Beatles! But, because it would have meant he would miss his Wednesday night Bible studies and have to work for a 'secular' band, he refused the offer. 

This person happened to be a dedicated follower of Christ. Instead of encouraging him to minister in the area God had put him, he was encouraged to stick inside the walls of the church as much as possible, and arguably the most famous band of all time, instead of having a manager who could very well have had an opportunity to lead them to Christ, ended up with someone else and led a sex and drugs revolution that drew people away from God.

NEWS FLASH... If all we ever do is stay within the church, we're never going to reach anyone else.

Back to Harry Potter... This story could be used to explain the story of Christ to non-believers. It can be used in sermon illustrations. It can be used to write books and songs and countless other pieces of art and entertainment. So... read it.

2. Hermione Granger is an awesome female role model.

Hermione is the epitome of a strong woman. Actually, she fits a lot of the points of the virtuous woman from Proverbs 31 - she holds the "family" of herself, Ron, and Harry together, taking care of them but allowing them to take the lead. She is strong without being forceful or overbearing, and throughout the course of the series, falls in love with one of her best friends, Ron Weasley. Their relationship was entirely based on trust, friendship, and deep commitment, long before it ever became romantic. 

Another reason I love Hermione is because she proves that it is possible for... (hold your breath)... a male and a female to have a platonic relationship. Harry and Hermione are best friends who have never once expressed romantic interest in one another, though they love one another deeply. As someone with a male best friend, I thought it was important to point out this fact.

I could go on, but I got most of these ideas from this article, so read on if you'd like to explore this idea more.

However, the point of a fantastically inspiring female heroine brings me to my next point...

3. Harry Potter is way better than Twilight.

Please do not get me wrong... I am Team Edward, and Team Taylor Lautner, and I will go to the Breaking Dawn midnight showings, and probably listen to and read the books several more times. I am a Twihard all the way. However, the message of Twilight is... different... than that of Harry Potter. I will admit it - while they are both stories about all different kinds of love, Twilight includes quite a bit of brooding, depressive, unhealthy romantic love. Bella spends the entire second book in a stupor of depression and numbness after being abandoned by Edward. Anyone who knows anything about romantic love knows that's very unhealthy and probably a bad relationship in which to be.

In addition to the insanity of the relationships in Twilight, it is also made clear in the series that Bella and all of the main characters don't really believe in God. Bella knows that if there is a heaven, Edward is going there because he is so amazingly perfect, but beyond that, God and religion are something ignored as unreasonable. 

[disclaimer]

While I do agree with what I've stated above, there are a lot of really good things about the Twilight series that get overlooked by people that can't get past the brooding teenage romance. Trust me, I'll write a blog post about those very good things at some point.

[end disclaimer]

On a much less deep note, Harry Potter is also written much better than Twilight. Stephenie Meyer definitely stepped it up for Breaking Dawn, but the first three books are fraught with grammatical issues and poor writing.

4. There is no reason to stop kids from reading or watching the series if you are an involved, responsible parent.

[begin rant]

I understand the problem some people have with magic or witchcraft being used in entertainment, because they're afraid of the lure of real witchcraft and the danger it might pose to their family or community. However, Rowling uses the story of the wizarding world as a fantasy story. If we have to get rid of all magic and fantasy from our entertainment, then you'd better stop your kids from seeing Winnie the Pooh, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Barney while you're at it, because fantasy and imagination are the types of things kids really enjoy.

I do understand the issue of children mixing fantasy with reality. That's why I added the part about being an involved, responsible parent (or guardian). My mom and dad were always clear with me and my brother that things we read in books and saw on television were usually made-up stories to entertain or prove a point. They are not like the Bible or non-fiction, which are actually true stories. I think this principle applies to any kind of entertainment you allow your children, whether it be books, movies, TV shows, or playing pretend with their toys - if you can't explain to your children that there are real things are there are pretend things, well... perhaps you need to talk to someone. That's a part of being a parent. 

[end rant]

Sorry... I just hate hearing that people stop their kids from participating in entertainment because they don't want to take the time to be involved in that entertainment with their children.

I'm done.

Seriously.

5. The books are better than the movies.

No more deep stuff... on to the fun part. 

This series has the best writing of foreshadowing I think I've ever experienced while reading. There are some ridiculously interesting details you will never know if you only watch the movies, which are, admittedly, very well done (for the most part).

For example, the sixth book (The Half-Blood Prince) includes quite a few more memories of the teenage and young adult Tom Riddle that were cut from the movie for the sake of time. Those memories are some of the most interesting parts of any of the books, in my opinion. In book five (The Order of the Phoenix), the Quidditch World Cup is explored in much greater detail, which was simply fascinating. In book two (The Chamber of Secrets), the ghost of Gryffindor tower, Sir Nicholas, holds a 500th death day party (bet you've never heard of one of those, eh?).

In addition to the fact that you get more information, you are introduced to many more interesting characters. My favorite is Peeves, the Hogwarts poltergeist that is forever causing problems, especially for Mr. Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts. 

Overall, (I'm not sure if you can tell), I really love Harry Potter and all that goes along with it. So... read it! ;)