Okay. I would like to start with the common misconseption that Harry Potter novels are evil.

Hilarious.

So, from both ends of a Christian perspective, here is how the story goes.

Many churches are preaching to parents, and to the youth, that Harry Potter is evil, due to its use of witchcraft and other seemingly terrible things.

On the other end, teen faith magazines such as "Ignite", are teaching young teens that Harry Potter is so very valuable, due to its usage of character developments.

For those too afraid to read, the series follows a boy who has lost everything to one thoroughly evil wizard, Lord Voldemort, except his own life, which miraculously he kept even though Lord Voldemort attempted to take it in Harry's infancy. It focuses on how he makes friendships, and rebels against the evil that is threatening to take over the entire world, when this evil wizard comes back to power. It follows Harry as he is taken from being the "boy who lived" and exalted among the wizarding community, to ridiculed and publicly humiliated as the attention seeking, lying, teenage misfit.

To battle the claims that Harry Potter is evil, I would like to state that Harry's developments through his exultation, to ridicule, and lonliness, mirror our dear friend Job in the bible. Was he not seen as so wonderful in the eyes of God, but then did he not strip him of all he held valuable and opress him?

Enough said.

Then again.... Who cares?

It's a series that was loosely based on Hitler's reign in Germany. Lord Voldemort directly transposes into Hitler himself, who had a close following of 'Nazi's', just as the evil wizard had his own following, 'the Death Eaters.' To futher this parallel, Hitler killed, and and hunted those he believed unfit of living, people who were not Aryan, or pure in such a way. Lord Voldemort did exactly the same thing, killing those who had 'impure' magical blood, or no magical blood at all, meaning regular humans, and wizards who were born of human parentage, instead of into a long line of wizards.

Harry and his friends at school represent anyone who has ever fought against Hitler's power. For example, J.K. Rowling states in the Order of the Phoenix, within the fabled prophecy, that "either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives." This is clearly paralelling to war in general. One side has to win, because Hitler wasn't giving up.

Quite frankly, I believe that the entire debate over Harry Potter in religion is rediculous.

If we're going to call him evil just because he can transfigure a mouse into a teacup, then we might as well ban every children's story ever made, because 'somewhere over the rainbow' there may just be a 'never-never land' just waiting harvest our children and teach them to 'just believe in themselves' and one day they will be all that they can be.