As there has been so much fuss about the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, I thought it would be best to go and view it with the intention of writing a short review of it for this site.

My first close encounter with the film came when one of the teachers, at the school that my children attend, suggested that he was going to put a thunderbolt sign on all the children’s foreheads, like Harry Potter, to celebrate the opening of the film. After objecting to this, and outlining my reasons why this was not acceptable, it was at this point that I realised that I needed to devote more time to trying to understand why the world has gone Harry Potter mad.

To begin with, on a positive note (sort of), there are parts of the film that are certainly well put together. There is no denying that the special effects are well done, it is exciting at times, and there are some positive themes on friendship and team work. Throughout, the film is also peppered with humour. However, such positive aspects of the film make the spiritually unhealthy parts of the film even more dangerous. The reason for this? Human nature, being as it is, will more readily accept something if their natural defences are down. If a person finds themselves laughing at something, they are going to be more ready to accept whatever comes their way in the context of what has made them feel good. Indeed, many people’s defences are already down even before this stage, as most people go to see a film to relax, with the expectancy of having a ‘good time‘.

One of the aspects of the film, which does differ from the book, on the basis of the obvious visual differences, is that there were surely some parts of the film that were too frightening for younger, more sensitive children.

One scene, is where Harry has sneaked into the Hogwarts library, in the dead of night, to search for books on Nicolas Flamel (a real historical Alchemist/occultist, by the way*). Under both the cover of night, and the Invisibility Cloak, he makes his way to the Restricted Section of books. It is here that he opens a book which suddenly breaks the silence with a scream and a face lurches out from its pages. Many of the children in the cinema (and some adults too!) visibly jumped at this scene.

Another frightening scene is where Harry and his friends come across a dark and sinister cloaked being in the forest. They notice that it is feeding on the blood of a Unicorn. When it realizes it is being watched, it eerily hovers towards them, only to flee when it is challenged by a rescuing centaur.

At the climax of film, there is a scene where Voldemort eventually reveals himself to Harry Potter. This occurs when professor Quirrell shows his true colours as being in league with the evil Voldemort. Voldemort reveals himself (or rather Voldemort‘s evil face reveals itself) as a kind of parasite growing on the on the back of the head of professor Quirrell. Surely, this scene is much too disturbing for younger, more sensitive, children. I have even spoken with witches who have agreed that this scene is too frightening for children.

Scenes such as these can certainly leave a negative lasting impression on people, especially the young. Once someone has seen something, it is impossible for them to un-see it.

The film attempts to stay quite close to the story in the book, even to the point of repeating whole conversations verbatim. However, there are some notable, and curios, absences. For example, at the end of the film, where Harry comes round in hospital, under the watchful eye of Dumbledore, even though the conversation which follows is strikingly similar to the book, the film omits a particularly disturbing sentence. In the book, Dumbledore says to Harry: "After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure." (p. 215). Maybe, the reason for this omission was because the film makers themselves felt that this statement was too controversial? Indeed, such a statement trivializes the issue of death. Jesus knew that death was unnatural and cried at the news of the death of Lazarus (John 11:1-46). Interestingly, a similar statement, to that made by Dumbledore in the book, is also the title of a book by the famous occultist Alice A. Bailey. The title of one of Bailey’s books is Death: The Great Adventure. Did Rowling have the title of Bailey’s work in mind, when writing the statement about death in the Philosophers Stone? Does she possess this book, or other books by Bailey? Has she been inspired and influenced by any of Bailey's writings? It is certainly possible, and maybe more research and time will show this to be so.

Generally, as with the books, the message is put fourth to young minds that ‘witchcraft is fun’. You can get what you want, control others, and look cool in the meantime. But the truth is, when one tears away the slick way that occultism is being repackaged today, the occult is not glamorous at all, but is spiritually dangerous for those who dabble in this realm. Children are being subtly indoctrinated into occultism, and are being encouraged to come into contact with powerful manipulative forces which the Bible warns us to keep away from. When speaking to the Israelites, God warned them to stay away from dark spiritual practices that He knew were harmful to their well being, when they entered the promised land: "There shall not be found in you one who passes his son or his daughter through the fire, one that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of spells, or a magic charmer, or one consulting mediums, or a spirit-knower, or one inquiring of the dead. For all doing these things are an abomination to Jehovah. And because of these filthy acts Jehovah your God is dispossessing these nations before you." (Deu 18:10-12, LITV)

* To my knowledge, Marcia Montenegro, who runs the web site, Christian Answers for a New Age (CANA), was the first person to identify Nicolas Flamel, in the Harry Potter book, the Philosophers Stone, with a real historical person with the same name. Surely, this can be no coincidence, as both are alchemists. Since looking into this matter myself, I have noticed that Flamel’s name does appear, time and time again, in works and articles associated with alchemy. For example, here is a link to a list of Flamel’s writings on alchemy, taken from the The Alchemy Web Site and Virtual Library.

Links to More Articles on Harry Potter:

Christian Reviews of the Film:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2001/harrypottersorcerersstone.html

The Harry Potter Movie: "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone".
http://cana.userworld.com/cana_pottermovie.html

Critics Wary of Harry Potter Movie's 'Occult Worldview'
http://www.charismanews.com/news.cgi?a=718&t=search.html

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone - A Moving Staircase Too Far?
http://www.assist-ministries.com/strategic/s0111060.htm