WALES: Bishop praises 'Gospel according to Potter'
Episcopal News Service. July 20, 2007 [072007-05]
The Anglican Communion should learn lessons from Harry Potter, the Bishop of St. David's, Carl Cooper, said on the eve of the release of the final book in the long-running series.
Cooper told the Western Mail and Echo newspaper that the Christian virtues of humility, respect and love portrayed in the stories about the teenage wizard should be replicated within the church.
The seventh and final book in the Potter saga -- "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- will be released at 12:01 a.m. July 21, with anticipation around the world reaching fever pitch among the character's army of followers.
J.K. Rowling's books are no strangers to controversy among the religious establishment, with previous installments being burned by Christian groups, and one Roman Catholic Church official last year denouncing Harry Potter as the "devil."
But the Anglican church has shown an increasing willingness to embrace the popularity of the Hogwarts pupil.
Cooper's suggestion comes in the same week the Church of England published a guide advising youth workers how to use Harry Potter to spread the Christian message.
Cooper said that although the story is cloaked in magic and wizardry, it has strong Christian messages and themes are at its heart.
"The reader is in no doubt that love and friendship need to be acts of the will as well as acts of the heart," he said.
"Not only is this message crucial in families and schools, can you imagine the difference it could make in Israel and Palestine, or between Sunni and Shia Muslims? My own Anglican Communion, with its current internal tensions, might even learn a lesson or two from the Gospel according to Harry Potter."
He said Harry Potter promotes the Christian virtues of "courage, loyalty, love, respect and humility."
Cooper, 46, a father of three grown children, told the newspaper that the stories are reminiscent of Biblical tales of Jesus, who triumphed over death and evil.
In the past, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, described the Harry Potter books as "great fun" and a serious examination of good and evil.
And Diocese of Oxford Bishop John Pritchard, said, "Although the fictional world of Harry Potter is very different from our own, Harry and his friends face struggles and dilemmas that are familiar to us all … There's nothing better than a good story to make people think, and there's plenty in the Harry Potter books to make young people think about the choices they make in their everyday lives and their place in the world."