Many Christians seem to "get their knickers in a twist" where the matter of Harry Potter is concerned. We seem to forget that, at his worst, the enemy can only present the bait while we, as Christians, must decide whether we're going to allow ourselves to fall for it or not. In other words, we should actually expect the enemy to utilize the things of this world in his onslaught against us. Let's not be so surprised. Let's not curse the darkness either. In this Author's opinion, the Church needs to strategically determine HOW it plans to utilize the schemes of Hell and the things of this world to advance the Kingdom.

According to a study conducted by the Barna Group, the exposure of America's teens to Harry Potter books and/or movies has doubled since 2003. Currently, more than four out of every five (84%) have read or watched Potter including those referring to themselves as being "born-again" (78%). Among those born-again teens, only 13% recall ever receiving any input from their church on the subject or spiritual themes of Harry Potter.

NO HARM DONE?

Sadly, only one-fifth of all teens and one-third of born-again Christian teens said they had discussed the supernatural elements of Harry Potter with their parents. One out of every eight teenagers (12%) said that the Potter chronicles actually increased their interest in witchcraft. That translates to nearly THREE MILLION American young people who admit to have taken an interest SINCE their personal exposure to Potterism.

David Kinnaman, the director of the research for the Barna Group, put the Harry Potter phenomenon into perspective.