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We still like Harry Potter—and we're getting tired of being asked why we hate it
Yesterday, Weblog got a call from MSNBC's Buchanan and Press show. They were putting together a segment on Christians' response to the Harry Potter books since the fifth book in the series is being released Saturday. The booking producer had heard that Christianity Today had published some articles about the books. Would we be interested in talking about them?

Certainly, Weblog said, and directed the producer to this page, which has all of our Harry Potter coverage (as well as articles from our sister publications) neatly arranged in chronological order. I summarized our point of view: we like the Potter series because …

Sorry, she interrupted. We're looking for someone who opposes the books. That's not you, huh?

No. That's not us. It's not much of anyone—as we've repeatedly explained, criticism of Harry Potter is coming (indeed, has always come) from individual parents. There's no organizational opposition to Potter—even from groups that comment on just about every issue under the sun.

Too bad television news rarely cares about what's really going on in the world. If the producer had done a simple Google search, she would have found a great article from Reuters.

"The evil Lord Voldemort may still have it in for the boy wizard, but the lawyers, preachers and family groups seem ready to give it a rest," writes Broward Liston, who usually reports on space matters. In fact, he notes, "many conservative Christians have come to embrace the books, in part drawn by a portrayal of evil that has grown increasingly sophisticated, almost Biblical, with each book."

Even former critics of the book are silent this time around. "I've moved on. I have other things to do," says Richard Abanes, author of Harry Potter and the Bible. "Within the Christian media and the Christian community, there is much less vocal response to this new book. I don't particularly think we're going to see any more huge book burnings and demonstrations and lawsuits and things like this. I think everybody already knows where they stand on Harry Potter."

That's not to say that there aren't evangelicals who aren't concerned about whether the Potter books will encourage kids to try witchcraft—especially with articles like this claiming that the books are, at least in part, responsible for a surge in paganism in the U.K. But if shows like Buchanan and Press send camera crews to show book burnings Saturday night, they'll be very lonely.

Nightline examines preaching evangelical teens
Okay, having let off some steam about television news, it's time for Weblog to calm down and praise ABC's Nightline, which daily demonstrates that serious reporting can be done for television. In a two-night Nightline series called "The Messengers," the network returns to a subject it hasn't done much with since it laid off religion reporter Peggy Wehmeyer two years ago

The program, which begins tonight, follows the American Association of Christian Schools preaching competition at Bob Jones University, and by all accounts it's very good.

"What makes this story such an inspired choice for Nightline is the window it gives into what is not just a belief system for tens of millions of Americans, but a way of life," says the Kansas City Star's Aaron Barnhart. "These young men embody a dilemma faced by evangelicals. They want to follow a godly path in a society that has a very different idea of success."

That was the whole point, says executive producer Leroy Sievers. "Our goal with this series is not only to tell a great story but to begin to pay more attention to a large community in this country that often goes uncovered," the Rocky Mountain News quotes him saying.

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June (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47