Rating: 
Summary: Tickling sleeping dragons
Review: Don't let the fact that this book is called 'Looking for God in Harry Potter' put you off.Admittedly it is the best book I have seen for any Christians who are looking for an intelligent alternative to set against the less than totally convincing and intellectually sound argument that, as Stan Shunpike might have said, (had he been a fundamentalist) "Course 'Arry's evil, 'cos 'e's a wizard, inee?' But this book is not just for Christians, its much too good for that. Its for anyone who has read the Harry Potter books, anyone whose children have read them, and for anyone who is intrigued by the phenomenal success of the books, whether they've read them or not. Even if you decide that the analysis in terms of specifically Christian symbolism, themes, and answers to questions about the meaning of life, love and death are a stretch, this book still provides an intriguing analysis, and one worth considering. It is by no means a Christian tract or an attempt to bend fiction to the cause of evangelism. It takes the books on their own terms as part of the English literary tradition, a tradition that has frequently made use of Christian symbolism, imagery and themes, even while using the metaphor of magic as a means of making the transcendent tangible. Of course if John Granger is right and the Harry Potter books are an attempt to smuggle a message past the watchful (C.S.Lewis) or sleeping (J.K.Rowling) dragons that guard us against such things, then maybe this book risks letting the kneazle out of the bag and putting the pixie among the pigeons, even before the complete series is written and published.
Rating:
Summary: Looking for God
Review: I bought John Granger's book immediately after reading the introduction! As an 8th Grade English teacher, I believe this book is a must read for teachers and parents alike whose children or students are Harry Potter fans. In addition to unpacking the Christian themes and influences (which as a Christian myself, I whole heartedly support), this book is also useful for the individual with no religious persuasion whatsoever, as it unpacks discussion topics on themes and every day issues with which everyone deals on a daily basis. I couldn't put it down (or at least did so reluctantly...). Granger also details the ways to discuss the different themes resident in each book with your child/student as well as gives guidelines for general discussions with your child about Harry Potter (or, a myraid of other topics, I would argue). I highly recommend reading it!
Rating:
Summary: What Heart Heard Of, Ghost Guessed
Review: I chose a phrase from the staggeringly great Catholic poet Gerard Manley Hopkins for my title to show the extent to which I agree with Granger's Christian readings of the Harry Potter novels. Hopkins's poem is addressing a young girl who already knows deep down the mysteries the speaker is talking to her about, and Granger shows interested readers of the Potter series what they already must have intuited -- that every aspect of the novels turns our attention to the great drama of redemption through grace and mercy, to the great struggle to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.
I thought the archetypal parallels with the patterns of death and resurrection in the Christian life were so obvious when I first read the series that I couldn't imagine how people thought the books were blasphemous. It still seems to me that the shrillest objectors probably haven't read the books at all (I know some) and that their fulminations tell us more about themselves than anything else. Down deep, this is the age-old distrust of imagination and fancifulness, the same impulse that caused Plato to banish the poet from his republic (who would want to live there? yuk!) and that made our forebears think novels were a corrupting force. It's not about Harry Potter as such, but about hating or at least distrusting the imagination.
That said, Granger's book leaves no argument unanswered, especially in the impressive sections about the role of alchemy and magic in the whole medieval and Renaissance tradition of Christian thought. More than that, we come away with a great increase of hope for the knowledge that young readers take fire over stories that teach them the deepest, most beautiful, and most profoundly moral truths. This is a great world if kids get excited over this kind of teaching, and we desperately need to capitalize on their fervor, not condemn it.
The book performs the amazing task of making esoteric material seem simple. In that respect, Granger bears comparison with C. S. Lewis himself, than whom there was never a clearer exegete of literary and religious problems.
Please, oh please, if you are a reader who thinks the Potter series is incompatible with Christian living and thought, read this book. The scales will drop from your eyes. This is an outstandingly clear argument about the most vital topic there is.
Rating:
Summary: Converted Believer
Review: I had not been that familiar with the Harry Potter books when my 10 year old nephew invited me to lie down with him on his bedroom floor and watch the first Harry Potter movie on his DVD player. Sure I had heard about Harry Potter's phenomenal influence on kids all over the world and that it had made it's author richer than the Queen of England. But to tell you the truth, I was more interested in seeing the monster movie trilogy The Lord Of The Rings which I had been trying to shoe-horn into my busy schedule. As a seventh grader I had begun reading the Hobbit and the depth and breadth of the book hooked me so hard that I couldn't put it down. And it translated into my reading all of Tolkein's many books. But when I heard about this book that children had gone beezerk over I thought of it as just another Barney-ish fad; much to do about nothing. After all, I was busy with my doctorial work in Education. I didn't have time to waste time on childish trivialities, right? And what about the sorcery? I had heard all the hoopla being made by upset Christians in the country about having wizards running around and turning their children in Devil worshipers. That made me a little leery about subtly endorsing something that might impress upon my young nephew unhealthy interests. However, we watched it together and as we watched, I found that the movie was richly done and that it pulled me into the English dream landscapes of castles and magic like those I had conjured up in my mind while reading the Classics of English Literature. The story line was a little simple but not objectionably so. It only tended to heightened the strength of the story-line and to emphasis the young character's interrelationships. But still I didn't quite know what to think about all the to-do about wizards and sorcery and the influence upon young, impressionable children. And then I came across Looking For God In Harry Potter. John Granger has totally convinced me about the Christian message of Harry Potter to the point that I whole-heartily endorse having Harry Potter read by any person, young or old, as a way to touch them with the Christian message.
What changed my mind? To begin with, Granger is an expert in The Great Books and knows how to make a compelling case using the great books of Western literature as a means to educate us in it's use of the wealth of Christian symbols handed down to us from ages past. His well reasoned argument begins by looking at previous Christian fantasies, or rather fantasies based upon Christian beliefs making comparisons between them and C. S. Lewis's Narnia series and Tolkein's Lord of the Rings Triology. But what most convinced me was the insight into the difference between the sorcery of Harry Potter and the misconceptions Christians have been making in their condemning the books over this sorcery. He explains the difference between incantational magic which is used in Harry Potter and the invocational magic of summing evil spirits that is not in Harry Potter and showing that there is a world of difference spiritually speaking between the two. He also points out that to condemn such books as Harry Potter because of it uses magic is actually saying we have so totally bought into the materialistic world view that we no longer believe in the wonder of a creation based upon forces outside of those that can be measure or studied in a test tube.
Since I have not read all of the Harry Potter series, and not wanting to be denied the mystery of what happens in each, I skipped the book by book explanations of the Christian symbols used in each. Granger shows us just how much there is to learn about the mythology of Christianity and the wealth of images brought down to us in English literature, that you can read only half of this short book and learn more about the influence of Christianity in the Western world then if you had a college course in the subject. That is why I can't recommend this book enough to all those thinking Christians who want to be faithful to their beliefs and who want to enjoy the best of English literature.
Rating:
Summary: Catholics and Orthodox Christians Will Appreciate the Book
Review: I have no intention of repeating what was contained in the previous reviews because the reviewers have already made the case that this is an indispensable book for those who love Harry Potter books and for those who fear the books. I would only add that Roman Catholics and those of the various Orthodox churches ought to really appreciate Granger's analysis since some of the symbolism and the allegorical elements reference the traditions and beliefs inherent in those religions. My only caveat would be that if you do not want to have to re-read all five Harry Potter books, then avoid reading Granger's book, because you will surely want to re-read them to see what you missed the first time around.
Rating:
Summary: We can understand spiritual truths through harry Potter
Review: I loved JOhn's book! I was closed minded to Harry Potter before I read it, because I thought it exalted the idea of witchcraft. But it is fantasy, it is a story meant to be learned from by lifting us out of our everyday world, it's not smuggling the occult into our lives. So many times I have seen the power of story in Jane Austin, J.R.R. TOlkein and C.S. Lewis books to teach me truths I need to understand about human nature and GOd. Harry Potter does it just as well as these books. There is no encouragement to practice the occult and John Granger helps you understand this.
Rating:
Summary: A scholarly treatment of a controversial book series
Review: I review a lot of books for my radio network, but this second book by John Granger on Harry Potter's connection with the fight of good against evil is above the average and grabbed my attention from the first chapter on. Granger covers the five initial Harry Potter books and connects the story line and the characters to the messages found in the Christian bible. We are all looking for stories that show the good people winning, and Harry Potter is a perfect example. The work John Granger does in this book is scholarly and very much to the point as he points out connection after connection to the Good News. His prose is neither dry nor boring. It is often hard to put the
book down, which I cannot say for every book I have read. We can see our own relationship to God as we read each of the Potter books and John Granger helped me with that insight. I
recommend this book to any parent with children who are reading Rowlings' books. Parents might have to explain some of the Christian connections to children, but often children wind up
explaining things to the parents. An excellent read!
Rating:
Summary: Refuting the negative conceptions of Pottermania
Review: In recent years, John Granger, a homeschooling father and self-publisher with an impeccable background in classical languages and literature, has become widely known as an authority on the Harry Potter book series. His expertise is ironic on one level; living in an intentionally television-free household, he knew nothing of Pottermania until after the fourth book released. Even then, he ignored the books, largely because the person who first mentioned them to him was a bit of a New-Ager whose reading preferences ran counter to his traditional Christian sensibilities. On another level, though, Granger's ability to speak and write with authority on J.K. Rowling's series is entirely understandable, given the wealth of classical allusions in her writings --- allusions that Granger immediately spotted when he gave in and read the books after an evangelical Christian recommended them to him.
What Granger discovered is that the Potter series presents a wholly Christian worldview, despite the magic and sorcery and incantations and all manner of evils that make Christian parents shudder. He addresses their concerns from an intelligent and faith-filled perspective, being a parent who shares those concerns and who takes great care to protect his seven children from occult influences. But to Granger, the Christian message in the series is so profound and so apparent that he was surprised to realize that so few Christians recognized it --- and that so many Christians denounced the series, attacked its author, and forbade their children from reading the books.
With LOOKING FOR GOD IN HARRY POTTER --- a rewrite of his self-published THE HIDDEN KEY TO HARRY POTTER, revamped and refocused specifically for the Christian market --- Granger not only sets the record straight but also tells it straight: "Christians, of all people, should be celebrating the Harry Potter novels and the attendant Potter-mania. The Potter books are the most edifying works of fiction written in many years, as any classicist, medievalist, or lover of traditional English plays and novels might tell you...[they] touch our hearts because they contain themes, imagery, and engaging stories that echo the Great Story we are wired to receive and respond to."
Granger first presents a thorough, biblically based defense regarding the use of magic in the series and explains why it should not be a stumbling block for Christian readers. He then examines some of the themes in the books that should resonate with Christians --- the basic conflict between good and evil; life, death, and resurrection; transformation; the dual nature of humankind; prejudice; love; and many more. He offers an analysis of much of the symbolism in the books and the meanings behind many of the characters' names. He looks at the debate over worthwhile versus dangerous literature and writes about the literary elements and theological concepts readers need to look for. In short, Granger covers a lot of bases.
One section from THE HIDDEN KEY that did not make the cut in LOOKING FOR GOD is a delightful look at other books about the Potter series. THE HIDDEN KEY is perhaps the best self-published book I've read to date, and one of my favorite sections was Granger's take on books that are either critical of the series or that attempt to analyze it. He even rated his own book. It probably doesn't belong in this volume, but if you ever come across the first book, it's worth looking at that section.
To me, there's no question that LOOKING FOR GOD IN HARRY POTTER is an important addition to the wealth of commentary on this all-time bestselling book series. In Granger's book, Christian parents will discover a depth and range of insight that will help them make an intelligent, well thought-out decision regarding the value of the series and its use in their homes. Just as important, they may find that they've acquired a new set of skills with which to more accurately judge controversial books in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Very interesting...
Review: In the old days, Christians might hide their pack of playing cards or a cigarrette from the pastor. Now, both young and old stash Harry Potter videos and books. However, after reading this book, you might want to proudly display them instead. **** John Granger (no relation to Hermione), takes apart all five volumes of the demonized books to miniscule detail and finds vast amounts of Christian allegory inside them. Going beyond the obvious, he brings to light enough material to keep a Sunday School class going for six months, at least, in a style almost as entertaining as the books themselves. In fact, by the end of Finding God in Harry Potter, you will be convinced that we can learn as much at Hogwarts as in Narnia or Middle Earth. Maybe more. **** Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Cliche, trite, dull and dim-witted
Review: Isolationist evangelical conservative Christians may feel the need to over-examine mega-pop icon Potter and figure out why the character 'is a good role model after all', but the general population probably has no desire to try to merge the two literary works any more than they'd demand a book explaining how A Clockwork Orange fits into the Battlestar Galactica universe. The simple reason that Harry Potter has similarities with Christianity is that both are based on very old myths and folk tales, and that's about it. Not everything that has to do with good and evil is comparable to the bible. Next someone will be writing a book explaining how The Chronicles of Riddick is an anology for Lutheranism.
And yet, this book isn't bad because it's about Christianity, it's bad because it's dull and not overly insighful. Someone had too much time on their hands, and wanted to cash in on the Harry Potter moola-train. This is a must-avoid.
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