What Makes a Human Being a Human Being?

I was talking recently to someone who was arguing in support of abortion. She used a couple of arguments to try to make her case, arguments that are often used by pro-abortionists but which I am sure are misguided.

In what follows, I want to mention these arguments and say why I believe they don’t work.

A point about terminology

Pro-abortionists, of course, almost always claim that an unborn baby, at least in the first months inside the womb, is not really a baby. I strongly disagree with that claim.

However, because this article is aimed at convincing those who take a pro-abortionist position or are undecided, it would be a methodological mistake for me to assume something that those I am arguing against wouldn’t accept.

So, for the sake of argument, at times in what follows I will refer to an unborn baby as an entity or an entity in the womb, since these are terms that everyone would agree are correct.

The argument that appeals to viability

The woman I was talking to used an argument that appealed to the so-called viability of the entity in the womb, and it went along the following lines:

Up until about 22 weeks after conception, the entity in the womb would not be able to survive outside the womb. That means that it is incorrect to describe it as a viable human being. Therefore, it is not wrong to deliberately destroy it.

Firstly, it is important to recognise that there is something very arbitrary about this argument. If someone is going to say that the entity needs to be able to survive outside the womb in order to be classed as a human being, why stop there? Why not say that the entity also needs to be able to feed itself in order to be classed as a human being?

A newborn baby, of course, if left to fend for itself would die. To survive, it is completely dependent on another human being to feed it.

So we can divide things up into three stages. At stage 1, in the first months inside the womb, the entity is unable to survive outside the womb. Then stage 2 is reached when the entity is able to survive outside the womb but only if it is fed by someone else. And finally stage 3 is reached when the entity is able to feed itself.

For someone to claim that the entity is not a human being at stage 1 but is at stage 2 is purely arbitrary. This is just plucked out of thin air.

If having a certain level of ability to survive is a factor that determines whether an entity is a human being, there is no more reason for drawing the line at stage 2 than there is for drawing it at stage 1 or stage 3. Simply to assume that stage 1 doesn’t make an entity human but stage 2 does is an unwarranted assumption.

Secondly, to think in terms of the ability of the entity to survive in various circumstances is completely wrongheaded anyway. As God has designed things, in the first months of its life the entity is not supposed to survive outside the womb. At that stage in its life it is supposed to live in the womb and feed through the umbilical cord.  And then after birth God has designed that the entity is dependent on being fed by another human.

The fact that in the early stages of its life the entity can’t survive outside the womb, or the fact that soon after birth it can’t survive without being fed, are beside the point. These things have nothing to do with whether or not the entity should be classed as a human being.

The argument that appeals to suffering mothers

The woman I was talking to also used an argument that appealed to the suffering of some mothers, and it went in the following way:

Some girls get pregnant at a very young age as a result of rape. It would be wrong to force them to go through the trauma of a pregnancy and having a baby they don’t want. Therefore, in such cases it is not wrong to deliberately destroy the entities in their wombs.

On this point I want to make it clear that I shudder just to think of what these girls would go through having a baby. I have no desire to treat lightly the horrendous suffering involved. But nevertheless, I strongly disagree that it would be OK for girls in this situation to have an abortion.

I asked the woman I was talking to what her view was if a young rape victim gave birth to a baby and was then deeply traumatised and strongly wished the baby was dead. I asked her if she would approve of killing the baby after it was born, and she said that she wouldn’t.

I then asked her why she took this view, and she said that it was too late at that point to kill the baby.

Her answer showed that her top priority was not to protect the young girl from suffering, that there was some other calculation that was even more important. In other words, despite the suffering of the poor girl, the woman I was talking to believed that it was just wrong to kill a newborn baby. The baby was simply too valuable, and it was simply too late to kill the baby, regardless of how much the girl wanted the baby to die.

But suppose, for a moment, that what anti-abortionists like myself believe about the entity before birth is correct, when we say that this entity is a human being. If that is right, then it should be obvious that avoiding killing it should trump the desire to stop the young girl suffering, just as is the case with a baby that has been born.

So the issue of whether the entity in the womb is a human being is the key issue. The issue of the suffering of the rape victim, though very important, is not remotely as important as the issue of whether the entity in the womb is a human being. That is the key issue that trumps any issue of suffering.

The point I am making is that the issue of whether the entity in the womb is a human being is so important that it makes all arguments to do with the suffering of the mother irrelevant. So arguments supporting abortion based on the suffering of some mothers are completely beside the point.

What makes a human being human?

I have already said that the ability to survive outside the womb and the ability to feed oneself have nothing to do with whether an entity should or should not be described as a human being. So what does make an entity human? What is a human being?

I would suggest that the answer to this question is really very simple. A human being is an entity that has a soul made in the image of God.

Now, there should be no doubt that immediately before a baby is born it already has a soul, and few people calling themselves Christians would dispute this. But if it already has a soul before birth, it makes sense to think that the joining of the soul to the material part of the human occurs at some critical point. However, before birth the only really critical point that exists is conception.

If we were to say that the soul joins to the fertilised egg or embryo or foetus at some time after conception but before birth, what reason would we give for taking this view? Why would we think that the soul joins after the physical component of the human has been growing for a week? Or why would we think this happens after 10 days or after 20 or 40?

Crucially, nothing critical happens at these times. But, by contrast, the time the sperm fertilises the egg is a real critical point, and this is surely the time at which the soul joins the physical part of the human. When else could it be?

Thinking, then, that the tiny size of a human fertilised egg in the first few days after conception means that it is not really a human being doesn’t make sense. In fact, a human being with a human soul made in the image of God is present, despite the tiny physical size of the entity in question.

 

See also:

Does the Oral Contraceptive Pill Cause Abortions?

How Serious a Sin Is Sex outside Marriage?

The Arrogance and Hypocrisy of Western Society

Divorce and Remarriage Are Only Acceptable in Special Circumstances

Sometimes Criticising Victims Is the Right Thing to Do

You will quite often hear people objecting whenever someone criticises the victim of an accident or assault. They see ‘victim-shaming’, as they call it, always to be unloving and out of place.

Of course, if someone is a victim through no fault of their own, it would be completely wrong to criticise that person. Or, if the victim was at fault in some way but has seen the error of their way, speaking critically to them would be unnecessary.

However, sometimes people become victims of accidents or assaults because they have done something wrong and they are not willing to admit that it was at all their fault. In such cases, criticising the victim, with the aim of making them feel regret for what they did, is often a loving thing to do.

The benefit of feeling regret

It should be very obvious that for anyone to feel regret for any sin they have committed is a good thing. Regret helps to foster an attitude of repentance and discourages the sinner from repeating the sin.

We see this sort of thinking in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, where the apostle Paul writes:

‘As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.’ (ESV)

There is no need for me here to discuss the details of the situation in Corinth that Paul is referring to in this passage. What is important for our purposes in this article is that he clearly sees the benefit of regret as it leads to repentance. He refers specifically to ‘godly grief’, but this is really just another way of describing regret that God approves of and uses for good.

Of course, feeling regret leads to repentance from all sorts of sins, whether or not a sinner is the victim of an accident or an assault, but sins that lead to being a victim are certainly included in this.

Dangerous driver

Here are some examples of where criticising victims, to try to make them regret what they have done, would be a helpful and positive thing.

Firstly, suppose there is a 17-year-old boy who has just learned to drive. His ego gets the better of him, and he thinks he is a much better driver than he really is. So he drives far too fast on a winding road, crashes his car and breaks his leg.

He is the victim of an accident that was entirely his fault.

Now, immediately after this accident, it would be wrong to speak critically to him. At that time, he needs a ton of sympathy and support.

Also, later on, if he has clearly learned his lesson and sees how stupid he was, there is no good reason for approaching him to criticise him.

But suppose that after a few months it seems obvious that he hasn’t learned his lesson. He is bragging to his friends about crashing his car, treating his broken leg like some sort of a war wound.

In a situation like this, if someone can get this young man to regret what he did, it will be a very helpful thing to do.

If he doesn’t reach the point of feeling regret, there is a real possibility that he might do it again, and maybe next time he might die or be permanently injured or kill someone else. Or he might influence a friend to drive in the way he did.

So he is a victim, and it is good for him to be criticised for the sin he committed – in this case, driving recklessly – that led to him being a victim. Love is sometimes tough, and in this case criticising the victim for the purpose of making him feel regret would be an example of tough love.

Disobedient boy

As another example, suppose there is a 10-year-old boy, and his parents say to him:

‘There are lots of great places around here where you can play with your friends. But don’t go to that park over there, because there are often bigger boys there, bad boys, who might hurt you.’

Suppose that this boy then, for no good reason, disobeys his parents, goes to the park, and is beaten up by the bigger boys.

He is the victim of an assault that was partly his fault.

When I say that it was partly his fault, I hope it is clear that I am not trying to reduce the guilt of the attackers. The guilt of the attackers is a separate thing from the guilt of the boy who committed a sin to put himself in the position where he was attacked. These are separate sins. But in the overall picture of what happened, it is still right to say that it is partly his fault. If he hadn’t disobeyed his parents, he wouldn’t have been beaten up.

Immediately after this assault, it would be wrong to speak critically to this boy. At that time, he needs a lot of comfort and support.

Also, if he has learned his lesson, there would be no place for speaking critically to him at a later time either.

But suppose that after a couple of months it is clear that he hasn’t learned his lesson. He has again disobeyed his parents by going back to that park, risking another beating. In this case, trying to make this boy regret what he did that led to him being beaten up would be a positive thing, both for himself and for any of his friends who might be badly influenced by him.

This is another example, then, of where criticising a victim is a form of tough love.

Sexual assault

Another good example has to do with people, especially young women, who go out drinking and are sexually assaulted because they are too drunk to make good decisions to protect themselves.

Of course, many sexual assaults occur through no fault of the victim. But there are many other occasions, when the victim is partly at fault, because they wouldn’t have been assaulted if they hadn’t committed the sin of getting drunk.

Again, I want to stress that when I say it is partly the victim’s fault, I am in no way trying to reduce the guilt of the attacker. The guilt of the attacker is a separate thing from the guilt of the person who committed a sin to put themself in the position where they were sexually assaulted. These are separate sins. But in the overall picture it is still right to say that in cases like these the victim is partly at fault.

Of course, immediately after the trauma of a sexual assault, the last thing that anyone should do is speak critically to the victim. At that time they need an ocean of sympathy and support.

I also think that a large majority of people who are sexually assaulted because they get drunk do learn their lesson. But if they don’t and they go out drinking heavily again, criticising them to try to make them feel regret would be a good thing to do. In such cases, this would be an example of tough love, both for their own benefit and the benefit of anyone they might negatively influence.

Just as a little side note on this issue, I would advise anyone who goes out on a Friday or Saturday night to have one or at the most two drinks. And I am sure that if young people followed this advice, the number of sexual assaults would decrease, probably by a lot.

As another little side note, I also want to say that it angers me when those who claim to be outraged at sexual assaults refuse to advise people to drink in moderation, even though they must know that doing this would decrease the number of these awful events.

Criticising the actions of those who are repentant

I have already said that if someone is at fault, partly or entirely, for becoming a victim, but is repentant and has learned their lesson, there is no place for approaching them to criticise them.

However, even if they are repentant, there is still a place for sometimes criticising their actions when speaking to other people. If others might be tempted to commit similar sins and also become victims, anything we can say to discourage that behaviour would be helpful.

 

See also:

The Importance of Sympathy and Empathy in Christian Living

Christians Should Expect to Offend People

Some Steps That Christians Can Take to Avoid Judging People

Should Christians Forgive Those Who Are Unrepentant?

Is It Wrong for Christians to Attend a ‘Gay Wedding’?

Not so long ago a big controversy arose in evangelical circles, when the Scottish church leader Alistair Begg said that it wasn’t wrong for Christians to attend the ‘gay wedding’ of a relative or friend.

Begg was not claiming that God actually recognises such events as real weddings. Nor was he claiming that homosexual practice is not sinful. Rather, he reasoned that Christians need to love everyone, including unrepentant sinners, and that attending the ‘gay wedding’ of a relative or friend was a way of doing this.

A ‘gay wedding’ is a terrible thing

Before going any further, we need to take a moment to think through what God makes of so-called ‘gay weddings’.

When Paul is outlining the depth of human sinfulness in the early chapters of Romans, homosexual practice is one of the few things he gives more than a passing mention to (Rom 1:26-27). Similarly, 1 Corinthians tells us that those who engage in homosexual practice will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10), which means that they will end up in hell, not heaven, unless they repent and are saved. And in the book of Revelation we read of the sexually immoral, who should be understood to include practising homosexuals, being thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 21:8).

In God’s sight, then, homosexual practice is certainly an awful thing. But a so-called ‘gay wedding’ is an even higher level of evil. Not only do those who support such events condone immoral and unnatural behaviour, but they also dare to start trying to alter God’s pattern of marriage. In effect, they are attempting to tear up God’s blueprints for the marriage relationship and to make better ones to replace them. This is an extremely arrogant thing to do.

Actions often imply things

With the depravity of so-called ‘gay weddings’ in mind, we are now ready to ask if it is OK for Christians to attend them.

To begin with, we should be clear that it is absolutely right for us to seek to love relatives or friends who have a ‘gay wedding’. It is all too common to find Christians acting coldly and unlovingly towards people who are unrepentant of various sins, but this is wrong.

Nevertheless, real love manifests itself in different ways depending on the circumstances. And when people are doing something, like having a ‘gay wedding’, that is displeasing to God and also working strongly towards their own harm, if we do or say things that will help to reinforce the bad decision they have made, that is actually an unloving thing to do.

We need to understand that a ‘gay wedding’ has been organised as a celebration. But it is unthinkable that a Christian could go to one and celebrate what is going on. God is being insulted, and the right response for Christians is to mourn what is happening.

However, our actions often imply things about what we believe, and if we go to a ‘gay wedding’, everyone who sees us there will think that we are celebrating unless we make it clear that we aren’t.

If we don’t make this clear, then we will be playing a part in reinforcing the beliefs of those present that something worth celebrating is taking place. And that means that we would in effect be promoting evil.

Of course, if we were to go and make a visible protest against what is happening, there would obviously be no promotion of evil. However, I think at least usually that would be a very bad idea. Those involved would very probably just be annoyed rather than influenced for good.

The issue of honesty

There is also the issue of honesty to consider. At a ‘gay wedding’ there would surely be speeches commending the couple and expressing support for their decision to have a homosexual union. But how could we honestly clap after a speech of this sort? And when someone raises a glass to toast the couple, again with implied support for what they are doing, how could we raise our own glass with a clear conscience?

Without making a visible protest, which would very probably be a mistake as I have said, it seems impossible to be honest and also go to a celebration if we are mourning. And if two men or two women are planning to have a ‘gay wedding’, we should be mourning deeply.

Joining a neo-Nazi group

Let’s think for a moment about an event that is similar to a ‘gay wedding’.

Suppose you have a relative or friend who is formally joining a neo-Nazi group, a genuine neo-Nazi group that goes as far as wanting the murder of Jews.

Suppose too that a celebration has been organised by this group to mark the occasion. People are going to be wearing suits and dresses, there is going to be champagne and speeches, etc.

Would you really go along to this event, when someone you love is being initiated into a group that supports murder? Would you clap after the speeches that praise the murder of Jews? Would you raise your glass to toast the new neo-Nazi member?

I think the vast majority of Christians wouldn’t do this. More than that, I think they would be horrified at the thought of doing so. They would rightly see that neo-Nazi ideology is a terrible thing and that a celebration admitting a new member to this evil group is something that they just couldn’t be part of.

But in terms of the evil involved, is there really much of a difference between this and a ‘gay wedding’? I suppose we could argue that because neo-Nazis support murder, it is worse than a ‘gay wedding’. But even so, this difference is just a matter of degree, and I think a ‘gay wedding’ would come a close second anyway. It is a massive insult to God.

A poor understanding of how evil a ‘gay wedding’ is

I suspect that the real reason many Christians would choose to go to a ‘gay wedding’ is because they simply don’t understand how evil it is. I think many modern Christians have been unconsciously influenced by the values of mainstream Western culture in this respect.

I would suggest too that the reason why many Christians don’t recognise the evil involved is because they have a human-centred, and not God-centred, worldview. A ‘gay wedding’ doesn’t seem to hurt anyone, so they think it can’t be that bad.

However, the whole starting point for this kind of thinking is wrong. We shouldn’t start by asking whether something hurts other people but whether it hurts God. God is at the centre of the universe. Human beings are not.

Summing up

We should have no hesitation in saying, then, that it is a mistake for Christians to attend a so-called ‘gay wedding’. If we were to go without making it clear that we are deeply opposed to what is going on, our actions could only serve to reinforce the people involved in their bad choices. In any case, it seems very dishonest to give an appearance of supporting a celebration when we oppose it. And it just makes no sense for someone to go to a celebration of something they are in fact mourning.

If we refuse to go to a ‘gay wedding’, there is certainly a place for explaining to others why we can’t be a part of the celebration. And there is also a place for us to affirm our love for the men or women involved. Alistair Begg is quite right about the need to love family members or friends who are doing this.

But if we are putting God first and if we want to do what is right for the people involved, we should steer clear of any celebration connected to this evil act.

 

See also:

What Attitude Should Christians Have to Homosexuality?

What Did Jesus Make of Homosexual Practice?

Answering the Accusations of the LGBT Movement

Most People in Western Countries Completely Misunderstand What Human Beings Are

The Ministry of Kindness

Sadly, the world today is often a very unkind place. Selfishness and hard-heartedness can be seen everywhere we look, and we don’t have to search very hard to find people going out of their way to hurt the feelings of others. 

Of course, there is nothing new about all this. Human sinfulness has always meant that unkindness has been very common, both in words and actions. 

Today, however, it seems that the amount of unkindness, at least in words that are spoken, has reached an all-time high. The reason for this is the existence of the internet. It is now extremely easy to make unkind comments online about people that are widely read by others. And this can often be done anonymously, meaning that someone who wants to be unkind needs no courage at all to do so. The internet makes it clear that the world contains millions and millions of people who enjoy being unkind to others. 

Kindness as fruit of the Spirit 

Although we find ourselves surrounded by such a sea of unkindness, as Christians we need to be very different. We should be the sort of people who not only avoid being unkind to others but who actually go out of our way to be kind. 

In Galatians 5:13-26 the apostle Paul spends some time teaching about morally upright Christian living. This passage includes his well-known description of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in v. 22: 

‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’ 

The items on this list are all very important moral qualities, and we should note carefully that kindness is one of them. We must therefore not underestimate the value of kind words and actions in God’s sight. To put it bluntly, God absolutely loves it when we choose to be kind to others, whether in word or deed. 

Kindness need not be a burden 

I think some Christians neglect the importance of kindness because they are afraid that if they repeatedly give to others in this way, they will lose out and it will become a burden. 

This, however, is a mistake. 

For a start, most kind words and acts take only a small amount of time and effort. Usually, there is very little cost associated with kindness. 

Secondly, even on those occasions when being kind is more costly, we must remember what the Lord Jesus says in Luke 6:38: 

‘Give and it will be given to you.’ 

This is a key principle of life in this world. Typically, when we give to others, God gives good things back to us in return. 

Thirdly, it is not just God who gives to those who are kind. Kind people are almost inevitably liked and appreciated by others. And they are the most likely to be the recipients of kind words and deeds themselves. 

Determined to be kind 

In a world, then, that is full of unkindness, Christians should be determined to be different. When we see people acting selfishly and uncaringly, let us make a conscious decision not to follow suit. And when we come across those who go out of their way to be unkind, let us be all the more eager to go out of our way to be kind. 

 

See also: 

Some Steps That Christians Can Take to Avoid Judging People 

The Danger of Gossip in Christian Relationships 

The Importance of Sympathy and Empathy in Christian Living 

Christians Should Be Quick to Listen and Slow to Speak

Grading Christian Truths on a Scale of Importance

It should be seen as a fact that some truths of the Christian faith are vastly more important than others. Each individual truth is somewhere on a scale, from the relatively insignificant through to the essential.

I am not for a moment suggesting that any biblical truth is so unimportant that it has no value at all. But we should all understand clearly that some things are far more important than others.

Passages which imply that something is very important

It is not always easy to tell what is relatively important or unimportant. But the Bible gives us some pointers. 

Sometimes a passage strongly implies that something is close to the most important end of the scale. 

For example, what Paul says in Galatians makes it clear that the people he is writing against were teaching some seriously wrong ideas. 

In Galatians 1:7-8 he says: 

‘. . . there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.’ 

(Scripture readings in this article are from the English Standard Version.) 

And in Galatians 2:4 he writes: 

‘Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—’ 

Paul’s opponents were insisting that Gentile Christian converts must be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses. The way that he wishes a curse on these teachers and describes them as false brothers shows how serious this error is. 

Similarly, in 2 John 10 the apostle John, referring to professing Christians who reject the humanity of Jesus, says: 

‘If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [that Jesus is human], do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,’ 

Surely John would only tell his readers not even to greet people if their error was near the most important end of the scale. 

Again, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul says to the Christians in Corinth: 

‘Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.’ 

Paul is explicit here that those who commit the sins he mentions will not inherit the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God in this verse refers to final, eternal salvation. In other words, Paul is saying that those who unrepentantly commit these sins are on track for hell. 

Paul’s words in these verses should make it clear that the sins on this list are all intolerable. 

Similar teaching can be found in Revelation 21:8, where God says: 

‘But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’ 

This verse is very clear that people who unrepentantly commit these sins are on track for hell. So there is no doubt that acting in these ways is intolerable. 

Sometimes, then, the Bible itself strongly implies that a certain belief or practice is at or near the most important end of the scale. 

But we must also take note of where Scripture doesn’t give an implication of this sort. 

For example, Scripture teaches that God wants men, and not women, to be church leaders (although sometimes there is no choice but to have women leaders, such as in churches where there are no men and no other Christians for hundreds of miles). And it is true that if a woman becomes a leader outside the will of God, she is making a big mistake. 

However, nowhere in the Bible does it say that a female church leader should be accursed or that her portion will be in the lake of fire. This error is surely not nearly as serious as, for example, denying the humanity or deity of Christ or failing to condemn homosexual practice. 

Similarly, Scripture teaches that we should expect God to work miracles throughout the Christian era. Again, this is very important, and those who deny that God still does this are making a big mistake. 

However, nowhere does the Bible say that professing Christians who deny this are false brothers or that they will not inherit the kingdom of God.   

Frequency of references 

Another way in which we can sometimes grade how important things are is by seeing how often they are mentioned in Scripture. 

For example, there is a huge volume of biblical teaching on the cross of Christ, and this helps to show how fundamental His death is to the Christian faith. 

Or take the subject of love. The Bible is full of instructions for Christians love people, and there is no doubt that this is an extremely important issue. 

By contrast, some topics are mentioned very rarely. For instance, teaching on head coverings in public worship appears only in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. And only in 1 Corinthians 11:14 are we told that it is wrong for a man to have long hair. 

We should be in no doubt that if a Christian man has a weak understanding of what Jesus’ death was all about, that is far more serious than if he has long hair. 

Similarly, if a Christian woman has little love, that is vastly more problematic than if she fails to get things right on head coverings. 

Satan’s deceiving work 

Many Christians today are poor at grading biblical truths in terms of importance. And it is important to understand that Satan is very active in trying to deceive us in this area. 

To begin with, he loves it when he can make a believer think that something essential is not that important. When this happens, heresy is often tolerated and grave sins are overlooked. 

Although Satan’s bigger victories come when he persuades Christians that important things are relatively unimportant, I would suggest that he is almost as happy when the deception is the other way round. Church history is littered with examples of splits in churches over things that should never have been important enough to cause divisions. Many Christians have been deceived into thinking that they have done God’s will by refusing to back down on something, when actually in their particular case backing down would have been a ‘lesser evil’ than allowing a church to split. 

Subtlety and discernment 

We all need subtlety and discernment regarding how much importance we attach to various truths. It’s not enough for us just to know what is true. We also need to have an idea about where each truth is on the scale of importance. 

On the one hand, we must be careful not to fall into the trap of taking a casual attitude to any great moral or doctrinal principle of the Christian faith. 

On the other hand, it is wrong to become hostile to other Christians simply because we are sure that they believe something false. There are times when it is better to put up with the mistakes of others than to allow churches to divide or to create bad feeling. 

 

See also: 

Christians Need to Put Everything to the Test 

Christians Need to Be Careful Who They Have Fellowship With 

Denominations and Christian Self-Identity

There Is No Such Thing as a Christian Half-Brother or Half-Sister

How Dangerous Is Harry Potter?

Over the last 30 years or so Harry Potter has been a real phenomenon. Vast numbers of people around the world have read or watched the books and films, which feature the title character and his friends. Millions are gripped, especially children. 

Although most people in the Western world are very positive about Harry Potter, not everyone agrees. There has been widespread opposition from many Christians. 

The reason why so many Christians complain is that Harry and his friends use witchcraft. Nor is this just a sideline of what they do. Using witchcraft is right at the heart of what these characters do and who they are. This is enough for many believers to reject these films and books outright. 

There are more than a few Christians, however, who are ready to stand up for Harry Potter. They argue that we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that the story of Harry and his friends is set in a fantasy world, not our real world. And they argue too that the witchcraft in this fantasy world isn’t the same as witchcraft in the real world. This means, so the argument goes, that the books and films are not leading children to actually start practising witchcraft. It is also said that Harry Potter encourages virtues such as loyalty and kindness. 

So what are we to make of all this? What should the Christian attitude to Harry Potter be? Is it an abomination? Or is it actually a positive thing? Or does it simply have some big pros and cons? 

I believe that these books and films are near the abomination end of the scale. I am sure they cause a lot more harm than good, and in what follows I will give reasons why I believe this. 

WITCHCRAFT IN OUR ACTUAL WORLD 

Before turning to look specifically at Harry Potter, I need to say something about witchcraft in our actual world. 

Every Christian needs to understand very clearly that witchcraft is a real thing. There really are witches who really do use witchcraft. Genuine witchcraft uses the ability of evil spirits to perform various supernatural acts. This is the real source of power behind it, even if the people involved are often unaware of this. 

Sometimes the terms ‘sorcery’ and ‘magic’ are used to refer to witchcraft. Defining things can be complicated by the fact that some people use ‘witchcraft’, ‘magic’ and ‘sorcery’ interchangeably, while others use the words to mean different things. 

For our purposes in this article, when I refer to ‘witchcraft’ I will be using the word broadly to include any evil, demonically empowered act that might be referred to by ‘sorcery’ or ‘magic’ as well. 

Biblical passages that condemn witchcraft 

Given that witchcraft uses demonic powers, it is no surprise that the Bible roundly condemns it. The following are some important passages: 

In Deuteronomy 18:10-12 instructions are given to the Israelites: 

‘10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD.’ 

(Scripture readings in this article are from the English Standard Version.) 

Nothing in later biblical revelation suggests that the principles in these verses in Deuteronomy no longer apply today. 

In Acts 19:18-19 Luke tells us what some Christian converts in Ephesus did: 

‘18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.’ 

Luke clearly portrays this burning of books on magic/witchcraft as a good thing. 

In Galatians 5:19-20 Paul tells the Galatian churches: 

‘19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.’ 

Paul is explicit here that those who practise sorcery/witchcraft will not inherit the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God in this verse refers to final, eternal salvation. In other words, Paul is saying that those who unrepentantly practise witchcraft are on track for hell. 

In Revelation 21:8 God gives a stark warning: 

‘But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’ 

Again, this is very clear that those who unrepentantly practise sorcery/witchcraft are on track for hell. 

There are other biblical passages too that condemn witchcraft, but even the few that I have quoted should leave us in no doubt that witchcraft is a grave evil and God hates it. 

Attitudes to witchcraft in mainstream Western culture 

Mainstream Western culture distinguishes between so-called black magic or black witchcraft on the one hand, and so-called white magic or white witchcraft on the other. The black forms are designed to harm people in various ways, whereas the white forms are not designed to cause harm. 

Mainstream Westerners are usually not opposed to white witchcraft. Many don’t believe that there is any real power in witchcraft, and those who take this view don’t tend to be against what they see as harmless make-believe. Many others do accept that there is real power in witchcraft, but they are not opposed to white witchcraft, since it doesn’t aim to harm people. 

Comparing mainstream Western and Christian attitudes 

It is difficult to overstate the difference between a mainstream Western worldview and a Christian worldview. In reality, if not always in theory, the mainstream Western worldview sees human beings, and not God, as the centre of things. So if something doesn’t harm a human being, it is usually seen as acceptable. 

Sadly, many Christians have been very influenced by this outlook. However, whether something harms people or not is not the key issue. The key thing is whether it offends God. And there are many things that offend God without causing direct harm to people. 

Witchcraft in all its forms offends God, for two reasons: 

First, when a person practises witchcraft, they are stepping outside the place of human beings in the created order. All witchcraft involves engaging in supernatural activity without reference to God. But humans are simply not designed to do this. This is not part of our mandate. 

Second, as I have already noted, all witchcraft involves using demonic power, whether people are aware of this or not. And obviously God doesn’t want people to use evil power. It is worth noting too that most people who practise witchcraft end up with demonic problems as a result. 

It is essential, then, for Christians to understand that all witchcraft in our real world is evil and dangerous. It may be true that black witchcraft is even worse than white witchcraft, but even the white variety is thoroughly evil in God’s sight. 

WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE OF HARRY POTTER? 

Let’s turn now to think specifically about Harry Potter. There are several reasons to believe that this series of books and films is harmful, especially to children. 

Desensitisation to the fact that witchcraft is evil 

First, we should be in no doubt that the Harry Potter books and films serve to desensitise many people, especially children, to the fact that witchcraft in the real world is evil. 

Everyone should shudder when they hear the word ‘witchcraft’, and children should be encouraged to be repulsed by this practice. Every child should be taught that witchcraft is a real thing and that it is always evil. However, having a work of fiction in which the heroes are children who use witchcraft can only hinder children understanding this. 

There are some Christians who make a big deal of the fact that the witchcraft in the Harry Potter fantasy world and the witchcraft in the real world are not the same. However, it is still the case that in the storyline of the series Harry and his friends explicitly use witchcraft of a sort. This can only work against children being repulsed by the witchcraft that exists in our real world. 

An increase in the practice of witchcraft 

Second, in reading up on this topic I found anecdotal evidence that Harry Potter is helping to fuel an increase in the number of people who practise witchcraft. 

Apparently, in bookshops it is not uncommon for Harry Potter books to be found on the shelf next to books on real witchcraft. It seems too that the practice of witchcraft is on the rise in Western countries, and witches themselves seem to agree that Harry Potter has contributed to this. 

Nothing about this should surprise us. Huge numbers of children adore the Harry Potter books and films and the witchcraft in that fantasy world. For some of these children, when they discover that there is such a thing as witchcraft in our real world, they want to get involved. 

Similarities between witchcraft in the real and fantasy worlds 

Third, the differences between witchcraft in the real world and witchcraft in Harry Potter are not great enough to say that the former is evil and the latter is acceptable. 

In the real world, witchcraft is wrong because it involves operating in the supernatural realm without reference to God. But the same is true of the witchcraft in the Harry Potter fantasy world. 

Other fantasy stories 

Fourth, appealing to other fantasy stories in support of Harry Potter is very unconvincing. 

One argument that is used by some Christians who are in favour of these books and films goes in this way: 

Fairy tales are harmless stories, but they often have magical elements. Furthermore, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis were Christian authors, whose works are helpful in portraying biblical truth, and their heroes sometimes use magical powers. It is inconsistent to approve of fairy tales, Tolkien’s The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, and Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia stories, and also to disapprove of Harry Potter. 

In response to this, there are a number of points to make: 

(1) It is true that we should always be as consistent as possible. However, this should be done by disapproving of bad things in fairy tales, Tolkien and Lewis and not by approving of bad things in Harry Potter. 

(2) I think many magical elements in fairy tales are problematic and harmful. In any case, Harry Potter seems a lot worse than fairy tales generally. In the Harry Potter books and films the big thing that the main characters are known for is using witchcraft. This goes beyond what is typically found in fairy tales. 

(3) I think Tolkien is very overrated in terms of his positive influence on the Christian faith. I would challenge the idea that his works have helped to promote gospel truth. What is more, some pagan religious groups today appeal to ideas that are found in Tolkien. 

(4) I think Lewis is also overrated to an extent. It is true that a lot of what he taught is good, and he had some extremely helpful insights. Nevertheless, he also had some seriously wrong ideas too. 

Besides, Lewis seems to have had a very different attitude to witchcraft from what we find in Harry Potter. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the witch is an evil character, and I am not aware of any witch in The Chronicles of Narnia stories that is portrayed as a good character. There is nothing wrong with having witches in children’s fiction, as long as they are portrayed as evil. 

Summing up 

There are good reasons, then, for thinking that Harry Potter is harmful, especially to children: 

These books and films desensitise people, especially children, to the evil of witchcraft in the real world. 

They are helping to fuel an increase in the practice of witchcraft. 

The differences between real and Harry Potter-style witchcraft are not great enough to say that one is evil and the other is acceptable. 

It is unwarranted to appeal to other fantasy writers as a way to support Harry Potter. 

An analogy 

Let me give an analogy to help me try to make my point. 

Suppose there is a children’s story set in a fantasy world where the main characters are children, but instead of using witchcraft, they spend their time explicitly taking class A drugs. This is the main thing they do. And suppose too that these drugs are not precisely identical to class A drugs that exist in our real word, but that they are very similar to drugs such as fentanyl, heroin and crack cocaine. 

Let’s imagine also that the story doesn’t teach that it is wrong for these children to behave in this way. And finally, let’s suppose that this story is extremely popular among children and that some adults want it to be read in schools. 

Imagine the outrage from parents! People would be horrified! And rightly so. 

Why would they be appalled? Simply because taking class A drugs is a very bad thing to do. So to have a children’s story where the main characters do this sets an appalling example to children. 

If someone were to try to defend this story by saying that it is set in a fantasy world and not the real world, and that in this fantasy world taking class A drugs is acceptable, they would be told in no uncertain terms that that was a hopelessly weak excuse. Or if someone were to claim that the drugs in the fantasy world are not identical to drugs in our real world, so no harm is done, they also would be told where to go. 

I believe that Harry Potter is very similar to this scenario. Harry and his friends don’t take class A drugs. But they do something just as bad, namely, use supernatural powers without reference to God, i.e., witchcraft. 

I am sure that many Christians who are reading this will think that my analogy is a poor one. They will think that in a fantasy world, as in the real world, taking class A drugs has to be much worse than so-called white witchcraft. 

I would suggest that the reason why so many Christians don’t feel the same about witchcraft as they do about taking class A drugs is because, unknowingly, they have been massively influenced by the values of modern Western culture. I come back to the point I made at the beginning of the article. In mainstream Western culture today there is little or no place for God. So if an activity involves causing unnecessary harm to a human being, it is seen as wrong, but if it doesn’t involve doing this to a human being, it is usually seen as acceptable. 

However, the whole starting point of this worldview is mistaken. Instead of asking whether an activity causes pain to humans, we should start by asking whether it causes pain to God. And there are many things that pain God without causing direct pain to human beings. 

Huge numbers of Christians today have a very faulty worldview, because they have been very influenced by secular Western thinking. Many have simply not grasped that God hates many things that don’t cause direct pain to humans, including witchcraft. So they haven’t understood that it is extremely inappropriate to have a children’s fantasy story in which the main characters do something similar to witchcraft in the real world. 

PRACTICAL STEPS 

What practical steps, then, should Christians take in response to Harry Potter? 

Avoid the books and films 

First, I think that as a general rule it is best even for adults to avoid these books and films. 

Each Christian would need to follow their own conscience in this matter. However, I would be surprised if it was God’s will for believers to spend their leisure time being exposed to such an evil subject matter. Watching pornography, for example, is wrong, so why would we think that watching or reading about witchcraft, even fantasy witchcraft, is any better? 

Parenting 

Second, Christian parents need to take great care to protect their children from harmful influences from these books and films. 

I think normally this will mean keeping children, especially young ones, away from Harry Potter. I appreciate how difficult this must be for parents today, especially when there is so much peer pressure on children to follow the crowd, and also when these books are often read in schools. 

Perhaps it may sometimes be God’s will for Christian parents to allow their children to be exposed to some of the books and films while at the same time warning them of the evils of witchcraft. But I would at least question that. The subject matter is just so awful. 

Book-burning 

Finally, there is the issue of book-burning to consider. 

In the last three decades various Christian groups have got into the news because they have publicly burned Harry Potter books. 

I don’t think burning these books is an overreaction. Public burning of magic books is exactly what we find approved of in Acts 19:19. 

It is true that the books referred to in this verse had to do with magic/witchcraft in our real world, not the witchcraft of a fantasy world. Nevertheless, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between burning books on real witchcraft and burning ones on fantasy witchcraft. 

A decision to publicly burn books shouldn’t be taken lightly, however. There may well be times when, for one reason or another, God might not want Harry Potter books to be burned in public. So Christians who are considering this would need to take the matter to the Lord in prayer. 

 

See also: 

Learning to Discern the Attacks of Evil Spirits 

The Importance of Ministering to People Afflicted by Demons 

Christians Need to Put Everything to the Test

Most People in Western Countries Completely Misunderstand What Human Beings Are