Some say the mega-successful Harry Potter fantasy series of books and movies are purely imaginative fun — a great way to get young people to read and use their minds.

Others who are less enamored of British author J.K. Rowling’s works of fiction say the young wizard’s adventures are rife with darker themes of witchcraft and the occult. Harry Potter, they say, is an effective method — whether purposeful or incidental — by which to lead impressionable children and other readers away from Christianity.

Who’s right?

Figuring out the answers to that question is where Amanda Larsen comes in. Larsen, 25, is a fourth-year divinity student at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo., and an intern at Centenary United Methodist Church, 245 N. Fourth St. This month, she is leading a class in which participants will analyze the Harry Potter series. They’ll discuss different perspectives on the relationship between Rowling’s five books and mainstream Christianity, asking questions such as: Is Harry Potter dangerous for Christians to read? Is he just a harmless character? Or is he actually instructive for faithful people?

“I wanted to do something fun. I did a movie marathon over the summer for church youth, and one of the movies was ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,'” says Larsen, a Lawrence resident.

“I had a pretty good idea in July that I wanted to teach this class. I wanted youth to hear that there are different perspectives that Christians have of Harry Potter.”

Larsen is a big fan of the series, having read all the books and seen the two films. But she understands where some of the criticism by Christians is coming from.

“Before beginning my study (to create the class), I would have said Harry Potter is not dangerous for Christians to read. But I do think there are concerns,” Larsen says.

Amanda Larsen, a fourth-year divinity student at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo., will lead a course at Centenary United Methodist Church that looks at Christianity and the Harry Potter book and movie series. The class is offered from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

“If you are not exposed to people (in your life) saying, ‘This is what’s right, and this is what’s wrong,’ your idea of where the line between what’s real and unreal might become blurred.”

Substitute for Jesus

The main charge some Christians make against Harry Potter is that the books are really about witchcraft, the occult and a belief in magic rituals rather than faith in God.

The Rev. Marshall Lackrone certainly sees it that way.

“The concept of a young person like Harry Potter or any other little girl or boy following through and learning witchcraft — that goes against what the Bible teaches,” says Lackrone, pastor of Calvary Temple Assembly of God, 606 W. 29th St. Terrace.

“Christianity believes that Jesus Christ is the spiritual answer to spiritual questions. Witchcraft offers a substitute for Jesus Christ. In the books, you’ll see Harry Potter learning to do witchcraft, saying magical words and brewing special mixes of who knows what.”

Parents have an obligation to supervise their children’s reading of the Harry Potter books and similar fantasy material, according to Lackrone.

“What I think ought to be done, if your child reads Harry Potter, the parent owes it to the child to say, ‘This is fiction.’ If the parent will not take their role and instruct the child, this could be harmful in the hands of their children,” he says.

But Kerry Johnson, a Lawrence resident and practicing Wiccan, is quick to debunk the charge that Harry Potter is a handy manual for learning witchcraft.

“I have read the first two books. I’m going to have to say it’s more of an introduction to magic, not Wicca or what is known as witchcraft. I thought they were entertaining. I didn’t think there was anything that was harmful to people — just light fantasy,” says Johnson, co-owner of The Good Earth Mother Alchemy Shop, 803 Vt.

“I don’t think Rowling’s trying to turn people to the ‘dark side.’ I don’t see any religion in the books at all — not Christianity, not anything. It’s a way for her to make lots of money. I don’t think there’s an ulterior motive behind it.”

‘Kids love gross things’

Some fans of the Harry Potter books advise caution before dipping into the adventure series.

Like Luke Rhodes, 10, a home-schooled boy from Baldwin who’s read all the books and seen the Harry Potter movies.

“I knew about them for a while, but I didn’t really want to read them, because I heard they were scary and there was witchcraft and that kind of thing in them,” he says.

“I don’t think that younger people should be reading them. They should at least be 8 or 9 before they start. Younger kids have a real vivid mind.”

Luke’s grandmother, Pat Rhodes, who lives with his family and home-schools him, decided she wanted to read the Harry Potter books before letting her grandson crack one open.

She was pleasantly surprised.

“It had become an issue at our house, it became the forbidden fruit kind of thing. Sometimes you have to change your mind and allow kids to do things that you had decided not to let them to do,” Pat says.

“I got the books and started reading them and really felt that for a child who is discerning, they are very entertaining.”

The Rhodes family are committed Christians, and are dead set against witchcraft and the occult. But Luke’s grandmother didn’t find much to concern her in Harry Potter.

“Kids love gross things, especially boys. If you just enjoy the books as being entertaining, I feel like children can read them and be fine with them,” Pat says.