One way to wind up on the banned books list* is to have magic, wizards, or witches in your book. The Harry Potter books, the Lord of the Rings, The Witches by Roald Dahl, even a poem by Shel Silverstein about how you should always sprinkle pepper in your hair so that you will be too spicy if a witch catches you and wants to eat you, have been challenged or banned at some point or other. I think it's interesting how many people will slap the label of "witchcraft," "black magic," or "satanism" on a book that has a positive message just because it uses the word "magic" or "wizard." (I've noticed that somehow the Narnia books get a pass; maybe because their author is very well known for his Christian writings as well.)
Let's look specifically at Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings (I perhaps should not have included The Witches, as that is actually a case where the witches in the story ARE evil and are using their powers to do harm...). In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf the Wizard is a protective figure; he is a guide and mentor. He leads the "good guys" into battle against the "bad guys." When confronted with the Balrog, a dread and powerful entity seeking to do harm to his traveling party, he stands between the party and the beast, doing all in his power to protect those who trust him. And when he fails, he tells the group to run, rather than asking them to risk their lives to save him. And he dies. Others live because of his death. But then he comes back to life - sound like someone else you know?
In Harry Potter you also have that same theme of someone giving their life to to save others - multiple times throughout the series, in fact. But more on that theme of self-sacrifice and Christian allegory in Harry Potter later this week.
I wish I could remember now who said it, but I read somewhere once something like "saying that all magic users worship Satan is like saying that Hermione's parents (who are dentists) worship teeth." The magic isn't what they believe in. It isn't what they revere. It's what they do. It's like thinking that an electrician worships lightning. Or, to put it another way, saying that all magic users are evil is like saying that all demolitionists are terrorists. Sure, someone who knows how to use explosives can use that power for evil; he can design a device that will cause death and destruction. But a demolitionist can also use his knowledge for good, even to protect. He can bring down an old building that has become dangerous, in a controlled way, so that no one is hurt, often making way for something new and better.
It is not the power, but how it is used, that makes a character "good" or "bad" - but more on that tomorrow as we visit Harry Potter in more detail.
*See these handy dandy charts for examples of why books are challenged:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics/1990-99
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics/2000-09
Interestingly enough, it seems that people are getting more comfortable with the magic…