Can Fantasy Stories Communicate God’s Truth? Disney Star Explains

Published: November 5, 2024

Can Fantasy Stories Communicate God’s Truth? Disney Star Explains

By Movieguide® Contributor

Can magic in stories and entertainment communicate God’s truth?

David Henrie, who stars in Disney’s new show WIZARDS BEYOND WAVERLY PLACE, believes it can and thinks using it properly makes some of the best Christian fantasy works resonate to this day.

“This is a big stigma, I think, in the faith community…because witchcraft is talked about very directly in the Bible, and magic and this and that,” Henrie told Movieguide®. “That’s obviously the Bible, it’s perfectly true and good and honest, but applying that then to art is where a whole other set of circumstances come into play.”

“I mean, Tolkien with Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis with The Chronicles of Narnia, and the list goes on. All sorts of fairytales employ these mechanisms as a way to teach truth, and a lot of these men were some of the best Christians that ever existed,” he explained. “The context matters, and it depends on how you implement it.”

Henrie doesn’t think God is upset with Lord of the Rings just because Gandalf is a wizard or The Chronicles of Narnia because it includes witches.

“I genuinely believe that God loves those stories because they’re powerful vessels to teach truth,” he emphasized. “I think you have to be careful not to make people curious about getting involved in things that they shouldn’t or using any real witchcraft or any real stuff in what you make. I think you have to be careful about that.”

However, he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with telling fantasy stories — fake stories — to illustrate truths: “Dragons don’t exist — we know that — but they can be used to teach powerful truths to children.”

Just like Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, Henrie’s show WIZARDS BEYOND WAVERLY PLACE — a spin-off and sequel to WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE — uses magic.

“Justin Russo…has chosen to lead a normal, mortal life with his family, Giada, Roman and Milo. When Justin’s sister Alex brings Billie to his home seeking help, Justin realizes he must dust off his magical skills to mentor the wizard-in-training while also juggling his everyday responsibilities — and safeguarding the future of the Wizard World,” a synopsis of the show reads.