Author Cites Evidence Harry Potter a Christ Figure

I appreciate your devoting a review in the December-January issue of The Congregationalist to my book God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister’s Defense of the Beloved Novels, published by St. Martin’s Press. Inasmuch as the reviewer failed to explain why I say that Harry Potter is a modern Christ figure, I would like for the sake of your readers to enumerate the evidence:

1. Unusual occurrences surround the appearances of both Jesus and Harry (angels at Jesus’ coming and owls at Harry’s)
2. Both Jesus and Harry demonstrate miraculous powers in their childhoods (cf. the stories of Jesus in the Apocrypha)
3. Both Jesus and Harry are wounded heroes (Jesus’ hands, Harry’s lightning bolt)
4. Both have three close friends or disciples (Harry’s are Ron, Hermione, and Neville)
5. Both are modest about their own gifts and powers
6. Both are targeted for destruction by evil
7. Both are essentially fearless in the face of evil
8. Both sacrificially oppose evil on behalf of others
9. Jesus lay in the tomb three days after the crucifixion; Harry lies in a coma three days after his encounter with Lord Voldemort
10. Jesus descends into hell (cf. the Apostles’ Creed); Harry descends to the underground and contends with the great basilisk, the embodiment of evil
11. There is an eschatological tone or air running through all the Potter stories, just as there is in the New Testament
12. Just as Jesus brings a “sleeping” girl to life in the Gospel of Mark, Harry defeats Lord Voldemort and sees Hermione return to life
13. When Harry confronts Voldemort in book four, Voldemort pronounces the “cruciatus curse” on him, causing him to writhe like one tormented on a cross.

The reviewer pooh-poohs my speculation that by the time she writes the seventh and final novel in the Potter series author J. K. Rowling may feel obligated to let Harry die, just as Jesus did. Only time will tell, of course. My point is that, contrary to those who see only objectionable qualities in the Potter stories, I think the real framework behind them is not witchcraft at all, and not even Rowling’s use of classicism (which was her major in university), but the grand narrative of the Christian faith itself. If this is true, as I have attempted to demonstrate in my book, then Ms. Rowling will have to decide whether to follow the implications of the faith to their logical conclusion and let Harry die in a final battle with Voldemort. (Perhaps if he does die, he will also experience some sort of resurrection or afterlife, at least in the love and memory of his friends.) At any rate, there is a very good reason for the extraordinary popularity of Harry Potter, even if his readers and movie fans are largely unconscious of it: Harry is the artless embodiment of the greatest narrative the world has ever known, the story of Christ and his struggle for the salvation of the world.

Harry Potter Not for Children?

How disappointing to see contributing editor Randy Asendorf recommend that our children should read Harry Potter books and view the movies! He concludes by asking, “What’s wrong with that?” Please allow me to answer.

These books and movies are harmful to children, because they cast a sorcerer as the hero. God says, “I will be quick to testify against sorcerers,” and goes on to put wizards in the same class as “adulterers and perjurers” and others who do not fear God. (Malachi 3:5) They are not heroes. They are like “Elymas the sorcerer” in Acts chapter 13, an enemy of God.

Impressionable children are bound to admire young Harry, but Scripture does not portray wizards as admirable. Rather, it says the Lake of Fire is the destiny of “those who practice magic arts.” (Revelation 21:8, 22:15) Contrasted with the fruits of the Spirit, the practice of witchcraft or wizardry is among the acts of the sinful flesh listed at Galatians 5:19-23.

Do we let our children view movies portraying a “good” adulterer or a “good” murderer? Would a “good” wizard be a safe role model? Be assured that kids will want to emulate the attractive and beguiling Harry Potter character!

Luke offered a suggestion for what to do with books exalting wizards, when he reported favorably what new Christians in Ephesus did: “A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.” (Acts 19:19) Should we have pulled some of those books from the fire and handed them to our children?