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Looking for God in Harry Potter

By John Granger

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Copyright © 2004 John Granger
All right reserved.
ISBN: 1-4143-0091-3

Contents

Introduction A Parental Shift from Alarm to Approval....................................................................................................xiii1: Magic, Fantasy, and the Christian Worldview The "sorcery" in Harry Potter supports biblical teaching, not practice of the occult.....................12: God's Army versus the Servants of Satan? The Harry Potter novels revolve around the central conflict of good and evil................................113: The Hero's Christlike Journey Harry's adventures take him through life, death, and resurrection......................................................194: The Alchemy of Spiritual Growth The story cycles are built on the stages of transformation...........................................................255: One Person, Two Natures Doppelgngers point to the struggle of dual natures-and their resolution in the God-Man......................................376: Christian Answers to Big Questions Surprise endings suggest a remedy for the evils of prejudice......................................................497: The Triumph of Love over Death The mystery of death meets the ultimate answer........................................................................598: The Question of Identity Harry defines himself through choices, change, and destiny..................................................................719: Evidence of Things Unseen The symbols in Potterdom are powerful pointers to Christian reality........................................................8310: Fun with Names The character names are delightful puzzles with hidden Christian meanings............................................................10111: The Purification of the Soul Christian keys to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone................................................................11712: Dangerous Books and Edifying Books Christian keys to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets........................................................12713: Despair and Delivery Christian keys to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.....................................................................13714: Girded with Virtue Christian keys to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire............................................................................14916: Dark Night of the Soul Christian keys to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix..................................................................15917: The Power of Christian Artistry Keys to the future and legacy of the Harry Potter series............................................................171Appendix: Speaking of God in Harry Potter................................................................................................................183Endnotes.................................................................................................................................................195

Chapter One

MAGIC, FANTASY, AND THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW

The "sorcery" in Harry Potter supports biblical teaching, not practice of the occult.

More than any other book of the last fifty years (and perhaps ever),the Harry Potter novels have captured the imagination of the readingpublic worldwide. Hundreds of millions of copies have beensold to date. However, although the books have been wildly successful,no one as yet has been able to explain their popularity.

The Harry Potter books, in case you too have lived on thePlanet Zeno since 1997 or have recently come out of a coma,recount the adventures of an English schoolboy as he advancesfrom grade to grade at Hogwarts School. Hogwarts is no ordinaryboarding school, however, and Harry Potter is no typical student-the former is a school for witchcraft and wizardry, andHarry is not only a wizard-in-training, but the target of attack bythe worst of evil wizards, Lord Voldemort, and his followers, theDeath Eaters. Each book ends with a life-or-death battle againstVoldemort or his servants and enough plot twists to make youdream of saltwater taffy.

I am convinced that the fundamental reason for the astonishingpopularity of the Harry Potter novels is their ability to meet a spirituallonging for some experience of the truths of life, love, and deathtaught by Christianity but denied by a secular culture. Humanbeings are designed for Christ, whether they know it or not. That theHarry Potter stories "sing along" with the Great Story of Christ is a significantkey to understanding their compelling richness. I take hits from both sides fordaring to make such a declaration-from Potter fans who areshocked by the suggestion that they have been reading "Christian"books and from Potter foes who are shocked by the thought thatthere could be anything "Christian" about books with witches andwizards in them.

As the magical setting of the books has caused the most controversy,I'll start with the setting and several formulas Rowlingobserves in every book.

MAGICAL SETTING

Some Christians object to Harry Potter because Christian Scripturein many places explicitly forbids occult practice. Though readingabout occult practice is not forbidden, these Christians prudentlyprefer (again in obedience to scriptural admonishments to parents)to protect their children because of the books' sympathetic portrayalof occult practice. These Christians believe that such approving andcasual exposure to the occult opens the door to occult practice.

Other Christians, whether Harry fans or sideline observers ofthe controversy, point out the books are "only stories" and thatmany stories beloved by Christians (usually the Narnia or Lord ofthe Rings books are invoked as examples) have portrayed witchesand wizards in a positive light.

These two groups square off with compare-and-contrast sessionsabout Frodo, Aslan, and Harry-arguments as much abouttaste and prejudice as about substance. Both responses miss themark, I think. With a clear lack of charity, both camps have madeHarry Potter into something of a litmus test-of fidelity to principleon the one hand and of human intelligence on the other.

Given this impasse, I think it pays to note three observations:

1. Occult practices are universally denounced by major world religions. Every major religion-Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (not to mention animism)-prohibits invocational sorcery and individual (or unguided) exploration of the spirit world. Why? Calling down occult forces and demons is dangerous, and the world's traditions protect their own by condemning it. Invocational magic and sorcery never work according to human plans (the dark forces always have a different agenda for the sorcerer and his community). Being concerned about the occult is not a silly, parochial Christian concern restricted to "ignorant fundamentalists"; it is a prudent human concern evident in the faiths of the whole world.

2. Scripture itself contains material about occult practices. The Bible nowhere forbids reading material with occult elements in it. As there are witches, soothsayers, and possessed prophetesses in the Bible (almost all negatively portrayed), it would be more than odd if Holy Writ spoke against itself. If anything, the New Testament slams those who charge the righteous with sorcery (see Matthew 12:24-28 and Mark 9:38-40). I know devout Christians who...