Biblical Themes Within the Harry Potter Series

692 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Christian view of harry potter

"The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by an invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing." (Severus Snape, Book five.) The book series entitled 'Harry Potter' has Biblical themes hidden beneath all of the spells, charms, and enchantments. Harry Potter, in my own opinion, is very Christ like and I feel like the book series could be looked at like a modernized version of the bible. He resembles Jesus Christ in multiple ways. J.K Rowling has subtly featured religious symbolism in her books such as, Harry dying for the wizarding world much like Jesus died willingly for our sins. After they died, they were both resurrected. Fawkes, the Phoenix is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and Harry and Jesus both knew sacrifice and selflessness. Also, both men have taken so much pain and suffering for the people they loved. Every character in the Harry Potter Series seems to resemble a person from the bible.
Harry Potter died for the wizarding world much like Jesus Christ died willingly for our sins. After they died, they were resurrected by a father figure. Harry was resurrected by Albus Dumbledore in a way. After Voldemort tried to murder him a second time using the killing curse Harry went into a dream state where he met with Dumbledore who gave him a choice to live or die. Jesus and Harry are more alike than people think. It's not just because they both died for the people around them. Jesus Christ stripped the devil of his powers just like Harry stripped Voldemort of his. They both saw the enemy, stood up to them and they conquered.
Fawkes, the Phoenix is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Fawkes has saved Harry and Dumbledore from death. When Har...

... middle of paper ...

...plished many great things in his life that could be construed as God-like. He was merited the Order of Merlin, first class. God is known as the defender of the weak and Dumbledore was known, before his untimely death, was known as the defender of the Muggles.
Just like Jesus, Harry Potter took a vigorous amount of pain and suffering for the people he loved. Jesus was nailed to the cross and was tortured to save all of our sins. Harry was put under the Cruciatus Curse multiple times, he was stabbed in the arm by a Basilisk fang, was attacked by a trolls, Dementors, Death Eaters, Dragons, Grindylows, Professors, Inferi, etc.
Although Harry Potter and Jesus Christ are two very different people, they have a lot of things in common. Also, the book series and the holy bible are two very different works of literature; they have an abundance of comparable themes/features.

Show More
Related

  • Use Of Situational Irony In The Wizard Of Oz

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry discovers that in order to defeat Voldemort, as Harry is expected to, he must die.

    Read More

  • Physical Marks On Characters In The Book By Foreshadow

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    He received the scar the night that Voldemort killed his parents and attempted to kill Harry. However, Harry was protected with his mother’s love so the killing curse rebounded off of him and to Voldemort. Harry’s scar indicates the fact that Voldemort made his mark on him and never left him. A part of Voldemort lives within Harry. Harry survived a killing curse and walked out with just a scar. That scar is a constant reminder of the man who killed his parents and changed his life forever. Harry’s scar is a constant reminder of the burden he must carry throughout his young life. Harry is the only one who can defeat the greatest evil because that evil lives within him. His lightning bolt scar indicates that he is the chosen

    Read More

  • Images, Symbols and Symbolism in Fahrenheit 451

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    The symbol of a Phoenix is used throughout the novel. This quote accurately describes the Phoenix,

    Read More

  • Classical Mythology in Harry Potter Characters

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Harry Potter book series has sold over 450 million copies and has been translated into almost every language on the face of the earth (“Harry Potter”). Millions have faithfully followed the story about this magical world and have fallen in love with the many enchanting characters. What most readers do not recognize is the prominence that classical Greek/Roman mythological allusions play in the beloved Harry Potter roles through their names and personality attributes. The importance of names is extremely significant to a person’s identity, especially in literature where words are meant to bring stories to life. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, continues this concept through her characters by linking their names to classical

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The River

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    To some this story might seem like a tragedy, but to Christians this is a beautiful story. Although young Harry dies at the end, he is accepted into the kingdom of God, which is far superior to anything on Earth. A non-religious family raises him and the first taste of Christianity he gets makes him want to pursue God. In Flannery O’Conner’s short story, The River, the allure of Gods grace and the repelling of sinful ways are shown heavily through Harry.

    Read More

  • Harry Potter Controversy

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first main controversy of the Harry Potter series is the argument that Rowling’s stories promote paganism, which is against Christian beliefs. The Bible specifically states in Leviticus 20:26, “You shall not practice augury or witchcraft” (“Reading Matters”). Furthermore, the Bible supports the resentment towards paganism in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, stating that those found practicing witchcraft, casting spells, or contacting spirits are a disgrace to the Lord and will be driven out (qtd. in Mahoney). In Rowling’s book, witchcraft is an alluring practice. For instance, Hogwarts is described as a magical place one might wish to visit if the school existed. Consequently, many parents fear children who read these books will become intrigued by wizardry and attempt to learn these practices (Wilder Gish). Even J. K. Rowling has admitted that some readers are so convinced by the books that they believe the wizard world is real. These readers have sent...

    Read More

  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    He then sees his cousin, who he lives with and hates. They then get in a fight and Harry pulls out his wand and at that exact moment two dementors attack them. Dudley thinks Harry is attacking him, so he punches Harry. Harry then heroically saves them both by producing a patronus and driving away the dementors.      They get back home and Harry gets a letter from the Ministry of Magic that says because he used magic he is expelled (Harry is underage and underage wizards aren't supposed to use magic).

    Read More

  • The Chronicles of Narnia and The Bible

    1849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fiction has always been used as a way to relay different types of messages throughout time. In many cases authors use fiction to make political commentary, use stories to bring out the major flaws that society has, as well as a way to spread different types of beliefs or ideals. C.S. Lewis’s used his work, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, to reiterate the messages of the Bible to those who might have gotten lost during their lifetime. Though his whole series was full of connections the book that have the most prevalent connections are The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In both there are places that are very similar to and very different books in the Bible. Taking into context when Lewis wrote this series is extremely important to see what some of his motivations might have been. These stories were started soon after World War II had ended. These stories were a way to teach the next generation some of the morals that the Bible was teaching. By creating these fantastical stories Lewis was able to make connections to help bridge the learning gap between the two generations. Also by using children as a target audience Lewis was able to remind adults as well, instead of being ignored because of the recent war. Lewis was able to address these lessons and morals in a way that both taught the children the way of the Bible, as well as to put a new spin on old tales so that adults were able to come back to religion, after losing some faith during the brutal war.

    Read More

  • Faith And Christianity In J. K. Rowling And The Harry Potter

    1512 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although it may not be obvious to many people who enjoy the works of J.K. Rowling, the “Harry Potter” series is actually a series based on many Christian themes and ideology. Beyond the blantant chaacter similarities, J.K. Rowling also uses scripture straight from biblical texts and in her dipiction of death mirror Chrisitan beliefs and the author herself has admitted to basing thing throughout her story on her faith and Christianity. Quoted in an article in The Telegraph, "To me, the religious parallels have always been obvious," Rowling said. "But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going.” There is much debate on the matter, but there are clear comparisons

    Read More

  • Christian Aesthetics

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...y for the lunatic fringes of my own religion” (“'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery”).

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Christter And Jesus

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    However, there were also many differences. For instance, Harry frequently disregarded authority and allowed many people to sacrifice themselves for him. Jesus, however, never disregarded authority (although many people believed he was blasphemous, when, in fact he couldn’t have been because he was God in the flesh). Also, He never allowed people to sacrifice themselves for him; he would not even allow his disciples to fight for him when he was being arrested due to Judas’s betrayal (Luke 22:49-51). In my opinion, the more one looks at the similarities between the two, it becomes more difficult to see many differences. Harry was a Messianic figure in the series because he sacrificed himself for the good of others and after his death, was resurrected. Although he didn’t save all of Creation like Jesus did by his sacrifice, he still saved

    Read More

  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    1978 Words  | 4 Pages

    Just to quickly run through the two previous books; Harry Potter is a wizard, who’s parents were killed by the worst dark wizard ever known. The reason why Harry Potter is still around, is because Lord Voldemort failed to kill Harry. His spell hit Harry, but then backfired on Voldemort taking all of his powers with him. Harry is so famous for two things. Withstanding the powers of Lord Voldemort, and, taking him back in to the underworld in hiding. In the first book, Harry receives a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He’s eventually allowed to go, and spends the next six months there learning magic, getting into trouble, and trying to solve mysteries of his past, and the school. In the second book, Harry goes back to his second year at Hogwarts, and gets into more trouble, figures out many astonishing mysteries and learns loads more magic. His best friends in the two books consist of Ron and Hermione (two of his fellow wizard students) and Hagrid the gamekeeper who was expelled from Hogwarts but allowed a job as the gamekeeper.

    Read More

  • Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Analysis

    959 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within the book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, characters and stories between Voldemort and Harry’s continuous struggle allude to stories from the Bible. Voldemort, who represents the evil in the struggle, fights against Harry Potter, who is the “good” representative within the book. In the fight against Harry, Voldemort has a pet snake by the name of “Nagini.” Nagini, at one point in the book, possesses over a good character in the book, Bathilda Bagshot. Bathilda is an author and a historian, who Hermione and Harry trust and visit. Bathilda eventually dies and the evil snake, Nagini, uses her body to attract Harry and Hermione. Nagini eventually reveals itself through Bathilda’s body and attacks Harry. However, Hermione

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Harry Potter And The Divine Comedy

    844 Words  | 2 Pages

    The focus of this paper will be on a comparison of The Divine Comedy and of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a book written and released by J.K. Rowling in the year 2007. It will include an analysis among the journey of Dante in Hell and Harry through his life. Through this paper I would like to bring to light of the fact that although, the Divine Comedy is from centuries ago the narrative is everlasting. The Divine Comedy is remarkable, many of the modern narratives include a direct or indirect reference to the Divine Comedy itself.

    Read More

  • The Similarities Between Islam and Christianity

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Identical to Muslims, Christians also believe that their God is the creator and sustainer of the universe. The Bible begins with the creation of the Earth by God in seven days. Another similarity between these two religions is their belief in life after death.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

More about Biblical Themes Within the Harry Potter Series

Open Document