Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Aug. 6, 2007 issue - Have you finished reading? What do you think? Is Harry Potter a Christian story after all? Harry has made news, ever since his arrival on the scene in 1998, for provoking the ire of some right-wing Christians who believe his magical powers and wizardly aspirations—not to mention his boarding school peopled with eccentric friends and demonic villains—promote occultism and Satan worship.
BeliefWatch: Is 'Harry Potter' a Christian Story? - Newsweek Beliefs - MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20010717/site/newsweek/ - broken link)
That's like asking if Sleeping Beauty a Christian fairy tale. What about the Wizard of Oz with it's witches? Snow White? Remember that she was restored to life by a kiss of love. That's almost as good as raising Lazarus from the dead, isn't it!
How is a fairy godmother waving a wand to make food, different from turning water into wine? Oh, I forgot, one is in the bible, therefore, it's true.
I personally don't have a problem with Harry Potter. I have read the entire series...couldn't put them down. But a Christian story? Not really. I can see that it is the classic good vs. evil situation, but I don't see the correlation between Christianity.
I personally don't have a problem with Harry Potter. I have read the entire series...couldn't put them down. But a Christian story? Not really. I can see that it is the classic good vs. evil situation, but I don't see the correlation between Christianity.
I think that while it's not technically a Christian story, it does draw from some classic Christian elements. J.K. Rowling (the author) said as much...
When asked if she was a Christian by journalist Max Wyman of the Vancouver Sun, J.K. Rowling replied:
"Yes, I am, which seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books."
I went so far as to say in my OP on that thread that I think the story is an allegory to Jesus and His redemptive work...I won't say now after thinking about it more that is exactly an allegory...but if one has read the books, ESPECIALLY the 7th one, the parallels are rather pronounced.
the story is not a direct allegory, its more like layer upon layer of christian symbolism intertwined with basic tenets of christian beliefs.....its not only a story about good vs. evil, its more specifically a story about the triumph of sacrificial love over death and the power of choice to decide our ultimate future.....there is way more to it than that but those are a couple extremely general points....another thing to all those who claim Harry Potter glamorizes or promotes the occult, there are two different kinds of magic. the bad kind is invocational magic, or the summoning or conjuring of spirits. this is the stuff that is satanic, evil, etc. but, this is not the type of magic found in the harry potter books. the magic in the harry potter series is completely incanational magic. the difference between this and invocational is that invocational is the random manipulation of spirits, while incantational literally means finding harmony with a higher power. a good book to read for those interested in this is Looking for God in Harry Potter, by John Granger....its very in-depth and its best for those who have actually read the books....if you havent read the books, you are ignorant to the themes present in the book, no matter how much you think you may know....just read the books before you go spouting off about the harry potter books and how they make kids want to practice in the occult
That's like asking if Sleeping Beauty a Christian fairy tale. What about the Wizard of Oz with it's witches? Snow White? Remember that she was restored to life by a kiss of love. That's almost as good as raising Lazarus from the dead, isn't it!
How is a fairy godmother waving a wand to make food, different from turning water into wine? Oh, I forgot, one is in the bible, therefore, it's true.
have you actually read any of the harry potter books?
I think that while it's not technically a Christian story, it does draw from some classic Christian elements. J.K. Rowling (the author) said as much...
When asked if she was a Christian by journalist Max Wyman of the Vancouver Sun, J.K. Rowling replied:
"Yes, I am, which seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books."
I went so far as to say in my OP on that thread that I think the story is an allegory to Jesus and His redemptive work...I won't say now after thinking about it more that is exactly an allegory...but if one has read the books, ESPECIALLY the 7th one, the parallels are rather pronounced.
its not so much an allegory of his redemptive work as it is a series of parallels to his teachings...the books parallel his teachings in the sense that harry's struggles are the type of struggles that christians go through all the time, like choosing what is right over what is easy. harry is the representation of man following the teachings of jesus
No, it's not a Christian story. The wonderful thing about it, though (and about God, too, if you think about it...how powerful He is, and how He works), is that the correlation is there, just as it is there in the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis (one of Rowling's biggest inspirations). I've read the books...I think they were WONDERFULLY written, and I enjoyed reading them. There were so many times that I would see a parallel between what she wrote and what the Bible says. It was always fun to see, and at times would garner an emotional response at what God would reveal to me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
