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7.15.2005    |    Looking for God in Harry Potter
More on my favorite wizard and an affirmation that it's not evil to read about him. There's a book whose theme is that there are many pointers to Jesus Christ in the Harry Potter enterprise: "Looking for God in Harry Potter" by John Granger.

Christianity Today has an extract from "Looking" that focuses on the symbolism posed by the varied mythological creatures that appear in the HP seried: unicorns, a phoenix bird, centaurs, and others. As regards these critters, the author makes the point that "Each is a traditional symbol of arts and letters used to point to the qualities and person of Christ." This makes sense to me, and reinforces my approach to the HP phenomenon: Always seek Christ, and you will find Him.

A final extract from the author (also via Christianity Today) is worth noting:
The Harry Potter stories, in their formulaic journeys that end every year with love's triumph over death in the presence of a Christ symbol, find their power and popularity in the resonance they create in our hearts. We connect with them because they point toward the Truth Myth that saves us. The gospel has rarely, if ever, been smuggled into the hearts and minds of readers so successfully and profoundly.
This business of having "smuggled" (almost rhymes with"muggle") the gospel into the hearts and minds of readers caught my eye.

If a Harry Potter book can get people interested in reading Christ's actual gospel, I would be a happy camper. I'm a little doubtful of this outcome, but, one never should say never. Who knows, even despite Exodus 22:18, the Holy Spirit may overlook an overbroad reading of one verse, if a tale about a young wizard can be used bring some to Christ.

Now here's something to ponder: If we are truly predestined for salvation, as we are told by Paul in Ephesians 1:5, is, therefore, Harry Potter a part of God's plan for bringing souls to Christ? Or is the author of "Looking for God in Harry Potter" inverting cause and effect: those who see Christ in the Harry Potter enterprise have already been predestined for salvation?

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posted by John Luke at 3:27 PM

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About this site and the author

Welcome. My name is John Luke Rich, (very) struggling Christian. The focus here is Christianity in its many varieties, its fussing and feuding, how it impacts our lives and our society, with detours to consider it with other faiths (or lack thereof).

Call this blog my way of evangelizing on the internet.

Putting it differently, we're only here on this earth a short time. It's the rest of eternity that we should be most concerned about. Call it the care and feeding of our souls.

I was born Jewish, and born again in Christ Jesus over thirty years ago. First as a Roman Catholic; now a Calvinist by persuasion and a Baptist by denomination. But I'm hardly a poster boy for doctrinal rigidity.

I believe that Scripture is the rock on which all Christian churches must stand -- or sink if they are not so grounded. I believe that we are saved by faith, but hardly in a vacuum. That faith is a gift from God, through no agency on our part -- although we sometimes turn a deaf ear and choose to ignore God's knocking on the door.

To be Christian is to evangelize. Those who think it not their part to evangelize perhaps haven't truly understood what our Lord told us in Matthew 28. We must preach the Gospel as best we are able. Using words if necessary.

Though my faith waxes and wanes, it never seems to go away. Sometimes I wish it would, to give me some peace of mind. But then, Jesus never said that walking with Him was going to be easy...

Final note: I also blog as Jack Rich on cultural, political and other things over at Wrong Side of the Tracks

Thanks for stopping by.