Editor's note: Amanda is an 18-year-old from Georgia (USA) and an art major at Young Harris College. "I got into Harry Potter when I was 14 and all of my friends began to read the books, but I wasn't allowed to. I did anyway (by smuggling books my friends let me borrow), and I love them because of the engaging (and surprising) storyline, character-driven plot, and the obvious amount of research and planning J.K. Rowling puts into her work. My favorite characters are Hermione, Ginny, and Dumbledore."

Biblical Symbolism in the World of Harry Potter

An original editorial by Amanda

I'm sure every HP fan is aware of the avid religious groups who are against the world of Harry Potter because the books and movies are supposedly evil due to their exhibition of magic and witchcraft. A pastor’s daughter, I have been forbidden to read the novels or watch the movies. But I do so in secret anyway. Although I am an open- minded Christian, I still can find no problems with Harry Potter that are religiously threatening at all; on the contrary, I have done a fair amount of research on the biblical symbolism included in the novels and have found many parallels between Harry Potter and Bible stories.

This editorial is not meant to offend anyone, religious or not. This is merely a way for some of the very interesting symbols and stories shared by Harry Potter and the Bible to be recognized. Some of these ideas are ones I posted long ago on SparkNotes.com, but I have decided to incorporate that research into an editorial.

In all honesty, I don’t understand how something that displays so many positive moral values as Harry Potter can be considered evil in the first place. Maybe Christian leaders grew alarmed by the widespread popularity of the books and feared they would eventually sell more copies than the Bible, thus making the books “evil.” Maybe they decided to forget about the popular stories and movies that they grew up with that portrayed witches and wizards as “good” characters (i.e., The Wizard of Oz, The Sword and the Stone, Charmed). Maybe they decided that, instead of focusing their energy on banning the things that are actually evil, they should focus their energy on protesting make- believe stories that cause widespread reading to occur amongst our children. Maybe we’ll never know.

Elements of a Christian World View

Without digging too deep into the actual context of the novels, Harry Potter as a whole displays some similarities with the worldview Christianity teaches. Here are a few biblical teachings displayed in the Harry Potter novels:

A. Self-Sacrifice. Lily Potter sacrificed herself to save Harry as an infant, similar to Jesus sacrificing himself on Calvary.
B. Friendship. The unstoppable trio (Harry, Ron, and Hermione) and the Marauders (James, Peter, Lupin, and Sirius) are similar to the friendship shown by Jesus’ apostles.
C. Courage. Many of the characters, and Harry in particular, have to face their fears during the course of the novels and “fight the good fight,” as the apostle Paul would have said.
D. Anti-Discrimination. House-elves, werewolves, or giants, anyone? E. Loyalty. The “good” characters of Harry Potter all exhibit a form of loyalty at some point, an obvious one being the loyalty that Hogwarts students – Harry in particular – show toward Dumbledore.

“Harry Potter Day”

“I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future.”

When closely examined, obvious parallels exist between the birth of Jesus and Harry Potter’s defeat of Voldemort as an infant. Like the Star of the East shines in the heavens to mark Christ’s birth, shooting stars streak across the sky after the defeat of Voldemort. A strangely dressed man approaches Mr. Dursley on the street and proclaims that even a Muggle such as himself should be rejoicing on such a happy day, just as the Gentiles are told to rejoice with the birth of Christ. It is obvious from the start that both of these babies are meant to play a very special roles in their futures, although very few know exactly how great they will become and what they will do in the future.

Peter Pettigrew = Judas

This parallel, once pointed out, is very obvious. Judas is one of the twelve apostles and a trusted friend, just as Pettigrew is one of the four Marauders and a trusted friend. However, both of these characters betray those close to them (Judas -> Jesus, Pettigrew -> James and Lily) and contribute greatly to the downfall of their friends.

In the Bible, Judas is the one who betrays Jesus by telling the soldiers where Jesus is praying in the garden, resulting in the crucifixion of Christ. In Harry Potter, Pettigrew is the one who tells Voldemort the location of the Potters, resulting in the murder of Lily and James.

In addition, after Judas tells the soldiers where Jesus is hiding, he receives a payment of twenty pieces of silver for betraying Christ. Similarly, at the end of Goblet of Fire, Peter Pettigrew receives a silver hand from Voldemort after helping to bring Harry (and poor Cedric) to the graveyard where Voldemort’s revival occurs.

Another surprising parallel that also serves as possible foreshadowing is the guilt felt by Judas/Pettigrew after their traitorous actions. Although it has not been stated directly, one can assume Pettigrew felt/feels a significant amount of guilt after betraying the people closest to him. After Judas betrays Jesus, he is so overcome with grief that he commits suicide. Pettigrew, although he was absent for the entire length of Order of the Phoenix, may die in one of the future books. Is it possible Pettigrew will take his own life as a result of his grief? I think so.

Animal Symbolism

Two different creatures in the Harry Potter universe are sometimes used to represent Christ: the phoenix and the unicorn. The phoenix, obviously, represents Christ’s resurrection, while the unicorn symbolizes Christ’s purity.

Similarly, Satan is often represented as a serpent or snake. From what we know of the Slytherin house, which is represented by a snake, serpents are symbols of evil. The same can be said of the Basilisk in Chamber of Secrets.

The Number Twelve

As MuggleNet has already demonstrated, 12 is a recurring number in the Harry Potter books. There are too many references in the books to list here, but look at the article about the number twelve on this website.

Now let’s consider the use of the number twelve in the Bible.

12 apostles of Jesus
12 sons/tribes of Israel
12 wells at Elim
12 stones on the breastplate of the High Priest
12 loaves in the Tabernacle
12 stars on the crown in Revelation
12 foundation stones on the gold palace in Revelation

There are many other references to the number twelve in the Bible, but I chose to include the more significant ones here. And I am aware that this particular Gospel parallel may not be entirely relevant in the long run, but it’s still pretty cool.

The Mark of God

In Revelation 9, there are a few verses that refer to God granting protection to those who have His mark on their foreheads. The lightning-bolt scar on Harry’s forehead will forever remain as a mark of his mother’s sacrifice to save him. Dumbledore tells Harry in Sorcerer’s Stone that his mother’s death instilled in Harry a protective force to guard him from Voldemort, which is a direct parallel to this Biblical reference.

By recognizing these parallels between the Bible and Harry Potter, are there possible actions in future books that can be predicted by the information we have? In no way am I suggesting that Hermione will lead the House-elves to the Promised Land or that Harry will perform miracles and rise from the dead after dying a gruesome, unjust death.

But perhaps Harry will perform the ultimate sacrifice by defeating Voldemort and dying himself so everyone else will have the chance to live on. We really won’t know until the releases of Half- Blood Prince and Book 7, but it’s still fun to make predictions based on the possible foreshadowing and Biblical symbolism.

11/28/04

Posted by: Sara

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