As someone who is a part of the Christian community, I have learned throughout the years that the members of the Church many times have something to say about popular TV shows and movies. Maybe it’s a new Netflix series that has characters that embody the Christian values, or a movie that Christ followers should “avoid”. Curiously, in the past, I have heard some of my friends mention that they were not allowed to read Harry Potter in their households. I will not lie that when I began to read the Harry Potter series more recently, all the practice of divination and sorcery made me rethink if this plot was as innocent as I thought it was when I was just a child watching the movies. Even though the rule-breaking, violence, witchcraft, and dark magic, might seem to distance the narrative from the Biblical truth and commandments, other aspects of the narrative outweigh these details and make Harry Potter a book perfect for the Christian public. Rowling employs the use of various imageries and symbols that create a clear parallel between the figure of Potter and Jesus Christ.
The Chosen One
The first point of symmetry that is worth discussing is that both Harry and Christ are the heroes of their stories, they are chosen and set apart. There is even an edition of the Daily Prophet entitled “HARRY POTTER: THE CHOSEN ONE?” Of course, that Harry is saving the limited universe of which he is a part, and in no way am I comparing that to the fact that Jesus was sent to save all humankind from sin (definitely a greater deal). Yet, let us think back to the 3rd book of the series. When we think about the narrative of Harry Potter, one of the most evident facts is that Harry is the awaited “savior”. When Harry is rescued by Knight Bus in the middle of the night in chapter three, it is one of the interactions that show readers how others reacted when they encountered Harry:
-“What didja call Neville, Minister?” he said excitedly.
-Fudge, a portly little man in a long, pinstriped cloak, looked cold and exhausted.
-“Neville?” he repeated, frowning. “This is Harry Potter.”
-“I knew it!” Stan shouted gleefully. “Ern! Ern! Guess ’oo Neville is, Ern! ’E’s ’Arry Potter! I can see ’is scar!”
This type of reaction to Harry’s presence resembles very closely the essence of Jesus of Nazareth, when his teachings and Messianic nature had been acknowledged by those who had an encounter with Him.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13
It seems like it is rare for someone not to know about their “savior”, the one who received the mark and who, even if unknowingly, protected all the creatures in this magical universe or humankind. Not to mention the prophecy made by Trelawney’s foretelling the birth of a boy that would have the power to defeat Voldemort. Just as Jesus was an awaited prophecy to be fulfilled, just as we read in the book of Isaiah, verse 14 of chapter seven: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
The Outsider
Moving onto a closer look at both of these figures’ personalities, we will find an amazing similarity in the group of people with whom they usually interact and bond. Harry and Jesus Christ were friends of the outcasts. In the book of Luke, we learn a lot about who Jesus’s “crowd” was:
While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Luke 5:15-17
There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus was an outcast of His time, he broke many religious traditions and asked the most hated individuals to be in His small group of disciples, and his death on the cross is the most extensive proof of His persecution.
From the moment Harry sets foot in Hogwarts, we can comprehend that although he was popular for being the “chosen one” that also made him a huge target of bullying, envy, and hate.
“Hey, Potter! Potter! How’s your head? You feeling all right? Sure you’re not going to go berserk on us?”Malfoy was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet too. Slytherins up and down the table were sniggering, twisting in their seats to see Harry’s reaction.
Chapter 31, Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire
However, his close friendships seem to be genuine even if in small numbers: Sirius, Hermione, Dobby, Ron, and Hagrid. Similar to how Jesus hangs out with thieves and prostitutes, Harry is friends with werewolves, elves, and muggle born.
Is this symbolism in Rowling’s storytelling responsible for the series’ success, or even for the main moral lessons we learn when reading Harry Potter? It is hard to really know since kids are usually not worried about the religious teachings of what they are viewing, but I strongly believe that missing this interpretation of the Harry Potter character and the greater biblical themes built into this narrative is to lose a significant part of the moral lessons we can get out of this mystical construct. Details that are not there by mistake, and I’m sure that after this new approach, readers will begin to realize the likeness of these two protagonists, something I can now not unsee.