Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

So Candace and I just finished reading Harry Potter, and I cannot believe how well the series ended. I will warn that while I have no desire to get into specifics I may mention some things that, if you have not read it and plan to might spoil some stuff. If you have read it, read on.

After all the ranting and raving and stupid fears about magic and Harry Potter making kids want to turn to devil worship and all that bullshit (sorry but that is exactly what it is, and will mark the first and only time such a word will grace my blog) turns out Harry Potter is an analog for Christ and in the end JK Rowling ends up opening a lot of great doors for discussion with all those who have followed the book from beginning to end. In a recent interview, Rowling revealed that she does indeed attend church and struggles with her faith but who doesn’t. I would argue that one must struggle with faith for that is the crux of a sinner being a saint.

The last enemy to be defeated is death. Sound familiar, perhaps a quote from the bible maybe? Yep, and also a key line and theme in the last installment of this incredible series. Rowling sums up the feelings and emotions, the arguments and issues that we have with ourselves very well as we discover that our hero has been marked for death since birth, destined to die so that others would live, born only to grow old enough to sacrifice. In some ways I feel Rowling would have been much better served by doing what I believe she intended to do in the first place, leave Harry dead. That would have elevated the story to an unbelievable level but as it is it works. And what is a Christian allegory without resurrection?

Candace and I have been reading this one to each other aloud, and when Harry’s loved ones surround him, the ones who have died throughout the series, as they gather around him to give him encouragement and strength for the last leg of the journey it moved us both to the point where we had to stop and take a breather. It was just awesome. Here Harry is not only an analog for Christ, but for us as well as we carry out our Christian mission, having faith that God will have our back and drawing strength from those who have died in the faith.

There is a huge part of me that feels an immense satisfaction in finishing this awesome series. I feel confident that it will continue to hold itself high in the ranks of children’s lit. I believe it will be all the better when the Potter frenzy calms and we are left with just a great series. I also draw satisfaction from the valuable moral lesson it teaches to Christians who have chosen to demonize these works instead of actually reading it first. Instead of waiting to see what it became, they chose to judge these books and their author as one of the sad signs of the times in which the devil has gotten a hold of the world. And yet, no one has once explained to me how the magic in these books is any different than that of Aslan speaking the world into existence in the Magicians Nephew, or defeating death in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. How is this magic different than that of Gandalf the Grey (or the White as he is eventually known)? You may say the author’s faith was the mitigating factor but that does not now hold any water ( I don’t believe it ever did, the author’s allegiance does not explain or excuse the use of magic or the use of the name wizard in those books, it does not explain why it becomes OK). Under this argument in all of its completeness Glinda from the Wizard of Oz fades from view, as do tales such as Cinderella and Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Alladin, and the Little Mermaid. I use classic tales made into Disney films as examples because these films are often just fine for the people who disparage HP. And the hypocrisy of it all reveals itself.

I have news for you, there is magic in this world, as surely as there is life and the grace of a loving God. We have to be careful not to be so quick to judge that we discount Christ. What I mean is, what would we say if someone healed someone today, or raised someone from the dead, if this happened in my world right here right now, as it did back when Jesus walked the Earth. To us it is the power of God and the might of the almighty, and that is the truth, but it is also magic of a sort, something that we could not accomplish of our own power or strength.

Harry Potter is a modern hero and icon who inspires us to wrestle with ourselves, to seek to face the darkness with light, to fight not with violience but submission, taking up our cross and using our God given gifts to fight sin death and the devil. The scriptures are of course pour first go to point but in terms of teaching the young and giving them a chance to use those imaginations (also God given I might add) books of these types are a treasure. If you have not read this series for any of the reasons above, read them, all of them and then make your call. From now on, I officially have no tolerance for arguments that teach judgment and ignorance in regards to these materials. Personally I feel JK Rowling has done the Christian faith an immense service by adding Harry Potter to the ranks of Aslan, King of Narnia and Frodo Baggins who as a result of his bravery along with all of his little friends bow to no one.