There has been some debate and speculation over whether or not J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter contains Christian themes. I’ve never read any of the books — I plan to at some point — so I can’t weigh in too much with my opinion, but until reading a recent interview with J.K. Rowling, I doubted the claims by some that Christian undertones do exist in the novels. I believe there are clear connections to Christianity in the fantasy series of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, though Tolkien seems to be a bit more subtle in his use of religious symbolism. I like to use Christian symbolism in my writings, and there is indeed some of it in my novel, but I tend to take Tolkien’s approach and keep it subtle.
On the opposite end, there are those religious groups that claim Harry Potter is evil, and children should not be allowed to read it. While the Bible does speak about sorcery and those who practice magic, I’m not sure that a fantasy novel intended solely for entertainment will have that much of a negative influence on children. Children have wonderful imaginations anyway, regardless of whether or not they have read Harry Potter, so I find it difficult to believe that reading these fantasy novels will corrupt their minds.
J.K. Rowling speaks openly about her use of Christian motifs in the Harry Potter series. Read the article from Religious Intelligence.
Links to more articles:
Christianity Today
GetReligion.org
Washington Post
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ARGGG, YOU STOLE MY IDEA FOR MY ARTICLE!
I have thought about that many a times.
I have read C.S. Lewis’ Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and when I read J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, It just supprises me how much they have in common, I know alot of people say that LotR is more common with HP, but in reality, the Narnia series are more similar with HP.
I like all of those books.
-Josh
Sorry, Josh. I know I wasn’t the first to post on this subject. Others beat me to it as well. I need to read Harry Potter. I’m interested to look for any connections now. I’ll be surprised if I like it more than Lord of the Rings though. From what I’ve heard, I think I would like the later Harry Potter novels better. They’re a little darker and more adult, or so I’m told.
wow !!
its very unconventional point of view.
Nice post.
realy gj
thank you 😉