Harry Potter is both an implicitly and explicitly Christian series

So, thank you. Now, let's get into my main argument. 1) Harry Potter is an explicitly Christian book series A) Harry Potter initially began as a simple children's book. The first few books contained basic Christian values of loyalty, friendship, and self-sacrifice. These books were introductory material, immersing the reader in the world of Harry Potter while teaching life lessons and explicitly Christian values. These first few books would build the Christian story that J. K. Rowling had planned [1], culminating in an extremely Christian and somewhat allegorical final novel. B) Good vs. Evil The series revolves around a battle of good vs. evil. This is an essential Christian theme, and good triumphs over evil in the end, as Christ will defeat Satan at the end of time. C) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows contains two direct Bible quotations "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. " (Matthew 6:19) "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26) These two quotes appear on tombstones in the seventh novel. The fact that Biblical quotations appear makes the novel explicitly Christian. However, it is the implicit value of these quotes, taken in context of the situation, that drives home Harry Potter's Christian message. so this brings me to my next point, and the more fun point to argue. 2) Harry Potter is implicitly Christian A) Bible Quotes (again) Let's go back to the Bible quotes. The first is inscribed on the Dumbledore family's tombstone. This quote refers to his sister Ariana. He invested himself in the search for the Deathly Hallows and in doing that , he abandoned his sister, who would die. He betrayed his heart in his greed. This shows Harry Potter's demonstration of directly Christian values, and its revocation of vices. The second is on the Potters' tombstone. It sums up both the Harry Potter series and the Christian message. Death will be destroyed. In both Christianity and HP, this is accomplished, though in different ways. This is, I believe, leads to the strongest Christian point of Harry Potter, and leads to its semi-allegorical finale. B) Fawkes the Phoenix The Phoenix is a traditional symbol of Jesus Christ, a creature that dies and is reborn, resurrected from the ashes. "There is a beautiful piece of imagery in Dumbledore"s duel with Voldemort in The Order of the Phoenix. Voldemort casts the killing curse, Avada Kedavra, towards Dumbledore, who sends Fawkes the phoenix into the curse in his place. The phoenix bursts into flame and dies, but, because of its nature as the "resurrection bird," is born again from death. " [2] This sacrifice of Fawkes prefigures Harry's later sacrifice, and both evoke the sacrifice of Jesus. C) Harry Potter is a semi-allegorical novel to the Gospels, with Harry as a Christ figure, Voldemort as Satan, Horcuxes as Sin, and Love as the force that conquers all This is, I believe, the main argument for Harry Potter's Christian themes. Harry is an imperfect allegorical version of Christ. He is born as the chosen one, the only one who can defeat Voldemort (Satan). He is prophesied by Trelawney (a. k. a. Isaiah, Micah, other prophets who foretold Jesus' coming) to be this chosen one. Voldemort, meanwhile, is the embodiment of evil. He is even associated with snakes, when a snake tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The entire allegory falls into place in the seventh book. The quotes on the tombstones, Harry's Parents sacrificing themselves out of love, all point to the main point of the entire New Testament: love conquers all. This point is reiterated in a rather famous Bible verse: "But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. " (1 Corinthians 13:13) As Harry races to destroy the Horcruxes, and in turn death, he finds that he bears a part of that sin on his shoulders. He carries the lives of all his friends on his back. He carries a "cross". And he understands that he must sacrifice himself. He must die to destroy death. He lays his life down, and Voldemort mercilessly "kills" him. Harry awakes at a white, heavenly version of Kings Cross, where Dumbledore awaits, while the dying, disgusting piece of Voldemort's soul lies under a bench. But alas, Dumbledore tells him, Harry did not die. And Harry is then returned to life, resurrected if you will. And now that he has died for his friends, with a sacrificial love, and all the Horcuxes are destroyed, Voldemort's evil cannot touch anyone. Love conquered evil. Harry defeats Voldemort at last, as the sun rises, red and gold, evocative of the Phoenix. [. http://www.elliotnelson.net...] As you can hopefully see, Harry represents Christ. He sacrifices himself, from his own free will, for others, out of love. God, according to the Gospels, loved humanity so much he sent his son to die for us. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) He is not dead, and comes back, where evil is defeated. Although imperfect, as no human character can have full qualities of God, this is clearly an allegory. Lastly, if you read my first source, you will see Rowling intended HP as a Christian novel, eliminating the possibility of coincidence. Thank you! [1] . http://www.mtv.com... [2] . http://www.elliotnelson.net...