As an author that is a Christian, I have followed the discussion about Harry Potter’s relationship to Christianity with interest but have stayed out of it, at least in public. I have long believed that there were Christian themes percolating in the books, a belief that led me to accurately predict the fates of Snape and Malfoy. How intentional and deliberate Rowling was when exploring these themes I won’t speculate upon because that is something that she herself is in the best position to answer. However, her explicit exclusion of two Scriptures “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” and “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (#7, pgs 326 and 328, Matt. 6:21 and 1 Cor 15:26) suggests to me that anti-Harry Potter Christians would do well to re-consider their opposition and re-think their position.
The numerous nods to Christian themes in Rowling’s books are explored by many others so I won’t dig into them here beyond what I’ve already said, but I will take just one moment to respond to the charge that anything ‘magical’ is forbidden and of the devil. Certainly the Scriptures are not to be ignored on the point. In retort, it is often pointed out that there is ‘magical’ content to Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and in retort to that retort, it is given “But yes, those are Christian authors,” apparently ignorant that Rowling is herself a Christian. Intuitively, most of us recognize a difference between the ‘magic’ in these worlds and the sorcery rejected by the Scriptures.