God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novels

by John Killinger

“The Potter stories, far from being ‘wicked’ or ‘Satanic,’ ... are in fact narratives of robust faith and morality ...

“What Ms. Rowling has furnished us, besides what the Brits call ‘a good read,’ and a whopping good one, ... is a modern interpretation of the gospel, the wonderful news that ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself’ and making sure that t he goodness of creation would never be obliterated by the forces of darkness and evil.”

Since their first publication, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels have brought joy to children and adults alike. Many conservative Christians in the United States, however, have decried the books as wicked, as preaching witchcraft and the occult, and as glamorizing dishonesty. A minister in New Mexico held a “holy bonfire” on the Sunday after Christmas 2001, at which he publicly torched the Potter books, declaring them “an abomination to God and to me.”

John Killinger, a Congregationalist minister and an academic in the field of contemporary literature, beautifully demolishes the objections of right-wing Christians to this bestselling children’s series. He compellingly argues that, far from corrupting children’s morals, the Potter stories actually influence young readers to follow the teachings of Jesus. He cites passage after passage to illustrate how the world of Harry Potter would be inconceivable apart from the strictures of Judeo-Christian theology and the way human existence should be approached by every follower of Jesus. Additionally, he reflects on the possibility that Harry Potter, like Dostoevsky’s Prince Myshkin and others, is a witting or unwitting Christ figure who actually battles the forces of darkness for the souls of the faithful.

All through this extraordinarily well-written, compelling, and very entertaining little book, the author points out that stories like this are worth more than any sermon toward producing people who truly follow the lessons of Jesus.

Genres: Nonfiction, Harry Potter, Christianity, Religion, Theology

208 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2002

About the author

The Rev. Dr. John Killinger lives with his wife, Anne, in Warrenton, Virginia. A former pastor in Baptist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches, he also taught for fifteen years at Vanderbilt Divinity School and was Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Samford University in Birmingham. He is the author of over 50 books, among them God, The Devil, and Harry Potter. Because Dr. Killinger's interests are broad, his writings have touched on many subjects: Christian history, personal spirituality, world religions, preaching, worship, church politics, a female Christ figure, the Gospels as devotional literature, secular writers and artists, the nature of pastoral ministry, and the relationship between theology and contemporary culture. His prayers and utterances often find their way into Sunday church bulletins and other ministers' sermons. You will find inspiration and spiritual sustenance within.

Reviews

[Nathan Albright · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a book that could have been so much better, and ultimately fails to live up to the claims of its title, at least most of them. Written ostensibly as a defense of Harry Potter as a legitimate form of novel reading for Christians, the book is more a continual assault on conservative Christians, a term that the author seems to use pejoratively. Instead of being written in order to ameliorate the concerns of those who are less than enamored with Harry Potter, the book is more an appeal to the reader to make fun of conservatives with specious arguments and to deal with thoughtful and legitimate concerns and disapproval with scorn and contempt. The author also demonstrates a worrisome tendency to view non-biblical concepts like the descensus ad inferos, or descent into hell (87) more seriously than biblical doctrines on the resurrection, and spurious medieval traditions and gnostic gospels rather than the Gospel of John, about which the author has little good to say about its historicity (21). It is the sort of book that shows little in the way of charity, and ends up hurting the cause it advocates in the audience it ought to be aiming at, by preaching to the choir and using bad logic and a very disrespectful view of the Bible that marks the author as a very poor Christian.

In terms of the book’s contents, it is divided into six chapters that take up about 190 pages of material that include the parallel of mysterious births and miraculous childhoods between Harry Potter and Jesus Christ, and also a lot of pagan myths. The author talks about the struggle of good and evil and paints a dualistic picture where Harry and Dumbledore are good and Voldemort is pure evil when it’s not nearly so simple. The third chapter talks about the game of life, then the author moves on to talking about the magical, mystical world, where he espouses a belief in the paranormal [1], before talking about ghosts and goblins and life after death, which gets even more creepy, before ending with a more conventional discussion of the cardinal virtues of faith, hope, and love, too late to redeem the author’s orthodoxy. It is difficult to determine who exactly the author is writing to, as those who are not already convinced of or in agreement with the author’s views are likely to be turned off by the author’s strident tone and love of the ridiculous.

There are a few reasons why this book is especially problematic. Aside from the author’s preference for nonbiblical material than for biblical material, the book was written before the last two novels were complete, leaving its defense incomplete and highly obsolete. The book’s defense of Harry Potter is so embarrassing that it manages to bring into question the basis of much of Christian culture by the book’s continual focus on heathen myth and the legitimacy of magical approaches, make readers like myself a bit uncomfortable for having written so much about Harry Potter ourselves [2]. What is needed is a book that presents the Harry Potter series in its complete form as a point of discussion about good and evil, and about the failings of the world’s conceptions of heroes, and about our own longings and cultural backgrounds, without feeling the need to paint the series as without any sort of fault whatsoever, or paint it as totally without value. This book is an account written by a fanboy indignant that anyone could question or criticize Harry Potter, and such defensiveness does not make for an effective defense.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[2] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[Tilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should have been good and wasn't.

Author John Killinger, himself a clergyman with degrees from Vanderbilt and the University of Chicago, sets out with a noble goal: to defend the Harry Potter series from those Christian ministers whose Medieval theology necessitates that they condemn it as a source of magic, devil worship, and, one must assume, eternal damnation. This should have been easy. After all, Harry and his friends embody love, courage, loyalty, and the eternal striving of good against evil. If those aren't Christian virtues, what are? Instead, Killinger goes in for a detailed and often misguided examination of the themes and imagery of the Harry Potter series, including Harry's unusual babyhood, his celebration as a hero, and the scar that marks him as Voldemort's nemesis. And this is where everything goes awry. Surprisingly for a man so theologically educated, Killinger assumes that these themes and images are unique to Christianity, and that thus the series is at its heart a Christian allegory.

One example occurs under the sub-heading "A Readiness to Sacrifice Self," where Killinger states, "Self-sacrifice may have occurred in people before the Christian era, but never with the recommendation and frequency it enjoyed after the example of Christ." The Crucifixion is without a doubt an example of self-sacrifice, and a spiritually meaningful one for millions of people the world over. However, it is hardly unique to Christian culture. From ancient Greek heroes dying for the polis to Kamikaze pilots during World War II, non-Christian examples of one dying for many abound.

Killinger states flatly that Harry is "a Christ figure," but his evidence is wobbly to say the least. He claims that the Boy Who Lived carries "Voldemort's scar on his forehead the way Christ bore the marks of the nails in his hands." But heads are not hands, and not all scars are the Stigmata. Furthermore, whereas the Stigmata are signs of the suffering of Jesus, Harry's scar is a visible reminder of his escape from death, not his suffering and demise.

Similarly, the author describes a scene at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Dumbledore lifts his goblet to Harry and drinks to him, joined by many of the students at Hogwarts. Killinger sees an overt Christian statement in this scene: "Given the eschatological tone of all that has happened, can this be reminiscent of the way Christians lift their cups to Christ in the sacrament of the Lord's Table?" Perhaps. But then again, maybe not. Vikings drank to each other to celebrate victories (and for any other reason they could think of), and they certainly weren't Christian. Neither are any number of peoples ancient and modern who lift a jolly glass in honor of a comrade. In this and many other instances, the uniqueness necessary to sustain the allegory Killinger posits simply isn't there.

As I said, this should have been a good book. Without question, the Harry Potter series abounds with mystical moments and mythological references. But despite occasional valid insights, this particular exploration fails to do the series justice in this regard.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It is rather wordy (Killinger includes an exhaustive list of Biblical miracles; personally, just a handful would've sufficed), but there are plenty of interesting and undeniable points to be gleaned from it. Highly recommend to other readers.

[Lauren Sweeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

not religious but this was great

[Jill Bowman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It strikes me that if you believe in something, anything, you can make a story fit it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Taylor Flowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kinda just grimaced my way through this book..
It was a valiant effort, I'm sure.

[Reeny · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book (which I picked up for 50 cents at a grocery store nine years ago), is written by a Christian minister who has doctoral degrees in both theology and literature. He defends the Harry Potter series (SS through GoF) from the allegations that certain Christian extremists have made about Harry Potter being evil and un-Christian. He does a good job, pointing out the themes of love, hope, friendship, family, choice, etc that JKR makes throughout her books. He also talks about the possibility of Harry as a Christ figure (which of course he is later fleshed out to be).

I did not like the formatting of this book. He basically took and idea or example, spent pages and pages summarizing what happened in the books, and then related it to religion in a few paragraphs. I guess it is necessary for those who are not familiar with Harry Potter, but it was quite annoying for someone who has read the books. Also, his summaries and examples from Harry Potter contains numerous small inaccuracies. It wasn't a big deal, but it bothered me. These are things an editor should have noticed.

It was interesting to read Killinger's take on things having insight into what happens in the subsequent Harry Potter novels when he didn't. His theories on some names were also interesting.

However, I disagreed with him on a few things. He claims things in Harry Potter are split into good and evil. That is totally against what JKR tries to convey in her writing. True, Killinger hadn't read the entire series, including the quote "We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are" but he should have been able to figure it out anyway.

Additionally, I did not like the attitude he had toward certain children. He claims that the Riddle diary chose Ginny because she had some dark inside of her. While that may make for a good Ginny/Tom fanfic premise, the truth is Ginny was an innocent child and the diary came in her hands because Lucius put it there. Additionally, he groups Dudley and Draco in the "evil" group along with Barty Crouch, Jr. and Voldemort. WTF? THEY ARE CHILDREN. Dudley and Draco may both be smug bullies (less bullies than James and Sirius were)and Draco may be a racist, but they are still children and have not made the choices of who they are and where they stand. And, as it turns out, JKR used these two characters (Draco is like Harry's Dudley in the Wizarding World) to show that a new generation can make better choices than their predecessors and let go of the prejudice they were raised in. Dudley was always taught that Harry was inferior by his parents who abused and neglected Harry, but in the end, Dudley is worried about Harry's safety and thanks him. You know that Dudley may not be a hopeless case after all. And Draco may hold the views on purebloodedness that his parents raised him by, but he does not kill for it and in fact actively stops the Dark Side from killing Harry and his friends multiple times. Nineteen years later, he may not like Harry, but they have a mutual respect.

One last criticism I have of this book is that when it talks about religions other than Christianity, he only mentions Judaism and Buddhism to hold the same values, but other major religions of the world, including Islam (you know, that other Abrahamic religion) and Hinduism hold these same values.

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Killinger is a Baptist Minister, professor and fiction writer. What comes through most clearly in this text is his love for the Harry Potter novels. It is good to see a church leader passionately defend Rowling’s work. Being a pastor myself I have been discouraged when a parishioner said to me, “You should not talk about Harry Potter so much because you know the Bible condemns those things.” This book was written to be a response to such criticism of the Rowling’ books.
So Killinger does a good job of looking at themes in classic literature, including Christian legends, which Rowling incorporates into the Harry Potter books. He uses the genre of magical tales to examine miracle stories in the Bible in what I felt like was the strongest portion of the book. I wish he would have also included an exegetical examination of the portions of scripture which talk about wizards and witches. However that did not seem to be the focus of his book.
About a third of this book is quotes from Rowling’s work or other sources. So fans of Harry Potter will not learn a lot from this about the novels. Also he wrote this book before the Harry Potter series was finished. I did appreciate him mentioning portions of the book not in the films. This is a work from a fan who reads the Harry Potter novels. It is hard for me to imagine someone who thinks Rowling’s work is demonic would ever read Killinger’s book. Reading this text did teach me to read both Harry Potter and the Bible in a new way.

[Deborah-Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my theological debate on Harry Potter I decided to seek out arguments both for and against. This book represents the "Pro-H.P" side. First off, I really appreciated Killinger's research. Although he definitely does go a bit far at times making all sorts of spiritual connections which more than likely really don't exist, my respect for Rowling has only increased with seeing some obvious connections between her writings and classical literature (Greek, Roman, etc). Killinger's work is definitely very liberal and in my opinion sometimes borders a bit too far to the left. I appreciate that he is providing a different viewpoint, but think he waters down the Gospel in the process. Also because J.K. Rowling is not a Christian I highly doubt she would have intentionally have made these types of Gospel connections, though I was surprised to hear that she perhaps has a more spiritual outlook than we give her credit for (looking at some of her responses to interviews, even mentioning the character of Jesus in one).

[J. Alfred · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written shortly after the fourth book came out, this defense of the Harry Potter books somehow fails to deal with what I feel is the central problem of the paradox of the Chrisitan wizard (that is, that the bible explicitly condemns those that practice witchcraft to death--Ex 22:8 and indeed hell--Gal. 5:20-1). It also employs an irritating tone, poor arguments (many of which could apply equally as well to, for instance, Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy), and, in my opinion, downright bad theology. The book, that is, is less than helpful.

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at the dollor store, so it was good for what i paid for it. It was interesting but it did not keep my attention. I had to put it down and read something else for a while. The writer is just making lose comparisons between Christ and Harry Potter. Some of them are interesting, like Harry was in a coma for 3 days after an injury and of course Christ was reserected after 3 days. Anyway, worth the buck!!!

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gotta read this one for my Research & Humanities class...in case I ever work in an environment where there's a challenge on Harry freakin' Potter. Basically, the book points out that Harry Potter is so heavily based in Christian mythology & lore that folks who challenge it on that basis are pretty much outargued point by point.

[Lizzie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Killinger is an enormous Harry Potter fan and dislikes the popular argument amongst some Christians the Harry Potter is evil. He takes great pains to try to prove that Harry Potter books teach morals, values, and contain Christian imagery. He does a good job overall, though some of his points seem a little stretched. Overall it was interesting.

[Themountainbookie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is quite dull, I found it hard to finish. There seemed to be a lot of correlation in his arguments. I thought there were some giant leaps to tie Harry Potter to Jesus. The premise of the book is interesting however I just couldn't agree and sometimes understand his arguments.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

loved the analogies in this book...some of them I caught, but others I hadn't noticed until reading this book.

[Adam Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a defense of the Potter novels from a mainline liberal, and thus has its problems. It also wasn't terrible, but should be read with a couple of grains of salt.

[Jane Rutherford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of my Harry Potter obsession! Draws parallels between HP and Christ's life. A lovely book that is respectful of Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity, while letting us enjoy HP.

[Gail Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an interesting read.