This is going to be a continued Article. I will be posting continuous sections of this article for the next two weeks following this article.

Harry Potter is a very well known book series, which has also been made into movies. These books and movies, both, have done very well with the public. The author has been said to be a literary genius, fantastic author, and a creative fiction writer. J.K. Rowling has been an inspiration to many, for writing with creativity. Along with being an inspiration to those who are or were afraid to write something that may cause issues in the world of Christians. Rowling has done the unthinkable when it comes to writing. She has written books about wizards and witches, yet has tied in several Christian themes. This concept is the unthinkable to many Christians. People just do not mix the two ideas together. It is unheard of. It could be said to be the number one no of no’s in the Christian world. No one does that! But she did, and had inspired many to support her, and to do the same as she has. To do the unthinkable.

For a long time there has been controversies about whether or not Harry Potter was written, compared with, and in relations to the occult of Christianity. Many Christians feel that these books are of evil and should not be read at all. There are questions raised about what J.K. Rowling thinks of all this and if she wrote the books based off her own religious beliefs or not. Then in the article "J.K. Rowling: Christianity inspired Harry Potter", the writer, Jonathan Petre, says that J.K. Rowling indeed did write the books based off her own experiences with faith and Christianity. This statement could be said to prove that J.K. Rowling’s books (The Harry Potter series) are built on her religious views as well as Christianity in general.

Petre goes on to say that Rowling did not want to say whether or not she wrote the books based off Christianity. Wanting to save people from being prejudice or judging the books, she wanted to make sure people like the books for the story and not for the religious content. But she was also hoping that maybe people would come to see God or similarities in the book that would bring them to Christianity. She definitely got people to realize the parallels to the Bible in her last book of the Harry Potter series: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

One of the examples of the Christian parallels in Rowling's book, is how Harry visits his parent’s graves. In the article, Petre mentions Harry’s parents tombstones have memory verses, yet does not state what they are. Specifically, from reading the first book, The Sorcerer’s Stone, you can see that the Dursly family is like Satan trying to keep us from seeing our true destiny in life. As for Harry specifically, it was his aunt and uncle who were keeping him from knowing that he was the chosen boy to overcome the evil Voldemort. They kept him from knowing how his parents died. They kept him from knowing that he was supposed to go to a school that would help him become better at knowing how to use his powers. That would be like Christians going to Christian schools to learn how to become better Christians as well as learn more about Christ.

The next idea that is similar to Christianity is when Harry has to pick out a wand in the first book. In the article, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory" written by the editorial staff at Shmoop, it is mentioned that the process of choosing a wand is showing individual character of the wizard. So it is like showing the personal character of someone when they have to go through many different stages in life to find that right match that suits them the best. Or in this case, the right wand. Sometimes you have to try many wands that just are not for you to find out which one is the right one and eventually you will find that perfect one that just connects with your soul perfectly. Another way you could look at this wand selection is when a Christian tries to find the right church/religion/beliefs that fit what they need or want to believe. Sometimes you have to go to a church you would not ever think about going to, just so that you can see what you truly think about it. You have to know what your heart feels to know what you believe. When you find the right church, then the Holy Spirit will fill your soul.

Then there is the part in The Sorcerer’s Stone when Harry must choose what housing he wants to go into. The housing is where a group of students will stay, like a dormitory hall. It is figuring out what hall of the dormitory they will be staying in. Every hall has a separate name in the dorm. Except in this book the halls/housing they get put in is determined on their personality. For a normal hall/housing, people get to choose what housing/hall they get in. Or the hall/housing depends on what grade someone is in.

Most of the kids are told what house to go into by the sorting hat. But when Harry puts on this hat the hat tells him that he is able to go into one of two houses. One of those houses is the best house he could go into. The other is known as the “bad” people house. Harry had to decide whether he wanted to be with his friends who are good people, overcoming the temptation of evil or fall into temptation going into the house of rude people who would have changed Harry for the worst. This shows the choices people must make in life. The choices people make in life lead to who they become. Will they choose good or will they choose evil? Will they choose God? Or will they choose Satan? Everything is a choice. Hopefully people will follow God. And sometimes people must hit rock bottom first. Once people hit rock bottom they realize they need God and need to rely on him only.

This is the ending of part one, and I hope you stay tuned for part two next week! Thank you so much for reading, and if you want to reference any of the sources I used, you can find them below:

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Retrieved from http://www.shmoop.com/harry-potter-sorcerers-stone...

Petre, Johnathan. "J.K. Rowling: Christianity inspired Harry Potter". The Telegraph. UK. 2007. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/fictionre...