Personal Choice

Ashley Frost
Personal Choice--Harry Potter and Jesus?
      When reading the Harry Potter series it is hard for me not to see the connections between Potter and Jesus.  One example of this is that there were prophecies of Harry’s birth and life before he was born. “The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…” (Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, 841). Throughout the series we see that Harry carries out this prophecy, without knowing about it, to every single word. In the end he defeats Lord Voldemort just as Jesus defeated Satan.
     In the Bible there are many prophecies about Jesus, the coming savior. Isaiah 53 is one of these prophecies, and Jesus also carried these out just as Harry did. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered His fate? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was struck because of my people’s rebellion. They made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man at His death, although He had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully” (Holman Christian Standard Bible, Isaiah 53:7-9). 

     Another way Harry is reminiscent of Christ is that miracles and strange signs happened at his birth, such as hundreds of owls flocking together and making appearances during the day, and continuous shooting stars. These are similar to the birth of Jesus with the appearance of angles and the star over Bethlehem.
     Like Jesus, Harry has physical markings of his defeat over the enemy. After Jesus’ resurrection he had markings on his hands and feet from where he was nailed to the cross. He defeated the cross though, defeated death, and walked away with scars. Harry also encountered death, and it happened for the first time when he was a baby. When Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry he was defeated, but Harry walked away with scars as well.