Abingdon Youth
Christian Themes in Deathly Hallows

By Josh Tinley

By now, many of your youth have had a chance to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final installment in J.K. Rowling’s beloved saga of the boy wizard who must save the magical world from the evil Lord Voldemort. While Deathly Hallows, like all of the Potter novels is not overtly religious, many Christian themes are at work in its pages. Consider exploring these themes with your youth using this discussion guide.

Note: While we have made an effort to keep this article spoiler-free, some of the discussion questions may reveal clues about what happens in the final Harry Potter novel. If you have not read Deathly Hallows, proceed with caution.

Begin your time by allowing the youth to voice their thoughts about Deathly Hallows and the Harry Potter saga in general. Which characters do they relate to the most? Which storylines and subplots do they find most compelling? For the benefit of youth who are still reading or have not read the book, encourage your students not to give away too many details about the plot.

Then ask the youth if they noticed the two Bible verses featured prominently in Deathly Hallows. Have volunteers to look up and read aloud Matthew 6:21 and 1 Corinthians 15:26 and ask the students whether they remember where these verses appear in the book. (Both appear on graves in the cemetery in Godric’s Hollow. Matthew 6:21 is etched on the tombstone belonging to Kendra and Ariana Dumbledore. James and Lily Potter’s tomb features 1 Corinthians 15:26.)

Spend the rest of your time discussing how some or all of the following biblical themes play a role in Deathly Hallows:


Justice
For Christians, justice involves being true to the vision of God’s kingdom that we find in Scripture. Since we live in a world that has been broken by sin, we can never achieve justice in the fullest sense. Nonetheless, God calls us to strive for justice and to work to build God’s kingdom on earth. To get a better sense of what justice entails, ask volunteers to look up and read aloud Isaiah 11:6-9; Luke 3:1-14; 4:16-20. Then ask:

  • How do you see injustice at play in Deathly Hallows? (Possible answers include the treatment of Muggle-born wizards and witches, the treatment of nonhuman magical creatures, and the corruption at the Ministry of Magic.)

  • How do the heroes in the story work to bring about justice in the magical world?

  • How successful are the heroes in bringing about a just society for Muggles, wizards and witches, and other magical creatures?

Sacrifice
Christians believe that there is more to life than a heartbeat. Jesus teaches, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:24). Sacrifice is essential to who we are as Christians. We identify ourselves with the cross, which is the ultimate symbol of sacrifice. Have volunteers look up and read aloud John 15:13 and Luke 14:27 to hear more of what Jesus has to say about sacrifice.

Sacrifice is also an important recurring theme in the Harry Potter novels, most famously in Lily Potter’s sacrifice to save her son from Voldemort. Ask:

  • What examples of sacrifice do you see in Deathly Hallows?

  • Which characters, do you think, make the greatest sacrifices? Why?

  • What role does sacrifice play in Harry’s final confrontation with Voldemort?

Grace and Mercy
Christians worship a God who is merciful and gracious, who is patient with us when we sin and go astray and who works to redeem us. God calls us to reflect this grace and mercy in our relationships with others. Ask a youth to read aloud Psalm 85:16 for a description of God’s grace and mercy.

In the Harry Potter series, we see grace and mercy most clearly in the person of Albus Dumbledore. But other characters exhibit these qualities as well. Ask:

  • How does Harry show grace and mercy to his enemies in Deathly Hallows?

  • How do other characters show grace and mercy? (Challenge the youth to think of ways that characters who are generally considered enemies show grace and mercy to the heroes of the story.

Redemption
Paul reminds us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Fortunately, Paul adds, we are “justified” by God’s grace “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (3:24). God constantly works to restore us and to bring us “back into the fold” (John 10:16-17). For more on redemption through Christ, have youth look up and read aloud Acts 9:1-19 and Ephesians 1:7.

One of the biggest questions leading up to the release of Deathly Hallows was whether certain enemy characters would be redeemed. Ask:

  • Which characters experience redemption or turn from evil in Deathly Hallows? What brings about this redemption?

Love
The Bible describes love as the greatest virtue, the culmination of God’s law. Paul famously and beautifully describes love in 1 Corinthians 13, saying that love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (verse 7). Jesus tells us that the two greatest commandments are to love God fully and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40); he also teaches us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). 1 John 4 tells us that “God is love” (verse 16).

We see love throughout Scripture. We also see love throughout the Harry Potter novels, and we learn from Albus Dumbledore that love is greater than any magical power. Ask:

  • How do the hero characters show their love for one another in Deathly Hallows? How is this love tested?

  • How is the Bible’s description of love similar to the description of love in Harry Potter?

  • What role does love play in Harry’s final confrontation with Voldemort? in the Harry Potter saga as a whole?


Josh Tinley is the associate editor for Abingdon Youth and the managing editor of iLeadYouth.com. He recently led workshops on Christian themes in Harry Potter for over one thousand United Methodist youth at Youth 2007 in Greensboro, NC.