The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker
by Connie Neal
List Price:
Our Price: $3.64
You Save: $13.31 (79%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Connie NealEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-09-01
ISBN: 0664226019
Number of pages: 188
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Book Reviews of The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker
Book Review: The Deathly Hallows makes it very clear!
Summary: 5 Stars
Connie Neal's book was written before the last book of the Harry Potter series. She can easily and confidently update it now that the series is finished and the truth is even more obvious. I was skeptical about a Gospel connection since I had given credence to the bad press on J.K. Rowling's use of witchcraft before I actually read the series. (I am very ashamed of that now.) I did not comprehend her clever symbolism until I read the last three chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows a second time; that's when it hit me squarely between the eyes that Rowling did plow a road into the pagan world that any thinking Christian should be able to use.
Connie Neal caught on quickly to what should have been obvious to the careful reader. The compelling world of Harry Potter did not make paganism and Satanism attractive at all, but she used some of their terminology without any real promotion of real Wiccan style of witchcraft. Rowling's witchcraft was her magic quill and amazing compelling storytelling craft. The parallels to paganism are themselves symbolic of fallen world and so Hogwarts School and the Muggles are various levels of philosophy and logical reasoning. I am afraid that most of us are in the lowest "Muggle" level. (I was more than most)
I am now praising God for J.K. Rowling's genius and am so impressed with how she probably outdid C.S. Lewis and Tolkein both. That is hard for me to say because I have been such a fan of these great Christian thinkers and authors ever since I discovered them as a child. I did not fully understand what their stories were really about until later. I wish somebody would have told me the Gospel when I was a child, it would have been easy for them to use The Lord of the Rings as a vehicle to explain the sacrifice of Christ for the people that He created since I knew there must be something deep and profound about The Lord of the Rings, I just couldn't make the connection for myself until later. I discovered Narnia later and Lewis's "magic" was even clearer to my mind than Tolkein's. (I understood because I had become a believer by that time.)
Not only did J. K. Rowling give us an important tool to reveal the Gospel truth, she taught me to not give up on those who need the Gospel most, those who are looking desperately for some sort of "magic" to help them have power over the madness and ugliness that is stealing hope from the dying world. Evil has been vanquished by the ultimate "Deathly Hallows" of the cross of Christ, now we must get the truth to those who haven't understood 1 Corinthians 15:26 quoted by Rowling that "the last enemy to be destroyed is death." Harry faced the question skeptically at first in symbolism, but his eventual personal discovery has given the neediest in the world the heads up that maybe death and suffering are considered an "enemy" by God. Jesus Christ did in reality what couldn't even be conceived or believed by an uncomprehending, lost world! I also love the way that Harry discovered his treasure and his love was so much with his friends that he was willing to give his life to save them. (I risk giving away too much for those who haven't yet read the Harry Potter series.) Don't be afraid of what you don't know yet.
I plan on helping people who do not know that evil, death and despair have been destroyed in reality. The law of God and the mercy of a loving Savior are still yet to be discovered, but they are well acquainted with Harry Potter's world. It is no great leap now that the light has shone even deeper into the abysmal darkness of the pagan world thanks to J. K. Rowling and people like Connie Neal who have the vision to see and clarify the lost world's obstructed view.
Summary of The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker
In a book that is sure to delight Harry Potter fans and spiritual seekers alike, author and Potter enthusiast Connie Neal dives into the Harry Potter series looking for the Christian Gospel. Does she find it? Yes! In this, her exploration of J.K. Rowling's created world of magic and mystery, Neal enumerates more than fifty "Potteran" themes that can be seen as glimmers of the Gospel.With an arsenal of charming allusions and parallels, Neal persuasively demonstrates that Harry Potter need not be rejected as a threat to the Christian faith, as some have claimed. Rather, she finds, the lessons in Harry Potter not only echo many of the stories in the Bible but also reinforce the central messages of Christianity. Written accessibly in short three- to four-page chapters, Neal's The Gospel According to Harry Potter is both a much-needed stroke of interpretive genius and a fascinating reflection on our time's most popular literary series. This is a must-read for everyone intrigued by the Harry Potter phenomenon!
British Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Harry Potter Companions - books all about Harry's World
Wizards, Wardrobes and Wookiees: Navigating Good and Evil in Harry Potter, Narnia and Star Warsby Connie Neal
IVP Books; Published: 2007-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.60
Price in other shops:
The Pottersaurus: 1,500 Words Harry Potter Readers Need to Knowby Eric D. Randall
Pinewood Press; Published: 2007-04-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.95
Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potterby Alison Hansel
Wiley; Published: 2007-05-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.78
Price in other shops:
God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novelsby John Killinger
Thomas Dunne Books; Published: 2002-12-23; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.24
Price in other shops:
Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran HogwartsOpen Court; Published: 2004-09-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.24
Price in other shops:
Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Building Cards)by Doug Stillinger
Klutz; Published: 2007-05-07; Spiral-bound; Book
Best price: $6.93
Price in other shops:
The Book of Harry Potter Trifles, Trivias, and Particularitiesby Racheline Maltese
Sterling & Ross Publishers; Published: 2007-11-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.84
Price in other shops:
What Will Harry Do? The Unofficial Guide to Payoffs and Possibilities in Book 7by Janet Scott Batchler
Lulu.com; Published: 2006-11-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.13
Price in other shops:
Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.k. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenonby George W. Beahm
Hampton Roads Pub Co; Published: 2007-04-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.49
Price in other shops:
An Unofficial Muggle's Guide to the Wizarding World: Exploring the Harry Potter Universeby Fionna Boyle
Ecw Press; Published: 2004-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $50.00
Similar Books and other products
Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick (And the Bible Series)by Richard Abanes
Horizon Books Publishers; Published: 2001-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dustby Mark I. Pinsky
Westminster John Knox Press; Published: 2004-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.88
Price in other shops:
Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Readerby John Granger
Zossima Press; Published: 2007-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.55
Price in other shops:
The Gospel According to Dr. Seussby James W. Kemp
Judson Press; Published: 2004-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novelsby John Killinger
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2004-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.75
Price in other shops:
The Gospel According to the Simpsons, Bigger and Possibly Even Better! Edition: With a New Afterword Exploring South Park, Family Guy, and Other Animated TV Showsby Mark I. Pinsky
Westminster John Knox Press; Published: 2007-05-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.93
Price in other shops:
The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us About Moral Choicesby Edmund M. Kern
Prometheus Books; Published: 2003-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.34
Price in other shops:
What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?by Connie Neal
WaterBrook Press; Published: 2001-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.00
Price in other shops:
The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Leader's Guide for Group Studyby Connie W. Neal, Samuel F. Parvin
Westminster John Knox Press; Published: 2003-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.30
Price in other shops:
Looking for God in Harry Potterby John Granger
SaltRiver; Published: 2006-02-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: