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The Gospel According to Harry Potter:

Spiritual Themes in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker
Front Cover
22 Reviews
Westminster John Knox Press, 2002 - Religion - 166 pages
In a book that is sure to delight Harry Potter fans and spiritual seekers alike, Connie Neal embarks on an exploration into J.K. Rowling's created world of magic and mystery and enumerates more than fity "Potteran" themes that can be seen as glimmers of the Christian 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. 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.
  

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Review: Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker

User Review  - Kathryn Reagan - Goodreads

Loved it. Didn't hold my attention as well as I had hoped, but all in all, a beautifully written book! Read full review

Review: Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker

User Review  - Lisa - Goodreads

I was hoping for more of a longer, in-depth narrative, but this book is arranged in short chapters, each headed by a quotation from the book. It makes for a fast read, at least. Read full review

All 17 reviews »

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Selected pages

Contents

The Curse of Death and the Boy Who Lived
6
A Lightning Bolt Scar
8
Scars Can Come in Handy
10
The Unstoppable Invitation
12
A Door to an Unseen World
15
First Stop Gringotts
17
Getting onto Platform Nine and ThreeQuarters
19
The Sorting
22
Fred and George and Original Sin
65
The Department of Mysteries
68
The Rat Who Betrayed Harrys Parents
71
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
73
Introduction to Book Four
75
A Murderer from the Beginning
77
Harrys Dreams Warn of Danger
79
The Muggle Protection Act
82

Dumbledores Dire Warning
25
Hagrids Temptation
27
Dangerous Designs of the DragonEgg Dealer
30
The Quest for the Sorcerers Stone
33
Harry Ron and Hermiones Soft Landing
36
This Isnt Magic Its Logic
39
Professor Quirrells Defense Against the Dark Arts Lessons
41
Hagrids Remorse
43
Harrys Battle with the Dark Lord
46
Why the Evil One Could Not Touch Harry
48
A LastMinute Change of Decorations
49
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
51
Introduction to Book Three
53
In the Company of Albus Dumbledore
54
Let the Feast Begin
58
Grim Omens of Death Prove Misleading
61
MadEye Moodys Ironic Warnings
84
The Only Known Survivor of the Killing Curse
88
Harrys Heroism in the Triwizard Tournament
91
News from the World Beyond
93
The Death Eaters and the Dark Mark
96
The Wrath of Albus Dumbledore
102
The Truth Will Be Told
105
The Kiss That Cost His Soul
107
The Parting of the Ways
110
We Are Only as Strong as We Are United
113
What Will Come Will Come
115
Dumbledore Welcomes All Who Wish to Come
119
Afterword
123
Notes
127
Acknowledgments
128
Copyright

Common terms and phrases

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References to this book

From other books

The wisdom of Harry Potter: what our favorite hero teaches us about moral ...
The wisdom of Harry Potter: what our favorite hero teaches us about moral ...
Edmund M. Kern
Snippet view - 2003

From Google Scholar

Dr. Donesky Eng 121 8 March 2005 The Value of Harry Potter
Rachel Savage
Harry Potter And The Secular City: The Dialectical Religious ...
Ken Jacobsen
Harry Potter and the Quest for Values: How the boy wizard can ...
Anthony Lennard - 2007
Harry Potter and “Magical Capitalism” in Urban China
John Nguyet Erni
All Scholar search results »

References from web pages

Connie Neal Interview: The Gospel According to Harry Potter
For 30 years this bimonthly magazine has been deflating religious pomposity wherever it has been found. Called by some the Mad Magazine of religion, ...
archives.wittenburgdoor.com/ archives/ connie_neal.html

The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture
The Gospel According to Harry Potter. Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker. - Anita Helmbold. printable version ...
www.usask.ca/ relst/ jrpc/ br3-gospelaccharry.html

The Gospel According To Harry Potter - by Connie Neal
From Connie Why did I write this book? It began as a counterpoint to one idea being put forward by anti-Potter critics. It's the idea that just because they ...
www.connieneal.com/ The-Gospel-According-To-Harry-Potter/ From-Connie-Neal.htm

Harry Potter Villain Severus Snape Renounced Voldemort and the ...
Reprinted from The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker with permission of Westminster John Knox ...
www.beliefnet.com/ frameset.asp?pageLoc=/ story/ 128/ story_12846_1.html& storyID=12846& boardID=60387

Harry Potter's Christian fans come to his defense
Harry Potter's Christian fans come to his defense. By Peter T. Chattaway. • John Killinger: God, the Devil & Harry Potter, St. Martin's, 2002. ...
www.canadianchristianity.com/ cgi-bin/ na.cgi?nationalupdates/ 030619harrypotter

'Gospel' Truth | The Gospel According to Harry Potter | Flashes ...
... Talk about last night's episodes · Share your opinions · Challenge other TV fans to a debate · EW.com, from Entertainment Weekly EW.com ...
www.ew.com/ ew/ article/ 0,,365775,00.html

Jerry B. Jenkins on Harry Potter
Larry King, host of Larry King Live, asked Jerry B. Jenkins his opinion of the Harry Potter books in an interview aired June 19, 2000: ...
www.libertytothecaptives.net/ jenkins_on_potter.html

jk Rowling's Harry Potter - a Christian Parent's Nightmare?
'The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the stories of the world's most famous seeker'. by Connie Neal. Order from the USA ...
www.facingthechallenge.org/ potter2.php

Harry Potter and the Christian Cauldron
religion. Harry Potter and the Christian Cauldron. An interview with Potter apologist Connie Neal. By Jonathan Whitehead 06/25/03 ...
www.rutherford.org/ oldspeak/ articles/ religion/ oldspeak-harry_potter2.asp

Boeken » Boeken over hp » The gospel according to harry potter ...
De Uilenvleugel is een Nederlandstalige website over Harry Potter. Laat je sorteren door de sorteerhoed, volg lessen, praat mee op het forum, ...
www.deuilenvleugel.nl/ boeken/ boeken-over-hp/ the-gospel-according-to-harry-potter.shtml

About the author (2002)

Connie Neal is sought by secular and Christian media as an expert on the intersection of parenting and pop culture. A parent of two teenagers, she also has a decade of experience as a church youth worker and BA in communication from Pepperdine University. Connie has authored dozens of books including: What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter? featured in Newsweek and The Gospel According to Harry Potter featured in Time, Christianity Today, and Entertainment Weekly. She has also created videos and curriculum for parents and teens. She toured as a guest speaker with Women of Faith.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The Gospel According to Harry Potter
TitleThe Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spiritual Themes in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker
Gospel According to Series
AuthorConnie W. Neal
PublisherWestminster John Knox Press, 2002
ISBN0664226019, 9780664226015
Length166 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Literary Criticism / Children's Literature
Religion / Christianity / Literature & the Arts
Religion / Spirituality
  
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