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'Remember, if the time should come when you have
to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what
happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed
across the path of Lord Voldemort.' (p. 628)
Opening Questions
Choose one of the following questions
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Do you like happy endings? Why?
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Do you see the glass half
empty or half full?
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Does every cloud have a silver lining?
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Draw a picture of good versus evil
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Summary
Mad-Eye Moody's Defence Against the Dark Arts class is designed to prepare the children for dealing with evil wizards who are likely to use magic immorally for their own selfish gain. The Headmaster, Dumbledore, has given permission for the darkest curses of all to be demonstrated in class so that the pupils won't ever be taken by surprise. Moody is keen to ensure that Harry in particular is able to cope.
Harry has the chance to put his new skills to the test when once again he confronts Lord Voldemort. Voldemort's willingness to commit murder, starting with Harry's own parents when he was a baby, leaves the Dark Lord's evil nature in no doubt. His ravenous hunger for power knows no boundaries and he is unperturbed when he kills Harry's Tournament rival, Cedric, whose presence threatens to scupper his plan.
Harry is invulnerable to Voldemort because of the love that Harry's mother demonstrated in dying to save her son, so Voldemort takes some of Harry's blood to give him protection too. In the final wand-to-wand battle, Voldemort is defeated by Harry, who is determined not to give up even though he thinks he might die. Harry escapes, mindful that a future encounter with Voldemort is inevitable.
Key Issue: Good versus evil
There is no doubt that good clearly defeats evil in the Harry Potter universe. However, the death of Cedric brings a sober note to this children's story. The victory was not without its cost. How far does this relate to the real world we live in? Do we see life in terms of a good/evil battle? What does it mean that Jesus has defeated the enemy? Do we have real casualties too? What does the Bible say about discernment over these issues? How do we know what is really going on?
Bible Study
Choose one question in each section
1. Knowing good and evil
'The only one against whom I intend to work,' said Dumbledore, 'is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side.' (p. 615)
Leaders: Throughout the Harry Potter
books there is a clear distinction between good and evil. Although
some characters who appear to be good turn out to be evil, they
are not ultimately ambivalent. The Bible is similarly clear that
the universe is moral with a real distinction between good and evil
despite current claims that 'good' only has to be good for me.
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Read Genesis 3:1-13. How did Adam and Eve end up knowing good and evil in a way they didn't anticipate? How have we experienced a similar situation in our own lives?
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Read Ephesians 5:8-14. How can we discern good and evil? How might we work through the tension of having nothing to do with deeds of darkness but at the same time exposing them?
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2. Wisdom - living the good
'... Mr Potter was first to reach the hostages ... the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own ... Most of the judges ... feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks.' (p. 440)
Leaders: Wisdom in the Bible - especially
in the Old Testament wisdom literature such as Proverbs - is not
to do with intellectual knowledge but understanding how to live
in the right way. In Proverbs wisdom is personified as a woman who
invites people to learn from her. Folly, by contrast is living in
rejection of wisdom and of God.
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Read Proverbs 9. How do the various images and metaphors in this passage work to illustrate and contrast wisdom and folly? What benefit or detriment comes through embracing wisdom or folly?
Leaders: You may like members to share with
the group times when they have experienced the gains or losses of
embracing wisdom or folly in their own lives.
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Read Ephesians 5:1-21. Of all the instructions Paul gives us in the passage, which do you think is the most fundamental? Why? How should we respond to evil that we see in the world around us and in our own lives?
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3. Saved through sacrifice
Voldemort said ... 'You all know that on the night I lost my powers and my body, I tried to kill him. His mother died in the attempt to save him ... His mother left upon him the traces of her sacrifice ... this is old magic, I should have remembered it.' (p. 566)
Leaders: When Harry Potter was a baby, Lord
Voldemort tried to kill his family. However, Lord Voldemort's attempt
to curse Harry rebounds back onto him because Harry's mother had
offered to die for him. Voldemort kills her anyway but her sacrifice
protects Harry.
Both of the alternative questions here give
group members an opportunity to reflect again on what Jesus' death
achieved for us and to try to express this since often Christians
only have a hazy understanding of how his sacrifice accomplishes
our salvation.
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Read Isaiah 53. Why did Jesus have to die? What does it mean to you?
Leaders: see also Romans 5:6-8 and 1 Peter
3:18
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Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. How does the 'great exchange' of verse 21 work? How should this affect the lives we live?
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4. The final triumph of good
Voldemort and Wormtail had been talking about someone they had killed, though Harry could not remember the name ... and they had been plotting to kill someone else ... him ... (p. 21)
Leaders: Readers of the Harry Potter
books hope that good will ultimately triumph but can have no reasonable
certainty about this - apart from the realisation that this is children's
fantasy literature. However, the Bible is clear that good has already
triumphed already in the cross, though the completion of the victory
is still in the future.
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Read Psalm 73. Why is it important that we have the same perspective as the Psalmist about the certainty that God will deal with everything that is opposed to him? What do we need to be clear about in our minds in order to be able to have this perspective?
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Read Colossians 2:9-15. Paul says that the cross is Christ's ultimate victory over sin and satanic powers. From that point on Satan's downfall was inevitable yet until Christ returns to wind up history the 'powers and authorities' are still active in our world. How does the certainty of Christ's ultimate triumph affect our thinking and our day to day living?
Leaders: A useful analogy for the current
situation in which Christ has won the ultimate victory but all the
consequences of that are still waiting to be worked out, is the
D-Day invasion of 1944. Once the Allied forces held the Normandy
beaches, Hitler's defeat was inevitable but there was still a long
period of pressing on towards Berlin until the Victory was completed.
(Remember, of course, that analogies are always imperfect and shouldn't
be pushed too far!)
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Implications
A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. (p. 187)
Choose one of the following questions
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If the battle has been won by Jesus, how does this affect your approach to conflict?
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'There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them' (C S Lewis, The Screwtape Letters [Fontana Books, 1971]). What is a balanced view of evil?
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How can the power of love be released in your life?
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Does the nature of the conflict between good and evil in the Harry Potter books outweigh the concerns about wizardry for you? How would you talk about this to a neighbour?
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Prayer
Spend some time praying through these issues.
Background Reading
Links to some background reading
Download
this set of Connect Bible Studies in Adobe Acrobat format
© Damaris Publishing, 2001 All rights reserved
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