[EatingPie]

Here are the relevant aspects of Christian theology and Christ's sacrifice that I will reference; the aspects of Harry and Lily that allude to Christ.

- Christ makes a loving, substitionary sacrifice.
- Christ loving sacrifice imbues salvation (a protection from judgement and
protection from death).
- Christ's sacrifice is offered to all, regardless of what terrible things
they've done (repentance is a necessary part of this).
- Christ's blood is the symbolic vehicle of that salvation/protection.

These are standards of Christian theology, so I won't provide citations.

Before going into Harry being a Christ Figure, I want to cover Lily's sacrifice as well. Her sacrifice is probably the single-most referred to event in the Harry Potter series, and it's imperative to understanding Harry's role as a Christ Figure (Harry did what his mother did).

Here are my claims about Lily -- similar to those I make about Harry.

- Lily makes a loving, substitutionary sacrifice.
- Lily's loving sacrifice imbues protection Harry.
- The blood is the vehicle of this protection.


- Lily makes a loving, substitutionary sacrifice.

Lily sacrificed herself by choosing to "stand in front" of Voldemort to protect Harry. Lily's willingly put Harry's life before her own. To die for someone else -- even if you are sure you won't save the other person, it is still a sacrifice. Indeed, Dumbledore calls it a "sacrifice" (see last textual quotation of Dumbledore below).

We get a substitutionary sacrifice from the text here:

Originally Posted by Lily Potter

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead---"

This is the very definition of a substitutionary sacrifice -- "kill me instead."

And loving? Well, Lily never says that she loves Harry "on screen," but it's implied. Feel free to argue that Lily didn't love Harry if you so choose. Then there's that Dumbledore guy talking about her love too.

- Lily's loving sacrifice imbues protection Harry.

Originally Posted by Dubmeldore

"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign -- to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection for ever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Here we have Lily dieing to save Harry, and her love marking him. And, indeed, Harry survived an un-survivable curse! Something "miraculous" happened. And as Dumbledore explains, what kept Harry from death was the loving, substitionary sacrifice of his mother that protected him from death at Voldemort's hand (wand).

Note that it's her love, not her blood-relationship to him, but her love itself. And indeed, the "love a mother hath for her child" is oft-cited as the strongest love there is.

- The blood is the vehicle of this protection.

Originally Posted by Dumbledore

You would be protected by an ancient magic...I am speaking, of course, of the fact that your mother died to save you. She gave you a lingering protection...a protection that flows in your veins to this day.

Harry's blood carries the protection. This is why I say "Lily's sacrifice embued Harry's blood with magical protection."

Separate from this is the protection Dumbledore created for Harry at Privet Drive -- that magic required a blood-relationship to work.

Originally Posted by Dumbledore Continued

I put my trust, therefore, in your mother's blood. I delivered you to her sister, her only remaining relative... She took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you...

The bond of blood is Dumbledore's shield. And here, also, is the reference where Lily dying for Harry is a "Sacrifice."

Why is this important? Harry tells us at the end of Deathly Hallows

Originally Posted by The Deathly Hallows

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," said Harry as they circled, and stared into each other's eyes, green into red. "You won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people --"
"But you did not!"
"--I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?"

This quote is key to Harry-as-Christ-Figure. And here, Harry himself equates his actions with his mother's.

If you want to respond to that quote, I make use it in subsequent posts, and explain it in more detail there.

-Pie