Why your favourite stories are full of Christian meaning

From Harry Potter to The Lord of the Rings, our most loved stories concern the battle of good over evil. That’s because we’re wired that way, says Andy Bannister. It’s only in a universe where good wins out in the end that stories make sense

One of the most well-known phrases in the English language must be: “Once upon a time…” Whether we are children or adults, we love stories; indeed our love of stories is something uniquely human. From the earliest recorded cave paintings to the latest movie, across time, country and culture, humans are a storytelling species.

Some tales are here today and gone tomorrow but others become classics, retold for generations. And one thing that many have in common is they are built around a common theme. Whether it’s Frodo and the Fellowship’s struggle against the Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and his friends versus Voldemort, the epic battle of the Rebellion against the Empire in Star Wars or Charles Dickens’s angelic Oliver up against the wicked Fagin in Oliver Twist - the list could go on almost endlessly. Our most loved, most classic stories concern the battle of good over evil.