Cruising around on the web I stumbled across an interesting interpretation of Buffy The Vampire Slayer written by a person who appears to be a Christian. The essay finds plenty of Christian symbolism in the series:

The story of the origin of Buffy's world has been seen as a denial of the traditional biblical narrative in Genesis.

In one program, Giles explains: "This world is older than any of you know, and contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin in a paradise. For untold eons, demons walked the earth, made it their home, their hell. In time, they lost their purchase on this reality, and the way was made for mortal animals. For man. What remains of the Old Ones are vestiges: certain magicks, certain creatures..."

In fact, this tale is pretty close to the Fundamentalist Scofield Reference Bible exegesis explaining, from passages in Ezekial 28 and Isaiah 13, that Lucifer walked on earth as his rightful domain before Adam and Eve were created. Yikes! Is Whedon actually a Fundamentalist?

Gregory Erikson, in his essay in Fighting the Forces called Sometimes you Need a Story: American Christianity, Vampires and Buffy, maintains that Buffy and the Scooby Gang reflect the postmodern American attitude toward religion that falls between faith and disbelief. Breakpoint columnist Roberto Rivera agrees, saying Whedon's characters acknowledge that there are "consequences" to their actions, but never draw a clear-cut moral line to say why.

I've often wondered how much of the symbolic parallels are intentional. One really doesn't need to know anything Christianity to undestand much of what is in the show. For instance, the idea of one person sacrificing their life for another seems like something some humans would choose to do anyway. Still, themes of self-sacrifice, heaven, hell, redemption, good and evil permeate every episode. Does this represent the exploration of Christian cultural beliefs by unbelievers brought up in a society that is still influenced by Christianity? Are the writers acknowledging the value of such concepts as good and evil?

The reference to Fighting the Forces is to the book Fighting The Forces: What's At Stake In Buffy The Vampire Slayer?