Harry Potter and God

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" <catlady at ...> wrote:
>
> Geoff wrote in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter/message/39310>:
> 
> << But I am concerned by the fact that [John Granger] attempts to tie Christianity in with alchemical theory, which certainly isn't part of Christian belief. >>

Catlady:
> As best I understand it, while alchemy is not part of Christian belief, Christian belief is part of alchemy, having been put there not by John Granger but by the European medieval alchemists. All that messing around with chemicals and lab equipment was supposed to affect the alchemist, apparently by making him more Christ-like (to borrow a phrase you have used in previous comments). Maybe it helps the alchemist to restrain/reduce his impulses to anger, lust, fear, greed, etc, and to strengthen his impulses to faith, prayer, helpfulness, patience, courage, etc. That seems to be how Granger views it.

Geoff:
Your reply highlights certain points which are contributory to my 
concern that John Granger is often held up as an example of a 
Christian who supports Harry Potter, a point of view which I find 
very suspect when allied to alchemical thinking.

Your very phrase "while alchemy is not part of Christian belief,
Christian belief is part of alchemy" rings personal alarm bells for 
me, If you had written something along the lines of "while alchemy 
is not part of Christian belief, it draws on aspects of Christian 
teaching in its structure" I would have felt much more at ease.

Christian faith is not part of any other belief; it is complete in 
itself. Personally, attempts to tie in these two together remind me 
too much of Gnosticism, which arose within the early Church and 
taught that adherents had to have "special knowledge" in order to 
belong; knowledge to which the ordinary believer did not have 
access.

A couple of years or so ago, there was a long thread on Main on 
the subject of alchemy. As a practising, evangelical Christian, I 
took umbrage that, on occasions, I was basically told that, to 
complete that view of life, I should be including alchemical 
thinking in my faith. If followers of the alchemical way wish to 
include Christ's teaching in their practice - to become more "Christ
-like" as you remark -  then there is no copyright on the fruit of the 
Spirit outlined by St.Paul in his letter to the Galatians 5:22-23. 
However,  it is not within their remit to tell Christians that they 
should do the reverse in respect of their own faith.