Commandments; Christianity of HP

[ftah3]

No: HPFGUIDX 30978

For what it's worth:

Dave said:
> I would say that HP is suffused with Judeo-Christian morality - as 
is 
> much British culture.  However, distinctively Christian messages 
are 
> not there, in my opinion.  

I agree with both of the above statements.  Something I really 
appreciate about Rowling's stories is that I see a lot of what's 
called "Hero's Journey" mythology in them.  I won't bore you with the 
details, but Joseph Campbell wrote quite a bit about that particular 
brand of mythology, showing how specific themes appear in nearly all 
human mythology ~ and when I say 'all,' he used examples from Eastern 
*&* Western myths, folklore, and religious stories (Christian Bible 
writings included).  He had a theory that certain themes stand out in 
human conciousness as needing explication, or celebration, or 
closure, and these themes appear and reappear in stories around the 
world and across time, the most popular of which are "Hero's Journey" 
plots.  He also theorized that one of the reasons certain works are 
so compelling to 
us ~ i.e., religious tomes, classic myths, etc. ~ are because they 
appeal to our deepest needs by following the Hero's Journey 
structure.  (Another guy, named Christopher Vogler, applied this to 
modern popular films and fiction writing, too.  To whit, 
incidentally, George Lucas wrote the entire Star 
Wars story {including the episodes currently being filmed/released} 
based on Campbell's book "Hero with a Thousand Faces.")

All right, so I have bored you with details.  Sorry.  I'm a little 
obsessed with this topic.

Anyway, my point: You can certainly make comparisons to the Bible, as 
well as to "Star Wars," and any other great work of 
literature/fiction/narrative using Rowling's books because, 
purposefully or (more probably) unconciously, she has utilized the 
tenets, structure, and basic details of the Hero's Journey 
mythology.  It doesn't make the comparisons any less valid or useful, 
but I think they can at least be taken in context.  Imho, her message 
is more general, and rather than expressing a particular dogma, 
simply aligns with quite a few of them.

Thus ends a completely worthless posting session.  I could probably 
write a thesis on the subject ~ but don't worry!  I won't.  %-\

Mahoney