Moral Clues - Liars and Murderers

[jwcpgh]

No: HPFGUIDX 76687

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:
<snip> Also, notice in the latest book, now that Harry knows he must
> ultimately kill Voldemort or be kill by him, and even though he is
> well aware of how evil the Dark Lord is, and even knowing that he 
will
> probably have to kill Voldemort in the defense of his own life, 
Harry
> still calls it murder. He will have to murder or be murdered.<snip>
> 
> I think that is a very special insight into Harry's conscience too,
> and I think it should make us realize just what a horrible burden 
this
> Prophecy is. > I would prefer to think that Harry will vanquish and 
destroy
> Voldemort, not with a show of force, but with an unexpected act of
> mercy. The trouble is, I just don't know how JKR could ever maneuver
> Voldemort into a state of mind where that act of mercy would have 
that
> enormous impact on him. One the other hand, if I am to maintain my
> faith in Harry and the principle he appears to stand for, there has 
to
> be some kind of passive vanquishing of Voldemort, but I don't have a
> clue what it could be.
> 
> Just a thought.
> 
> bboy_Mn

Laura:

At Nimbus, someone suggested that the way Harry will defeat LV will 
be with the weapon LV can never use: love (in the manner of Meg 
in "Wrinkle in Time").  I found this to be a very powerful theory and 
I hope it's borne out.  Having said that, however, I'd like to point 
out that killing in self-defense (or in defense of others) is not an 
immoral act in many religious traditions.  If you honor life as God's 
greatest gift, then allowing someone to take it away from you without 
defending yourself shows a failure to understand the value of that 
gift.  I don't mean to get overly theological here; I'm just saying 
that it would be nice if someone sat Harry down and explained the 
difference between killing and murder.  Of course, even a justified 
killing is something to be avoided if at all possible.  Harry would 
certainly take it very hard if he had to kill anyone, even with the 
best of reasons.