[HPforGrownups] Harry and Christ (Was Re: veil/Ddore's cowardice? (longish)

[An'nai Jiriki]

No: HPFGUIDX 78027


--- feetmadeofclay <feetmadeofclay at yahoo.ca> wrote:
> 
> 
> > --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "urghiggi"
> <urghiggi at y...> 
> > wrote:
> > > issues I perceive in OoP -- which is how does a
> person try to 
> make 
> > good/
> > > obedient choices when his God/guide is silent?
> If this is one of 
> > the themes 
> > > she's exploring, the plot device makes sense. If
> not, then it's 
> > really kind of 
> > > lame.)
> 
> But isn't this problematic for the series.  The
> series has not real 
> spiritual core. None of the kids refrence god with
> the latest 
> exception of Luna's belief in life after death.  
> 
<SNIP> 
As a non-Christian I would not be happy with my
> (nonexsistant) 
> children reading this series.  I won't be giving it
> to them nor when 
> I have children will it even be in my home - that
> would just 
> encourage them to read it.  If they picked it up by
> themselves I 
> wouldn't censor it (or anything).  But we'd
> certainly be talking 
> about why 'love' is not a force and why marytdom is
> not a solution to 
> prejudiced facist overlords. 
> 
> That I guess is just my minority position...
> 
> Golly
> 
> 
> 


As a fellow non-christian, I can see the overtones.
However, I do not see Harry as Christ or Dumbledore as
God. I perceive the entire wizarding world as the
christian religon as a whole.

Excluding the purebreds (not burebloods in my opinion
because how they breed like dogs), the wizarding world
is very accepting of all those that have the talent,
just as all those that want to practice the christian
faith are accepted. Taken more strongly, the wizarding
world actively recruits children, just like christian
church does. The wizarding world has the high wizard,
or the Minister (or Dumbledore, depending on
perspective) just as the christian church has the pope
or other (sorry, I don't know of many other church
leaders outside of catholism). The wizarding world
sees itself as better and more idealic than the muggle
world, just as the christian religions do (or we would
have never had the crusades [all 47 of them over 2000
years]).

Now dealing with the purebreds, they want to keep the
wizarding world inside just the purebred families.
Many of the most prominant member of the church
(including clergy) only want the faith to remain
within faithful families. They see converts as second
class and will not accept them into any positions of
power within the church. 

Now to stretch theories, I would compare Dumbledore,
Voldemort and Harry to God, Satan and Job
respectfully. Will Harry return to Dumbledore in that
case, like the King James Bible says, or will he curse
Dumbledore to his death as Job did in the original
Jewish versions of the bible from the pre-1000s? (Yes,
the story was changed in the middle ages to keep
people beleiving what they should. Most scholors
beleive this was a reaction to the Plagues, 'History
of the Bible' by Dr. Edward Christian.)

I make a general disclaimer. This was not meant as an
attack on the christian church. I think it is a
wonderful religion if only the masses who hold power
would follow what it should teach. There are good
christians, I know some. In fact, I bless Father Scott
in everything he does because he is the embodiment of
the catholic religion. No one here was meant to be
attacked, I was just making some comparisons.

Chris

=====
"You irritate me. Kill me now." ~Javert, Les Miserables

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com