Is This Quote Legit?

[Erica <cymru1ca@yahoo.ca>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52900

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "bluesqueak <pipdowns at e...>" 
<pipdowns at e...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Eileen <lucky_kari at y...> 
wrote:
> > While we're rumour-slaying, can anyone find a
> > reference to  JKR saying that she doesn't want to get
> > much into her Christian faith, because then people
> > will know how the story ends? 
> 
> <Snip>> 
> Eileen
> 
> There's lots of interview references where JKR talks about the 
books 
> being very moral. The reference to Christian faith seems to have 
> started with the following on-line article:
> http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/2001/11/21/
> which refers to a Canadian reporter whose interview was a year ago.
> 
> That would make it Canadian, probably October/November 2000, 
> probably print since there seems to be no online copy.
> 
> If it exists at all, of course. 

I think that the Canadian reporter might be Evan Soloman.  He did an 
interview with JKR for his CBC Television program 'Hot Type' in the 
summer of 2000

http://cbc.ca/programs/sites/hottype_rowlingcomplete.html

In it he asks JKR if she 'Believes in God' and 'Believes in magic'.  
She responds that she *does* believe in God and as to magic ...

JK: Magic in the sense in which it happens in my books, no, I don't 
believe. I don't believe in that. No. No. This is so frustrating. 
Again, there is so much I would like to say, and come back when I've 
written book seven. But then maybe you won't need to even say 
it 'cause you'll have found it out anyway. You'll have read it.

Perhaps the assumption is that JKR saying 'You'll know what my ideas 
are on God and magic once you've read all of the series' translates 
to 'There are moral/Christian themes in the books'

Just a thought.

> 
> The best evidence is probably the books themselves, which have 
many, 
> many references to Christian symbolism, in a manner which is far 
> more subtle than the rather blatant symbolism of C.S. Lewis.
> 
> A very nice example for Harry is his wand, which is made of holly 
> wood. Harry's mother is called Lily. If you go to the Christmas 
> Carol 'The Holly and the Ivy'  
> (http://www.christmas-carols.net/carols/holly-ivy.html
> if you don't know it)you'll find the following lines:
> 
> The holly bears a blossom, 
> As white as lily flow'r, 
> 

More about Holly:

"Christian symbolism connected the prickly leaves with Jesus' crown 
of thorns and the berries with the drops of blood shed for humanity's 
salvation, as is related, for example, in the Christmas carol, 'The 
Holly and the Ivy'" (Harry's wand is representative of Christ's 
Sacrifice)



> I doubt it's coincidence. I filked that carol in 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/48673
> and found it extremely easy to adapt it to Harry Potter.
> 
> 
> And then of course, there's Hedwig the owl, named after the patron 
> saint of orphaned children, Godric Gryffindor who has some odd 
> parallels to Saint Godric, and so on and so forth.
> 

John Granger has some interesting ideas about Christian Symbolism in 
the HP series:

http://www.digital-disciple.com/harry_potter_granger.htm

Erica (who thinks she might breakdown and actually order J. Granger's 
book online)