Alchemy revisited: OOP prediction confirmed

[Petra Pan]

No: HPFGUIDX 80079

Hans, in part:
> If HP is a window on to the real
> Path of Liberation as taught by 
> all the historical great spiritual
> leaders, and I think it is, then 
> Harry's journey is exactly the
> opposite of what you state, and
> our beloved boy needs no mourning
> from us!

Geoff, in part:
> I fear that I must disagree with
> Hans that Harry Potter is a window 
> to the real Path of Liberation as
> outlined in his posts. If there is 
> evidence pointing to such a route,
> it is the evidence which directs 
> readers to Christian belief.

Erm...why insist on the distinction?  
As I understand it, the teachings of 
Christ are *part* of what makes up 
the basis for Hans's "the real Path 
of Liberation."

I am at a complete loss as to why 
canon cited by Hans to support the 
teachings of those he terms "the 
great brotherhood of the Teachers of 
Compassion"/"all the historical 
great spiritual leaders" (in which 
Hans has included Christ) should be 
considered the sole property of one 
and only one out of the entire 
group.

Would it be possible to enlighten me 
without getting back on the pulpit?

Geoff, in part:
> This echoes the very deepest
> Christian belief. Our world is a
> fallen one and many events are
> orchestrated by the devil who,
> like Voldmort, cannot understand
> selfless love and believes that
> because of the wrongdoing we are
> all guilty of, we are unable to
> reach God. Because he took on
> human guise in the form of Jesus,
> he died to save us. The difference
> with Lily's sacrifice and that of
> Jesus is that to gain the
> protection, we have to acknowledge
> what he did on the cross and in
> the resurrection but, if we do and
> accept him into our lives, it 
> leaves a mark  not a visible sign
> but evidence in our life that we 
> belong to God and know his
> presence.

<snip>

> Becoming a Christian is a choice.
> We are not born Christian, we are 
> not Christians because our family
> are or because we go to church. It 
> is because we are faced with a
> choice like Harry's  to follow
> the Slytherin path, ie go the way
> of the world and the real world 
> equivalents of Lord Voldemort or
> pick the true way as indicated by 
> Jesus in John 3:16 and John 14:6.
> The latter verse indicates 
> unequivocally the importance of
> making the right choice.

Making the right choices in life is 
*universally* important...whether 
one is a part of the "we" that you 
referred to above is irrelevant.

Still Geoff:
> Like Christians in the real world,
> Harry makes choices which he hopes
> will help him along the way;
> sometimes he messes up because of
> his own lack of understanding,
> patience or judgment, sometimes
> because he places to much reliance
> in the judgement of others. But,
> as we are protected by the love of
> God as expressed through Christ
> and the Holy Spirit, so Harry
> still has the protection given him
> by his mother.

All these are lovely cites and 
arguments against those who insist 
that HP is anti-Christian but how is 
the fact that HP is in keeping with 
Christianity a good reason to 
suppose that HP is NOT in keeping 
with and thus canNOT be cited by 
other endeavors also in the search 
of the divine as demonstrative of 
their routes?

I rather suspect that it is 
precisely because HP cannot be 
easily co-opted (in the way that the 
works of CS Lewis and Tolkien often 
are) that it inspires attempts to 
ban it.

The way I see it, the themes in the 
HP books seem to make use of the 
HIGHEST (as opposed to the lowest) 
common denominators amongst the most 
enduring of the various 
denominations and belief systems in 
our world.  JKR has managed to move 
past the specificity of any 
particular religion and tapped 
directly into the humanity that we 
all seem to have *in common* - this 
is no mean feat and is surely part 
of her appeal across the globe.

I really must protest any attempt to 
tie her to one and only one 
religion.  If this is not what Geoff 
is intimating, then I hope he will 
explain further.

Petra
a
n  :)

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