Moral messages Re: The religious content of Harry Potter

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 128725

Catkind:
> For the record, I don't see anything deeply moral or religious in 
> the books so far. So there are good guys and bad guys. This goes for 
> an awful lot of books. To me, the best thing they do morally is to 
> ask questions that get us all thinking about the differences between 
> good and nice, or good and "on our side". 
> 
> I'm not even sure if this was deliberate in the earlier books: 
> Hagrid is good, the Dursleys are bad, therefore it's just fine for 
> Hagrid to be nasty to a terrified eleven-year-old boy, whom he's 
> never met before, for being fat. 

Valky:
Ughhh Catkind, is that not a nauseatingly lopsidedly politically
correct statement.. ? For the record I think that this particular
scene can hardly undermine the moral message of the books, when it is
in context a no so bright but bighearted (and admittedly burly) oaf of
a man standing for the defense of an oppressed and overwhelmed
innocent against his torturers of a decade of his life. Yeah I think
it goes to Hagrids failings but also to his virtue as he's not by
nature a fighting person, but he'll fight for this cause because he
believes in it, he believes Harry deserves his chance to be great and
have love. 

Catkind: 
> In a slightly tongue-in-cheek attempt to discern moral messages in 
> the HP books, I come up with the following:
> Loyalty is good.
> Love is good.
> Prejudice is bad.
> Torturing people is bad.
> (possible exceptions made depending on identity of victim)
> Killing people is bad.
> (possible exceptions made depending on identity of victim)
> Slavery might be bad or not, depending on both slave and master.
> Fun is good.
> 
> This really isn't a very impressive list is it? I must have missed
> something. I did honestly try.
> 

Valky:
Well I suppose you did try but I think that the meaning of the word
moral isn't really served justice by that list. Sure it ticks the
boxes of basic meaning, but it has a tone of sarcasm that seems to be
directed not at the HP books but at the very notion of morality. 
Not that it is so big a thing if that is how you feel then that is
your choice, and then I might also be reading it all wrong and I am
sorry if I did that.

Anyhow, how about a list of my own?

Moral messages in Harry Potter:

Bad is not confined to people with deadly weapons and criminal records.
Good is not confined to people without them.
Truth and honesty are powerful.
When someone is wise it doesn't mean they have all the answers, more
often than not they have the most questions.
Kindness can change somebody's life. 
We all make choices.


> > Valky:
> > I am posting at my own predictions
> > contest group "The Prophecy Orb @ Row 97".
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Prophecy_Orb/
> 
> catkind: 
> I look forward to seeing how all these predictions pan out.  

Valky:
So do I, I have posted one tonight, exams are coming my way so I
thought I should get at least a start on keeping my promise... ahh the
choices I make.... :D