Dumbledore's Love ( a rather lengthy post, warning for those faint of heart)

[johnbowman19]

No: HPFGUIDX 147769


> If John wants to know what sort of love Dumbledore meant when he 
said 
> that love was the greatest magic, I suggest he take out is Bible--
or 
> borrow one from a friend, if he doesn't own a Bible, or even from 
the 
> public library if he hasn't a friend--and read I Cor. 13.
> 
> BAW
>
Hello BAW
In response to what BAW posted, I posit this: your quote is not a 
true definition of love. According the New International Version of 
the Bible, the verse you refer to is "And now these three remain: 
faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love". Now being 
a Catholic for my entire life, and going to only Catholic school my 
entire life, below the fact that I have been trained by the Jesuits 
for the past 8 years, I know what the Bible has to say on the 
subject to of love (Catholicism is a famous sect of Christianity for 
those of you who do not know). In fact the better quote, in my eyes, 
to have cited is "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, 
it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-
seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth". 
But this quote by BAW does not challenge my point for when one deals 
with the Bible, unless one is a fundamentalist, one is dealing with 
each individual's interpretation of the event that took place in the 
Bible. Interpretations are what we are really dealing with here on 
HP for Grown Ups because if we all thought the same way about cannon 
this list would not exist. 
Now my definition of love of a man and woman closely matches that of 
the quote I cited above. I think this way because of my degree in 
Philosophy, and my life experience. I would argue that the 
definition of love is not a subjective idea because if it were, it 
would mean that love was something different for everyone, meaning 
that everyone's opinion is valid, thus degrading love to something 
that can be decided individually by every person. I would say that 
not everyone knows what love is. Most confuse mere infatuation for 
the true love that lasts the test of time as described in my quote. 
I would argue that love is something that is objective or universal 
to all, and can be understood by all if all use reason and self 
determination. 
However, in my interpretation, love is not as simple as the quote 
cited by BAW. I would adhere to the idea presented in Hinduism 
as "Reflecting on the changes of love" when one finds one's Ishta or 
ideal. In other words, I would argue that love has different aspects 
for the different people one loves. One does not love a lover in the 
same way one loves a friend, or parent. To me, there are clearly 
different forms of love. 
I would argue that Dumbledore does not love Harry in the same way he 
could love a son, brother, friend or lover. He loves Harry in a 
different way. He doesn't see Harry as a son because he does not 
share the same DNA, nor has he been there to guide Harry through his 
life, save as a detached watcher. He is not there to protect him 
from the Durselys during Harry's first years of life, nor during the 
summers. The love of a Father for a son is that of protection. In 
this idea I am speaking from experience. Dumbledore does not love 
Harry as a friend because to have a friend one must recognize that 
one is equal to another and respect their different and varying 
views on subjects. Instead Dumbledore offers advice from the 
mountain top to our poor protagonist. Dumbledore does not love Harry 
as a brother because to love a brother, again, one must recognize 
equality and similar experience and origin; not to mention the fact 
that one has to share those experiences with one's brother. At the 
very least Dumbledore had a brother who was magical to confide in 
with Aberforth so his upbringing should have been different that 
that of Harry. Most importantly Dumbledore could not love Harry as a 
lover because it is not Ancient Greece. Literally they do not have 
sex, and cannot experience the 3 aspects of sex that is unique to 
lovers: reproduction, unity, and pleasure. 
So then my question remains the same, does Dumbledore understand the 
nature of love? As I said in my previous post, he may understand 
love as a king loves his subjects, but is a true definition of love? 
I am sorry BAW, but I do not think the Bible will assist in this 
question.  

John, who loves Dumbledore more than any character in the books for 
his wit and daring, but cannot understand his motivation. Also I 
abhor the ad hominum attack foisted upon my defenses.