[HPforGrownups] Re: Baptism/Christianity in HP: was Looking for God in Harry Potter

[rebecca]

No: HPFGUIDX 153582

> Leslie41 wrote:
>
>> > > When you add that to the fact that the place on Harry's body
>> > > that repelled the scar is the very place where he received the
>> > > waters of baptism, and possibily unction as well, it becomes
>> > > hard for me to think that (at least subliminally) Rowling was
>> > > making a point, and tying together his mother's sacrifice with
>> > > Christ's, and with Harry's acceptance into Christ's kingdom.
>
> Owen:
>
> A couple of other things to think about:
>
> Harry's scar is on his forehead, where the sella tursica is found in
> the skull.  It was the location of what people used to call
> the "Third Eye" and was responsible for intuition, or clairvoyance
> in the gifted. The forehead is a powerful location on the human body
> and has been illustrated as such long before Christianity.
>
> Also, are we discounting that JK simply put a scar on her reluctant
> hero in a place where it would be seen the most?  Harry was marked
> for a reason.

Rebecca:

Great point, Owen.  I hadn't nearly come to the "third eye" question yet, 
but you are correct, IMO, that's just as plausible as the baptism question.

To your point about JKR putting a mark on Harry, here you go from her 
interview with the Houston Chronicle in 2001:

"There are some things I can tell you about it and some things I can't. I 
wanted him to be physically marked by what he has been through. It was an 
outward expression of what he has been through inside.I gave him a scar and 
in a prominent place so other people would recognize him. It is almost like 
being the chosen one, or the cursed one, in a sense. Someone tried to kill 
him; that's how he got it.
I chose the lightning bolt because it was the most plausible shape for a 
distinctive scar. As you know, the scar has certain powers, and it gives 
Harry warnings. I can't say more than that, but there is more to say."

Recall that statement is from 2001 - we didn't know then that the "scar" was 
also a magical window into Voldemort's mind, as she says on her website 
FAQ's, from I believe last year, in response to the significance of Neville 
being the other boy to whom the propechy could possibly have referred:

"In effect, the prophecy gave Voldemort the choice of two candidates for his 
possible nemesis. In choosing which boy to murder, he was also (without 
realising it) choosing which boy to anoint as the Chosen One - to give him 
tools no other wizard possessed - the scar and the ability it conferred, a 
magical window into Voldemort's mind."

(snipped for brevity)

"....however, the killing curse would have rebounded just as it did in 
Harry's case, and Neville would have been the one who survived with the 
lightning scar. What would this have meant? Would a Neville bearing the 
lightning scar have been as successful at evading Voldemort as Harry has 
been? Would Neville have had the qualities that have enabled Harry to remain 
strong and sane throughout all of his many ordeals? Although Dumbledore does 
not say as much, he does not believe so: he believes Voldemort did indeed 
choose the boy most likely to be able to topple him, for Harry's survival 
has not depended wholly or even mainly upon his scar."

Rebecca