Baptism/Christianity in HP: was Looking for God in Harry Potter

[Ken Hutchinson]

No: HPFGUIDX 153613

> > > > Leslie41:
> > > > Well, I don't see how it follows that Lily was presumptuous. 
> > > 
> > > a_svirn: 
> > > It follows if she saw herself as a second Christ or something. 
> > 
> > Leslie:
> > Wha?  I don't see how that follows at all.  
> 
> a_svirn:
> You don't think that comparing the love you feel for your child and 
> the lengths you are prepared to go in order to ensure his or her 
> well-being to the love Christ has for all mankind is somewhat 
> immodest?
>

Ken:

I would not think it presumptuous or immodest. In Ephesians 5:25 the
Apostle Paul wrote "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also
loved the church, and gave himself up for it;" (ASV). The comparison
is continued for several more sentences. Christians are called to be
like Christ. Christians should never feel that they are equal to
Christ, but they should strive to be like him. Lily's sacrifice is a
Christ-like sacrifice though it certainly is not one that is unusual
in dire circumstances for non-Christian or even non-human mothers.
Lily was faced with the choice to save her own life or to shed it with
certain knowledge that her child would survive. The death of a human
mother to save the mortal life of a single child is not a sacrifce of
the same magnitude as the one Christ made for mankind. It is a
sacrifice of the same kind and that is as much as a human can aspire
to do. If the love of a husband for his wife can be a symbol of
Christ's love for the church then so can the love of a mother for her
child.

Ken