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

[Tonks]

No: HPFGUIDX 153665

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "leslie41" <leslie41 at ...> 
wrote:
>> 
> See it or don't.  It doesn't mean it's not there.


Tonks:
I agree with Leslie. 

First let me say that I have no investment in JKR being a Christian. 
She could be anything, I don't care.  I also have no investment in 
finding Christian symbols in the HP books.  I really don't care if 
they are there or are not there.  It makes no difference to me. 
Honesty it doesn't.  I did not start reading the books looking for 
them.  They just jumped out at me. I tripped over then right and 
left.  

I know that we as a group argue over this issue every time it comes 
up. I think what the problem is here is that some of us see symbols 
that we recognize as explicitly Christian. Now that can occur as a 
coincidence in a work of this size, but when it occurs over and over 
one has to stop and ask "why?, What is the author doing?" And I 
don't think any of us has an answer to that. But we see *something* 
going on beneath the surface.  Like any other clue we try to report 
it here. I agree with Leslie that it doesn't seem to be taken well 
when we do. I tend to think that this is because people don't want 
to think that JKR is pulling something over on them in some 
subliminal way. But that is JMO.

Others say that the association is not there because they are 
looking for something within the story that fits the symbols.  Well 
sometimes there is a direct relationship and sometimes there is not. 
In fact most of the time there is not a direct relationship such as 
the fact that James does not acts like James the apostle.  I don't 
think that is what JKR is doing. Problem is we don't know what she 
is doing, but she is doing something with these symbols. They are 
not just hanging there for no reason. They are pointing to 
something.  They are leading to something.  It drives me crazy 
because I see the symbols all over the place, knowing that JKR must 
have some reason to put them in there, but it is like a puzzle with 
a few pieces missing. (It is like the framework of a house, you 
don't *see* it when you look at the house because it is deep within. 
It is in the blueprints.) 

The problem is we see the symbols just like others knew that Lupin 
meant wolf. I was not one of those. I never knew Lupin meant wolf 
even after I found out that he was a werewolf.  Whereas my friend 
who had not read the book yet, said right off the minute she heard 
the name "oh that means wolf".  

All I am trying to say is that like all the other clues in the books 
there are these clues as well that many people would overlook or not 
understand.  I don't know *why* they are there.  But I can not deny 
the fact that they *are* there.  I see them just as clearly as my 
friend saw Lupin=wolf. 

Tonks_op