Horcrux: was Baptism/Christianity in HP

[leslie41]

No: HPFGUIDX 153728

> > Leslie41:
> > The basic fact that I keep coming back to is that his parents 
> > thought Harry's baptism extremely important.  Rowling herself 
> > said that it was probably a hurried sort of affair, with just 
> > the family involved.  Obviously, having their son Christened was 
> > extremely important to them.  And the Christening service 
> > itself, the baptismal service, is a deeply spiritual experience 
> > in which all are required to renew their baptismal vows.  The 
> > godfather must be a baptized Christian himself as well.

> Gerry:
> Or they wanted to have something 'normal,' something other people 
> did. A little celebration because they had a child. Nothing 
> strange that people who are chiristian quite often want their 
> child to be christian as well. They think it is important. There 
> is no need at all to make it deeply important. 

Leslie41:
That's one way to look at it.  Personally, I think that considering 
the circumstances, it's more important than you think it is.
there. To me it was not. 

> > Leslie41: 
> > If you want to ignore those canonical facts, that's fine.  But 
> > they're there.  I didn't pull them out of the air, or anywhere 
> > else.   

> Gerry:
> No, but blow them up totally out of proportion. Nobody denies Lily 
> and James were christian. What we do deny is that Harry being 
> baptised has any meaning in the story and has any link to him 
> character, protection or the AK. through love.
> > 
Leslie41:
Again, your milage may vary.  I certainly think your interpretation 
holds water as well.   
> 
> > Leslie41:
> > Do you doubt that "crux" means "cross"?  Look it up.  The 
> > curse "crucio" is directly related to the crucifixion.  Oh, you 
> > can blather about how "Crucio" is just the Latin word for "I 
> > torture", etc. etc. etc.  But who among us, even those who 
> > aren't Christians, are going to state that the word has no 
> > relation to the crucifixion?  There are other words Rowling 
> > could have chosen that mean the same thing.
> 
> Gerry
> When in doubt, use the dictionary:
> 
> crux
> 
> /kruks/
> 
>   • noun (pl. cruxes or cruces /krooseez/) (the crux) 1 the 
> decisive
> or most important point at issue. 2 a particular point of 
> difficulty.
> 
>   — ORIGIN Latin, `cross'.
> 
> http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/crux?view=uk
> 
> Seems far more logical to me than trying to link this to the 
> crucifixion. 

Leslie41:
And I don't think it's either/or.  I think the word carries both 
meanings and it's far more interesting when we consider both.  
 
> > Leslie41:
> > Selling one's body for money is thought by most to be 
> > immoral.  "Whoring" also has another connotation, also negative 
> > I know of no positive one).  We speak of people who have "sold 
> > their souls" so to speak as "whores".  It doesn't always have a 
> > sexual connotation. 
> > 
> Gerry
> Hm, so when your biblical reference goes out of the window, 
> suddenly it is important what most of us think. And which was 
> completely opposite what Jezus did in the Bible. I'm sorry, but I 
> don't buy this. 

Leslie41:
I don't see how my biblical reference went "out the window."  I was 
adding another dimension to the interpretation of the word.  And you 
don't have to "buy" anything.  

> Gerry:
> Well, the cross was a Roman execution instrument. Jesus died on it.
> Voldemort wants to stay alive forever. Completely the opposite. 

Leslie41:
That's fine from a non-Christian perspective, of course.  But from a 
Christian perspective, Jesus didn't "die," at least not 
permanently.  The cross was the instrument upon which both he and 
the entire world gained eternal life.

I think there's a real parallel there between what Voldemort is 
trying to do.