Dumbledore as Christ?/Defecting Draco?

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 149543

Tonks wrote:
"Now I hear you asking `how can DD not be Jesus and yet be seen as Christ?' My answer to 
that is that DD is the human who has been transformed
 or more specific to the books 
"transfigured" into the image of Christ. There is a concept in Christianity which is that each 
of us can be transformed into Christ. Jesus is one thing, Christ is another. Some people 
think that Christ was Jesus' last name but that is not correct. Jesus was "the Christ".

Geoff:
I feel that I cannot fully agree with this; I speak from the standpoint of an evangelical 
Christian (but not a fundamentalist). I believe that no human (or wizard) can be seen /as/ 
Christ or can be transformed into Christ. We can be /like/ Christ; that is what a true 
Christian strives towards. Paul, writing in the letter to the Romans chapter 12 says "Do not 
conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of 
your mind." This is not being transformed into Christ but adapting our thinking and 
outlook to what God wants in our life – and this is where Dumbledore can echo Christian 
experience.

How do I see Dumbledore? Let me refer to the Bible again. Mark, who wrote the second of 
the Gospels, was a young man, possibly even a teenager at the time of Jesus. His mother 
was an early follower and he must have met Jesus. There is an event recorded in Mark's 
Gospel and nowhere else which is of interest. When Jesus was arrested, Mark chapter 14, 
verse 51 notes: "A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. 
When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind." This is often 
interpreted as an autobiographical reference since very few other people would have been 
aware of this occurrence in the midst of the confusion of that night.

It was accepted by the early church, whose members were still close enough to the events, 
that Mark was a close friend of Peter and that his account was written from the oral 
evidence and standpoint of that disciple. Certainly, its insights into what Peter did and 
thought – including his blunders – seem to bear this out. So I see Peter as being a mentor 
to the younger Mark, guiding him on his way in his faith. 

This is how I see Dumbledore. He has acted as a mentor – both overtly and covertly – to 
Harry as he grows up and moves from the naïve First Year to the blossoming young man 
who witnessed his death. Harry, in a sense like Mark, takes over the torch but as someone 
who is an everyman in Christian terms, going through life like today's believers (myself 
included); often wandering off the road but knowing in which direction he wants to go.

***
Moving on to a different topic, there has been a lot of discussion over the months as to 
who, on Harry's side, might turn traitor and defect to the dark side. I often wonder if there 
will be a counter-defection from Voldermort to the Wizarding World's side. This sort of 
situation is not unknown in fiction, or real life for that matter. Those of you who follow my 
ramblings will know that I have a (surprising) weak spot for Draco. I have often written that 
I believe he is not irredeemable and this came back to me when Nikkalmati made reference 
to this in message 149494. I feel that we were seeing the beginning of an epiphany in 
respect of his world view when he confronted Dumbledore on the tower at the end of HBP 
– another of a series of happening which would cause him to think. Since I have been 
writing in Biblical terms, I would again do so and refer to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, 
who became St.Paul. OK, he was a lot older than Draco but he came up against events 
which challenged his point of view. He was a Pharisee, highly trained in the Jewish 
Scriptures, who set out to stop early Christians by any method. The turning point seems to 
have come when he witnessed the death of Stephen and it was soon afterwards that he 
had his experience of meeting Christ on the road to Damascus. Taking the line of parallels 
between real Christian experience and the event of the Harry Potter books, I would like to 
see something happen to young Mr.Malfoy and would also be interested to know whether 
there are other candidates who members of the group feel might be put forward to be 
"turned" to the good.