DH as Christian Allegory (was Classical & Biblical Quotations)

[Monica]

No: HPFGUIDX 173268

> Betsy Hp:

> Just on a non-theological basis, Jesus was surrounded by the
> living, not the dead.  His disciples were there, they protested
> when he was taken and in fact Peter attempted to fight the soldiers
> leading Jesus away.  (A move Jesus rebuked, healing the soldier
> Peter had wounded.)  In contrast, Harry seperates himself from his
> friends and speaks to the dead.  He goes to his death at the orders
> of a *very* human man, not the word of God.  And he leaves his
> friends fighting and killing those around them.

Monica:
Hi! First ever post, but I've been reading what I can in between lab work and whatnot. I see the point here, but on the other hand, at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, he was not surrounded by the living. They all abandoned him (save his beloved apostle) because of their fear.  He met his mother, but his apostles were very gone at this point.

Betsy Hp:
> On a more theological level (which is where things always get
> hairy, so again, my own opinion here), while Jesus submitted
> himself to the base laws of men to prove the Christ *above* those
> laws (to demonstrate a higher law, if you will), Harry went to die
> because he had a bit of evil in him and death seemed the only
> solution.  Harry even had his beloved dead around him encouraging
> him to do it.  Jesus sacrificed; Harry suicided.

Monica:
Did he? Or did he surrender himself to death to rid the world of another horcrux, the very embodiment of evil?  I will agree that he is certainly not divine, and has good and bad within himself, making his sacrifice quite different than that of Jesus. Nevertheless, his sacrifice was to eliminate the personification of evil, i.e. Voldemort.

BetsyHp:
> DH gives us a completely different view.  Instead of inclusion we
> get regulated and codified exclusion.  Compassion is limited only
> to a rarified few.  And redemption is an impossibility.  You are
> who you were born to be and only the elect are blessed.  On the
> other hand, when Harry confronts Riddle, he calls out to him as
> Riddle, the human being who must have had some good within him. He
> gives him the chance to repent or to feel remorse, rather than
> killing him outright. Harry saw Voldemort's humanity through the
> evil, but Voldemort chose not to accept that compassion, which,
> IMO, left Harry with no choice but to battle. Sparing the life of
> Voldemort would have just perpetuated evil in this world.

Monica:
As far as the house system, I likewise think the ending could have wrapped things up a little better by unifying Hogwarts instead of allowing it to remain divided.  Or perhaps a group of Slytherins fighting the death eaters. But Malfoy, the quintessential Slytherin of Harry's day, was redeemable, in his readmittance to wizarding society.  Perhaps that says something?

Monica