[HPforGrownups] Re:That Whole Christian Thing (plus assorted others)

[Kathryn Lambert]

No: HPFGUIDX 173453

Ricky & LeAnn <rkelley at blazingisp.net> wrote:
   
  <<<snip>>>
  History tells us that many of our Christian celebrations - especially
Christmas and Easter, - began as pagan festivals. When the church couldn't get people to stop the celebrations they interjected a new meaning into them and incorporated them as Christian holidays or "holy days". So, to a Pagan, a Christmas tree means something completely different than it does to a Christian. Therefore when I see Christmas trees in the Great Hall at Christmas, I think they're celebrating the day set aside to commemorate Christ's birth, while a Pagan might think they're celebrating an ancient pagan festival. Aren't we both correct in our own way? In that same vein I see the Christ story occasionally throughout the series, but especially in the book's ending.

Anders
   
  ****KATIE:****
   
  And yet, I do not. I think people see what they choose to see, or what they *expect* to see (thank you, Dumbledore). You expect to see Christianity in everything, because, as you said yourself, you are a *devout* Christian. 
   
  I, as someone who believes in god, but not in religion, do NOT see Christianity in HP. I see the same themes that you do: redemption, love, sacrifice...but I do not interpret these as Christian. You do, because to you, and many others, these are primarily Christian themes. Maybe JKR did put some Biblical elements into the books, but she also put elements of Classical and Norse mythology, elements of British mythology (Arthur, specifically), and yes, elements of paganism. 
   
  My mother often says that "Whatever is there, belongs to author." Meaning, I've always assumed, that whether the author attempts to or not, there are going to be many different levels of interpretation in a work. 
   
  So, on that hand, I appreciate the different interpretations. On the other hand, however, I really think that boiling the whole complicated and rich story down to Christian allegory really takes a lot away from the books. First of all, that means that the story was already made up for her, that JKR just had to rewrite it, basically. Not very original. Secondly, it means that all the fun stuff about the books: the wands, the silly spells, the moving pictures...it's all made a lot more serious and a lot less fun if it's all about sending some religious message. I mean, personally, that idea just makes my skin crawl. If someone actually convinced me that these WERE Christian allegory - I would never read them again and I would feel like I had been tricked into reading them. And that would be really sad for me, because these books have been a great joy and comfort to me over the years. 
   
  All that said, I am not responding to any more Christian threads, because I'm just making myself irritated. ; )  But, I did feel I needed to say all of that. Cheers, Katie
   

       
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