Chapter Discussion 16 / Alla's comments on GoF (and replies to her)

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 182241

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:

Geoff:
> > JKR has indicated that her Christian faith has had a bearing on her
> development of the story and something that jumped out from my memory
> when Antioch was mentioned was:
> > 
> > "Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul and when he found
> him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul
> met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples
> were called Christians first at Antioch."
> > (Acts 11 :25-26)

Carol responds:
> I'd forgotten that there was a connection between the city of Antioch
> and St. Paul. And Antioch Peverell *is* the inventor of the
> Resurrection Stone, which has obvious connections with Christianity in
> name, at least. And yet the whole concept, attempting to return those
> who have died to earthly life, is almost the antithesis of
> Christianity...

Geoff:
Maybe. But there are interesting echoes here. Just to remind ourselves:
"Then the second brother.... asked for the power to recall others from 
Death. So Death picked up a stone...  and told him that the stone would 
have the power to bring back the dead."
(DH "The Tale of the Three Brothers" p.331 UK edition)

Now, there are certainly Christian allusions here. At the core of 
Christian faith is the belief that after death we will be raised to 
a new life, resurrected to eternal life with God but it will be on 
a new earth.

The stone idea reminds me of Jesus quoting the scriptures - 
referenced in more than one of the gospels:
"The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."
(Luke 20:17 and others).

And, again, Jesus says to Martha, after Lazarus' death:
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live 
even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never 
die."
(John 11:25-26)

So, resurrection to a (restored) earthly life is not really an antithesis of 
Christian faith but a logical extrapolation of the life we live which we, 
as Christians, believe holds shadowy images and promises of the 
future.

But, as I have said before, in my opinion  JKR did not set out to write 
an allegory of faith but, in the world she has created; a world possibly 
messier and nastier than the real world, she has allowed her belief to 
"flavour" this flawed creation with a tinge of love and says to her 
readers "Here, let your imagination loose on this". It is not a primer to 
becoming a believer but a book to open our eyes and make us consider 
the views we hold about our world and our own future even if we 
disagree with the interpretation which followers of Christ put on it.