[HPforGrownups] Re: The Role of Religion in the Potterverse was Magical Latin

[No Limberger]

No: HPFGUIDX 186142

>Potioncat wrote:
>We had Lupin discussing the horror of having the soul removed, leaving a living shell.  We have DD taking care to protect Draco's soul and Snape worried about his own soul. Sounds pretty Christian to me.

No.Limberger responds:
In an earlier post, I mention that wizards & witches go back long before Christianity came into existence.  Did the concept of a soul originate in Christianity?
Well, if that were true, why did ancient Egyptians, several thousand years before Christianity, construct tombs to house items for pharaohs and other individuals so that those items could be used in an afterlife?  Ancient Egyptian religion was obsessed with the afterlife because of the importance placed upon their belief in an
immortal soul that would separate from the body at the time of death.  They also went to a lot trouble to preserve dead bodies as mummies with the idea that the body would be brought back to life and reunited with the soul.  Several thousand miles to the east of Egypt is India, whose main religion Hinduism (which predates Christianity by many many centuries) includes of the concept of reincarnation: the soul at death leaves the body and is reborn in another body.  Hence, they also believe in an immortal soul, as do Buddhists (which predate Christianity by many centuries) who share a similar belief in reincarnation and in the soul living multiple lives.  Another precursor of Christianity by several centuries that was a lot closer in physical proximity is Zoroastrianism that promotes the belief not only in an immortal soul, but also the belief that the soul upon death will eventually reside in an eternal heaven or an eternal damnation.  Many postulate that the concepts of heaven & hell in Christianity were taken from Zoroastrianism because Judaism does not have such concepts.

In fact, several individuals whose writings were included in the old testament claim that there is no afterlife.  Given that the WW predates Christianity, beliefs within the WW in an immortal soul & afterlife could not have originated in Christianity, but could have come from any one or multiple religions that have the same concept and predate Christianity.  Even the excavated graves of individual who died thousands of years before civilization existed in ancient Egypt have demonstrated evidence that ancient peoples believed in an afterlife.

>Potioncat wrote:
>Love and sacrifice for one's friends are major Christian themes.

No.Limberger responds:
In the late summer of 480 BCE, a small band of Spartans (300 men) along with several hundred Greeks from other Greek city-states, attempted to defend their families, homes and lands from a massive invading Persian Army. Called the Battle of Thermopylae and popularized in modern culture through the graphics novel "300" and movie of the same name, the vast majority of this small Greek force was killed, sacrificing themselves to save others.  Given that these acts of love and self-sacrifice occurred approximately 500 years before Christianity ever came into existence, it is safe to say that the concepts of love and self-sacrifice did not originate in Christianity and, hence, could hardly be labeled as being "Christian themes".

Thus, as demonstrated here, the concepts of an immortal soul, love and self-sacrifice are universal themes that no one religion can claim ownership. I believe that JK Rowling knew this long before she began to write any of the Harry Potter novels and do not believe that she used these themes as a means to promote Christianity even though she herself is Christian. Additionally, I believe that it is safe to say that the WW would have adopted these concepts of an immortal soul, love and self-sacrifice long before Christianity came into being since, as my understanding goes, the WW existed long before Christianity in the Harry Potter Universe.