The Role of Religion in the Potterverse was Magical Latin

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 186195

No Limberger <no.limberger@> wrote:
> 
> No Limberger:
> > The argument often being presented here of Harry Potter being a "Christ-figure", is imo, an internal Christian argument between those Christians who have chosen to identify Harry Potter with Jesus and those Christians who reject Harry Potter over witchcraft, wizardry and homosexuality.  
> 
> Geoff:
> I would say not.

Carol responds:

So would I, and I'm not an evangelical Christian. In fact, my personal beliefs are completely irrelevant to the way I interpret a literary work. (I'm speaking as a former college English teacher with a PhD in English--i.e., from a completely intellectual perspective. i have no personal stake in the matter.) Rejecting witchcraft and wizardry has nothing to do with interpreting Harry as a Christ figure, which has to do with literary analysis of a given text and has nothing to do with the religion of the literary critic. If I analyzed "Mein Kampf" as a Communist tract, would that make me a Communist? As for rejecting the book because of homosexuality (which isn't even depicted in the books except perhaps implicitly in DD's relationship with Grindelwald), that's completely irrelevant to a discussion of Harry as a Christ figure. 

We on this list assuredly don't reject works of literature about witches and wizards. If we did, we wouldn't be discussing the HP books, including the presence of Christian elements in them. The people who reject the books for the reasons you list or any others (I suspect that fundamentalist Islamic leaders wouldn't approve of them, either) are not members of this list.

No one here is trying to convert you. We are merely discussing elements within the books in connection with JKR's own stated intentions. 

Geoff:
> The question of the Christ figure, for me, is that no human person can be Christ or carry the responsibility of Christ in overcoming sin. Jesus was God in human form; no human is. Harry, like us, can be Christ-like which we can be; that, as I have said before, does not make us infallible, saintly or superior. Despite what another contributor has written, I do not see that JKR created a character irritating in his saintliness. I see him as an Everyman, like us, trying to find his way through life and deterine the best way forward. I see myself in him as a teenager trying to get into adulthood with a minimum of mess-ups. <snip>

Carol:
Agree to disagree. As I've said about three times already in this thread, a Christ *figure* is not the same as Christ or an allegorical depiction of Christ. I accept Harry as Everyman as a valid reading, but I also accept Harry as Christ figure as a valid reading. Any reading that can be supported from elements in the text (and can't be directly disproved from those same elements) is a valid reading. That doesn't mean that it's the only possible interpretation.

Anyway, Geoff, I'm not arguing with you or your interpretation. We're on the same side here in that we both see Christian themes and motifs in the text (although it's equally possible to view Harry as a secular Everyman, an interpretation that someone like No.Limberger might prefer. One of the genres of the HP books, after all, is the Bildungsroman, the novel of growing up. 

> No Limberger:
> >  In none of my postings have I insisted that anyone not view  Harry Potter as a Christ figure. If you wish to view Harry Potter as a Christ figure, then do so; but not everyone does nor should that point of view be imposed upon them.
>  
> Geoff:
> Which runs counter to the many posts which have discussed JKR's approach to the underlying ethos and culture of her books which are UK-based, <snip>

Carol:
Exactly. Supporting a position is not the same as imposing it on other posters. We're simply trying to show that viewing Harry as a Christ figure is one valid interpretation, quite possibly intended by the author. It's not the only possible interpretation or the definitive interpretation. And I agree with No.Limberger that a large number of readers, in particular those unfamiliar with Christianity or Christ figures, are unlikely to interpret the books in that way. Nonetheless, it is perfectly possible and perfectly legitimate to do so, whereas I don't think we could legitimately read the books as reflecting Islam or communism or radical feminism any more than we could write an essay called "Wormtail: Misunderstood Hero of the Harry Potter Saga" as anything but a spoof.

At any rate, just because we present our views (and evidence to support them) doesn't mean that we're trying to impose them on anyone. We understand that you not only don't see Harry Potter as a Christ figure, you don't *want* to see him as one. But I hope that you understand that others do clearly see the evidence for that interpretation. Again, it's just one of many valid interpretations, many of which have nothing to do with religion. 

Carol, curious as to how No.Limberger views Harry (an epic hero? a boy becoming a man? a secular Everyman? What else is there?)