[...] Biblical Resonances in OotP

[Aberforth's Goat / Mike Gray]

Richard wrote,

> I mean, HOW obvious can you get? Just think of all the HP 
references we've 
> already had, never mind those likely to come. 

Yeah - that one is probably the most obvious. And if there's one 
passage that just about any Westerner has heard enough times to have 
it bouncing around in their heads, it would be 1. Co 13. 

About a thousand messages back - plus or minus a few hundred - we had 
some conversation in this forum about possible biblical narratives or 
texts that may have served as a guiding princpiple for the series. (I 
seem to recall a rumor that Jo had said that anyone who knows their 
Bible would be able to figure out where the series is headed. But 
nobody was ever able to substantiate it, at least in that form.) 
Anyway, if I had to choose one possible text to fill the bill, that 
would be it.

But I don't think it's the only relevant one. I think the paradox or 
inversion texts are also very important - I quoted a couple before. 
There are a lot of them in the Gospels, anotherver famous one early 
in 1. Corinthians.  They all have to do with loosing your life to 
gain it, the strongest being weak, the leader being the servant, the 
wise being foolish, the rule-breakers being saints. 

I'm not saying that Rowling is doing biblical exegesis - but I do 
think that they point to a very important part of the way she thinks 
about Harry's victories over Voldemort.

>From work (and hence no baaa ... )

Mike