'Clue to his vulnerability' (Coming to a conclusion )

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "carolynwhite2" 
<carolynwhite2 at a...> wrote:

Carolyn:
> Jen, pardon the irritated tone after trying day in the office, but 
what 
> *is* this insistance on Harry's 'untarnished soul'??
> 
> As you know, I'm a heathen, therefore damned for ever more 
according to 
> the second sight only vouchsafed to the converted, but *really*. 
What 
> we have in these books is a reasonable portrait of a teenager, 
warts 
> and all. The kid has made several (justified IMO) attempts at 
chucking  
> unforgiveables at people he dislikes; he lies frequently (some 
signs of 
> intelligence in the lad); instinctively avoids creeps like Creevey, 
> Rita and Lockhart and is not unreasonably confused about Snape, 
who's 
> playing a deep game, hand in hand with DD.

<snip>

> Perhaps JKR really does see it this way, that the boy is possessed 
of 
> some extraordinary qualitity of love, vulnerability, whatever that 
will 
> conquer all in the end. Very touching I'm sure. However, the way 
she's 
> written him comes across to me as a good deal more prosaic, and I 
hope 
> she doesn't lose sight of this in the final resolution. 


Geoff:
I'm probably late in replying to this message but I've been looking 
on the wrong group for it and only just realised....

As a Christian, I am to your eyes, I suppose, one of those with the 
second sight given to the converted. However, as a result, I take a 
different line to you and believe that (1) no one has an untarnished 
soul and (2) no one is irredeemable unless they get themselves into 
the same position as the Dwarves in C S Lewis' "Last Battle" who 
cannot see redemption because they have turned their back on it for 
so long that they wouldn't recognise it if it tapped them on the 
shoulder.

I have argued on many occasions on the main group that he can be 
equated with a Christian making his or her journey through life. It's 
not only teenagers but oldies like me who make wrong decisions, allow 
our judgements to be coloured by our own misconceptions and 
prejudices and generally manage to mess up far too often.

Remember that I am speaking from a Chriatian POV - and other memebrs 
of the group have every right to disagree with me but my belief - 
after coming to faith over 40 years ago - is that we can be possessed 
of an extraordinary quality of love and vulnerability which comes 
from outside when we allow it to. That doesn't make everything soppy 
and lovey-dovey. I can still be prosaic and matter-of-fact while 
experiencing the deep, real self-denying "agape".

Yes, I know that Harry and the Wizarding World are not overtly 
Christian but I believe that there is a foundation there which 
postulates a basic benchmark of goodness which we all lean towards in 
our better moments. And I consider that to be more - a lot more - 
than very touching.