Harry Potter 7 and Faith (Spoilers)

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adstrinity said:
OOOH!! Did we all go to Mass on Sunday & Wednesday (or even Saturday &/or Tuesday vigil)!!! BOTH OF THE BIBLE QUOTES WERE READ!!! …BOTH IN ONE WEEK!!! 😃

I’m not a loser with misappropriated priorities. 😦
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I KNOW; I NOTICED THAT, TOO!

Ah, how amazing. 🙂
 
masterjedi747 said:
Oh, I agree. But at the same time I think that element kind of prevents the series from being “Christian literature” in the same way that other famous series are. There is really no one main character in Harry Potter (the exception being, as I said, Lily Potter, in the little we see of her) that you can really hold up as a consistently great role model.
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I find that truly weird. Christian literature is supposed to be about portraying idealized people?

No wonder that contemporary Christianity (in its more conservative variants whether Protestant or Catholic) finds it so hard to produce decent, much less great literature.

Edwin
 
<<And did anyone else notice that both of the inscriptions on the Dumbledore and Potter tombstones in Godric’s Hollow are from the New Testament?
Dumbledore: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
Potter: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26)>>
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Yes, I did, though Harry missed the point the quote from 1 Cor.
 
I just finished the book, and wanted to talk about the Christian themes I saw in the last book too. I think it is very evident and I wonder how this will play out in history. I loved the books.
 
blacktiger057 said:
I find that the chapter King’s Cross has some very powerful messages in it. I don’t know how people can back up their opinion that HP series are evil if they read every word that Dumbledore has said in the series.
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It suddenly occurred to me that the name of King’s Cross, while a real place in London, is also symbolic of what Harry goes through. I don’t see him as a Christ figure or anything, but I do see him as the stuff of martyrs, that he embraced the possibility of death for the greater good. If that’s not appropriate to the Cross of the King, then I don’t know what is.

I still like GoF best, though, but there was a lot about DH that I liked, especially the way the whole Snape thing was resolved. That was my favorite part.
 
I noticed that the quotes on the tombstones when they visit Godrics’ Hollow are from the New Testament… “Where your heart is, there your treasure lies”, from Luke (also the Gospel reading a few Sundays ago), and “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”, from 1 Corinthians, I believe.

There is obvious Christian symbolism in the end of the book. But even more directly, I think the final act has some noticeable parallels to “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”. With the main difference that Harry is not a divine figure like Aslan. I wonder if JK Rowling was trying to use Christian symbolism, and thus ends up paralleling CS Lewis, or if she was channeling CS Lewis, and thus necessarily has some Christian themes.
 
Heard some disappointing news yesterday. Seems JK Rowling is writing a detective novel. I was hoping for prequel or a sequel to her current books
 
I didn’t really notice any Christian symbolism, but I did notice when Harry and Hermione visited Godrics Hollow at Christmas,they heard people singing hymns.And when they went to the Graveyard, the graves had quotes from the Bible.I dont know why some people think Christians shouldnt read HP.
 
Teeliumtrozzle said:
I didn’t really notice any Christian symbolism, but I did notice when Harry and Hermione visited Godrics Hollow at Christmas,they heard people singing hymns.And when they went to the Graveyard, the graves had quotes from the Bible.I dont know why some people think Christians shouldnt read HP.
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some people cannot bear the thought that someone else is enjoying themselves
 
I can see it both ways. The critics have a point for the very young. IMO, readers ought to be old enough to clearly construct and maintain the barrier in their minds between reality and literature. The ‘magic’ in HP must be seen the same was as Superman’s powers, not as occult power possibly really out there waiting to be tapped.

For those ready and able to maintain that barrier, I wholely endorse the series and devoured them myself.

I must admit to being disappointed that my personal theory came to nought. For years, I’ve been sure that Neville was the REAL boy of the prophecy and was going to defeat Voldemort. I almost shouted when he pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the hat! I was sure he was going to take BOTH the snake and moldy Voldy out. 👍 Betcha JK at least thought about it…
 
Bobby_Jim said:
I noticed that the quotes on the tombstones when they visit Godrics’ Hollow are from the New Testament… “Where your heart is, there your treasure lies”, from Luke (also the Gospel reading a few Sundays ago), and “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”, from 1 Corinthians, I believe.
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I noticed that, too! I immediately thought of the Sermon on the Mount with the first one you mentioned. Good stuff!
 
manualman said:
I must admit to being disappointed that my personal theory came to nought. For years, I’ve been sure that Neville was the REAL boy of the prophecy and was going to defeat Voldemort. I almost shouted when he pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the hat! I was sure he was going to take BOTH the snake and moldy Voldy out. 👍 Betcha JK at least thought about it…
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I was toying with that notion myself back in 2005 - you’re not alone! 🙂
 
AsI was watching HP3, I noticed that in Book/Movie 5, Sirius wins. Three times, once by Professor Snape, once in actuality, and once as he is waiting in a cell for it to happen, Sirius is threatened with the Dementor’s Kiss, that is the separation of his soul from his body, that is why, in Movie/Book 5, he wins because he dies with his body and soul in tact. It is clean and it is final. No lingering around as a dwelling shell body. It is final and he is whole. He didn’t die waiting for something to happen, he died DOING something. Not only did he die with his body and soul in tact, as did Pettigrew, who was also threatened with the Dementor’s Kiss, BUT, he crossed over…broke on through to the other side with his body and soul in tact. His body could not be corrupted. I guess all those years doing time in Azkaban (innocent – Purgatory?) allowed him to pass Go and collect $200. He won. …HOORAY!
 
I just heard a very interesting discussion of Harry Potter and the spiritual dimensions of book 7 on the Pottercast podcast (associated with The Leaky Cauldron site). They talked about issues related to sacrificial love, the Trinity, the Master of Death, and so on. Really intelligent discussion, though I don’t know what Rowling’s religious affiliation (if any) is. And even if she doesn’t intend religious import, the series has it in abundance. In fact, I think one of the strongest religious themes in the series is that of redemption, as exemplified by Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy. It doesn’t get more Catholic than that!
 
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