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 Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 6:49 am
I wanted to start this discussion question, but didn't want to clutter the other Harry Potter thread with it since the topic in this thread is very specific and I'd like for us to remain on topic.
First I'll start with some excerpts from The Week, a periodical I read on occasion.
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"I had never read a Harry Potter book until three months ago," said Jeff Daimant in the Toronto Star. But and editor asked me, as a religion writer, to plow through the entire series in conjunction with the release of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now I've come to understand why author J.K. Rowling has sold more books than any writer in history. More than a mere fantasy series about wizardry, Potter is essentially spiritual in nature -- an exploration of the age-old themes of suffering and death, love and redemption. Harry Himself is quite clearly a Christ figure, locked in a mythic struggle against the satanic Lord Voldemort. You don't have to look hard to find plenty of Christian symbolism, said author John Killinger in Beliefnet.com. In his battle against evil, Harry is equipped with magi powers, yet he's also all too human (a muggle). In the end, Harry sacrifices himself to saver the world, and is reborn. Sound familiar?
Oh please, said Richard Abanes, also in Beliefnet.com. Yes, like Jesus, Harry is singled out for a great purpose, and endures terrible ordeals along the way. But so did Robin Hood, Luke Skywalker, and myriad other heroes in popular fiction. Harry's "selfishness, disregard for authority, and 'end justifies the means' mentality" mark him as a willful teenager interested in only saving his friends, not in redeeming mankind. In fact, "if you want to know who dies in Harry Potter, the answer is easy," said Lev Grossman in Time. "It's God." Harry's world is utterly devoid of any kind of religion or spirituality. When confronted by great evil, the kid doesn't pray, or seem to think there's anyone worth praying to. His is a secular sorcery "in which psychology and technology have superseded the sacred."
Many Christian believers bet to differ, said Patrick White in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Various church groups in England and on this side of the Atlantic are using Harry to teach important lessons to children about temptation, sin, and related biblical themes. As an evangelical and a mom, said Ruth Ann Dailey in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I find the Potter books to be deeply moral. Harry and his friends discover that life is essentially a contest between good and evil, and that every one of us must choose a side. Choosing to oppose evil comes at great cost, but as Harry's all-knowing mentor Dumbledore once assured him, in the end, "evil can't stand up to love." That's a message any Christian can support.
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Alright, now that you've all read that. What's your opinion on this topic. Is Harry Potter, under all the magic, a religious book or not.
I'll withhold my own opinion for now so as not to clutter the first post, but I do have it. I'm just curious to hear what everyone else has to say at the moment.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 10:02 am
It's extremely religious, although I didn't even see it until this very post, so thank you for posting up the article!
It's true that the book has underlining religious morals. Not just christianity, but religions who share the same moreals of good vs. evil. Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Buddism, Hinduism, etc. they all have those underlining morals of good Vs. Evil.
Although, the books do follow Christianity/Catholicism closer than most because of the story of Jesus Christ.
But really, when you think about it, most stories out there have the same sort of basic storyline. Matrix, any Disney movie you happen upon, especially the older ones... Really, any story that has a good vs. evil storyline usually comes down to basic moral beliefes.
Then again, moral beliefes are believed by those who aren't religious at all, so you could say they're not connected in any way.
Eh, I guess it's really up to your oppinion.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 4:51 pm
Indeed, I agree that the same story of good vs. evil is repeated over and over again.
But I'm thinking its just a slight bit more then that. There is a writing form, the classic monomyth plot structure, and the stories of Jesus Christ, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Matrix, and many other very successful movies and books follow this plot structure. My thinking is that the book itself is not 'divine' but that it appears to be so because of the fact that it shares the same monomyth plot structure that the stories of Jesus Christ do.
I can't help but think back to the early days of the fandom, back when they were banning the Harry Potter books from school (or trying to at the very least) for being 'works of the devil.' What a turn around since then.
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Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 10:10 am
No kidding! When I told my mom, who is a Christian, about the books when the second one came out, she absolutely refused to pick it up because of the 'wiches and wizardry' part. Said it was devilish, and compaired it to the Wicca religion/practice.
Well, I came back with the fact that Wiccans are nothing like the Wizards and Witches in Harry Potter, as their spells are actual magic that comes from wands, and that I really doubted even the most devout Wiccan could do such things.
Still, she stuck to it.
But I think she changed her mind when Glenn Beck said on his radio show that it was okay, not works of the devil like a lot of parents believed, and could actually inspire and help kids who didn't like reading so much.
Then she picked it up (this was after the sixth book was out) and zoomed through all six volumes. She has yet to read the seventh, but she's a fan of the series now.
I think people are so desperate to get kids to read nowadays that they'll work with anything kids seem to like. It's true that not enough kids know how to read well. Even adults. I remember my first college English class, and being absolutely shocked out of my mind that some of the other students in my class couldn't read. I was all like: HOW THE HELL DID YOU GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL?!!!
Eh, but that's a different topic.
Anyway, you're right, I don't think that J.K. Rowling wrote the book with the thought that it would follow the same plot structure as the story of Jesus Christ. Most people don't, because, as I said before, I think it could be more of a moral thing, not just a religious thing.
I know that when I write both originals and fanfiction, I always use the good-vs.-evil plot structure. The main character doesn't always die, but they usually almost always have to sacrifice something large in order to overcome said evil. I know that I don't sit there and think that I'm following along the Jesus story like a Good Little Christian Girl. lol. I just write what is exciting, and in the end, I always do have the good guys winning. It just feels good.
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:23 pm
I really don't see anything really "religious" about the book. (I'll mentian here that I'm a long-time Christian) I picked it up because I am a Fantasy fan, I I don;t see anything really unique about the series. Don't get me wrong, I love the series, but there are a lot of books with similar plotlines. the "good v.s. evil" plotline, and the Hero Quest plotline.
So I realy don;t think it's realigious, it's just a good book with a good basic plot.
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:13 pm
It was not created as a religios book, but as a series of stories for her child designed to reinforce the values she was teaching him as he was growing up. The reason there are 7 books was that she promised her kid (son, I think) that she would tell him a story every year until he graduated, and she wrote them down to keep track of everything (or something like that).
That said, there are a lot of parallels one can draw between HP and the bible. Having read both several times (the bible and the series), one can make Voldemort Satan and Dumbledore God and Harry Christ if you work hard enough. stare But who'd want to?
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