I say that she is. The Harry Potter books are very spiritual. They have a hidden message of the Gospel. You have to look beyond the surface of the story. I think that she is converting the minds and hearts of children and adults the world over. In their hearts they are following the teaching of Dumbledore which are the teaching of Christ.
2006-11-17 04:49:22 · 12 answers · asked by tonks_op 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
About my hair. Yes Pink is best. I feel like purple or green sometimes. I change it from time to time.
2006-11-17 05:12:45 · update #1
Whether intentional or simply building on established Western symbolism...Harry is saved, protected, and marked by his mother's sacrifice; evil is symbolized by snakes, and good by lions (which may well be an allusion to Aslan, as Rowling has said often how much she loves the Narnia books); the theme of resurrection is amazingly prevalent, from Voldemort creating a false, twisted parody of it to Fawkes (and, seeing how much phoenix symbolism has surrounded Dumbledore, I'm fully expecting him to reappear--and I fully expected him to be the Big Death of Book 6 because of it); prophecy has come heavily into play, including the prediction of a savior's birth; much like the Pharisees, the Ministry of Magic presents a ruling-class standard that must be challenged and overturned...I could keep going, but I won't.
I'll also mentioned that nobody saw a whit of a hidden message in Lewis' books until he publically proclaimed his religion.
Again, it could simply be building on well-established Western mythology. Or maybe not...
2006-11-17 05:12:24 · answer #1 · answered by angk 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Tonks, I've read both the Bible and all of the Harry Potter books (in fact I'm very similar to Mrs. Weasley in personality). But I don't see this as proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
There is no plan of salvation in the books, there is no hope of eternal life in these books (even if you look at the curtain that Sirius went through - it's not the eternity of the Bible).
While I believe that any subject can be used for analogy, and I can see some great Christian concepts in the books, I don't feel that JK Rowling is implying anything scriptural in her analogies.
While Dumbledore is a wise old figure, I see him as more like Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars, than Jesus Christ. His teachings are more of a mentor, possibly an Abraham of the Bible perhaps. But Dumbledore didn't come to earth to die for the sins of the world. But he was the wise mentor, and protector.
But I feel you will see him return in Book 7 via the portraits. And like Christ in that regard, he is still with us.
2006-11-17 05:05:52 · answer #2 · answered by Searcher 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
NO. I'll admit there are some easily drawn paralells between the Christ myth and the Harry Potter books. But those paralells exist in any story with a fight between good and evil. With that logic, Stephen King's "The Stand", a much more blatantly religious story, spreads the "Gospel" too. There's nothing particularly spiritual in them - no mention of chapel, no direct correlation to Dumbledore and Harry as God and Jesus, no praying, no worship of any kind. There is no hidden message in any of those books. It's all right there - friendship, hard work, overcoming fears, death, life, school, fitting in, rising to meet challenges... Nothing hidden about any of that. I love these books, and have read them all multiple times. Maybe if you could give a specific reference, it would help your arguement a little. I just don't see that at all.
2006-11-17 04:59:07 · answer #3 · answered by ReeRee 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Harry Potter is a fictional story. Although there are good messages taught throughout such as love, loyalty, friendship and bravery, it is not the Gospel. Read the Bible for that. Leave entertaining to J.K.
2006-11-17 04:57:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
No. She tries to have moral protagonists and so on, but I don't think she is making allusion to the Christian religion like C.S. Lewis did with Narnia. Besides, while Dumbledore is a good guy and all, he doesn't seem to spout the teachings of Jesus in any of his dialogues.
2006-11-17 04:58:10 · answer #5 · answered by wayfaroutthere 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ummmmm...no. I think the books are beautifully written works of literary art and certainly they deserve a place on the family bookshelf but I do not think she was espousing any message hidden or not to follow Christ. However, neither was she suggesting for anyone to go and be sorcerors and such as some of my fellow Christians believe. It is sad when a book cannot be appreciated simply for it's entertainment value and is either Godly or "of the Devil".
2006-11-17 04:55:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Harry Potter (though a good read) is about as religious as a coloring book. There is no hidden meaning. Seriously, Harry is not really the best role model. He can get in trouble in an empty room. NOt the kind of person I want my kid to take after. It's entertaining, and that's all.
2006-11-17 04:54:31 · answer #7 · answered by sister steph 6 · 2⤊ 3⤋
How is witchcraft a good thing? Last time I checked it was bad, according to the Bible. She's showing children that witchcraft is all right when it's not. Just because something's spiritual, does not mean that it's good.
2006-11-17 05:15:15 · answer #8 · answered by . 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I think not. In general, christianity is infamous for rejecting all things magical....witches, voodoo, paganism. so, to try to preach Gospel in a book based on magic is VERY unlikely.
2006-11-17 04:52:47 · answer #9 · answered by nottashygirl 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I am sorry even J.K. Rowling stated that there is no hide message in her books.
2006-11-17 04:51:42 · answer #10 · answered by Kenneth G 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋