Those of you who have grown to love Harry Potter as I love Harry Potter, know that there is something about the books that make them special. Something that draws the reader in--making him or her care about the characters and the outcome of the story. It is not only the story of Harry Potter, but it is the story of all of us. Wandering around in a world trying to figure life out. That’s what makes a book timeless…because the story of life never changes.
Here is our first lesson from the stories of Harry Potter. The following is an excerpt from the essay Heaven, Hell, and Harry Potter recorded in Harry Potter and Philosophy. As I was reading this essay and came upon this part, I was surprised and pleased. I hope you enjoy it as well. And of course, I recommend the entire essay.
“What this means is that the nature of ultimate reality, the fundamental metaphysical truth, is loving relationship. God from all eternity has existed as a loving relationship among three persons. Moreover, God loves all His creatures so deeply that He was wiling to sacrifice himself to show how much He loves them and wants them to love Him in return. This is what is involved in the Christian belief that Jesus is the Son of God who willingly died for us on the cross to save us from our sins.
If this is true, the story about Harry Potter’s mother and the power of her blood is a reflection of one of the deepest truths about reality, namely, that all of us are loved by One who was willing to spill his blood and die for us. Furthermore, the love of Harry’s mother is a picture of the fact that love is a greater and more powerful thing than evil and death. It was her sacrificial love that protected Harry when Voldemort and Quirrell tried to kill him. In the Christian story, the resurrection of Jesus shows that love is stronger than death. Jesus offers to share his life with all who believe in him, and this life gives those who receive it the power to live forever. So understood, Christianity is a great love story and it is based on the belief that love is the deepest reality and evil cannot defeat it.” (PAGE 74-75)
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2 comments:
Wow, this is so true and I can't believe I didn't realize its significance when reading it myself. This isn't a contrived way to squeeze Christianity into a secular novel... whoever wrote this is dead on. Harry's mother sacrificed herself for Harry because of her great love for him. ONLY through that sacrifice is Harry immune to what the rest of the world is not-- the evil of Voldemort. Amazing. I am constantly reminded that only because I am I covered in the blood of Jesus can I have a relationship with God (a concept that I've always thought is surely so very odd to a non-believer). Yet, Rowling, a non-believer, has captured this exact truth in her writings on Harry and his mother. Wonder if Rowling had any idea what she was doing? Not to contrive something that's not supposed to be a direct correlation, but I can't help thinking about what a caring woman Lily was, especially when she was a student at Hogwarts. The way she defended Snape when he was the target of torment. Really a champion for the weak.
So true. Such a great comment. I do think there is so much packed into the Harry Potter novels. One of the things emphasized by the author of the essay the quote is taken from is how the decisions people make to love to such a degree of self sacrifice must come from somewhere. Without someone to truly embody love why would we as selfish humans ever make sacrificial decisions. It's very interesting to think about.
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