Spirituality
13 Jul 07
18 Jul 07
1 edit
Originally posted by NemesioI'm wondering if the same things could be said about L. Frank Baums' books like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? One could not remotely say that his books contained any notion of God or Christianity. And I don't recall any popular craze for the books of Tolkien or C.S. Lewis, like there was for Baums.
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Rowling's work is so familiar that we've forgotten how radical it really is. Look at her literary forebears. In The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien fused his ardent Catholicism with a deep, nostalgic love for the unspoiled English landscape. C.S. Lewis was a devout Anglican whose Chronicles of Narnia forms an extended argument for Christian faith. N he answer is easy: God....
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1642885,00.html
18 Jul 07
Originally posted by blakbuzzrdI'm too old to stay up that late. The mail carrier will deliver mine Saturday. I'll be very mature and not put up my vacation flag, but I'm off-line until I finish reading it.
Y'all can all go screw y'allselves, 'cause I am getting my Harry Potter fix at the stroke of midnight Saturday morning.
Yeah, that's right. I pre-ordered it at a local bookstore.
And yes, I will prolly dress like a Gryffindor.
20 Jul 07
Originally posted by pawnhandlerA soul is not however a sign of a belief in a deity. There are plenty of ghosts of dead people at Hogwarts so it is clear that the concept of a soul that can exist independent of the body is there but as far as I know there is no mention of them ever going to heaven.
The article is inaccurate. I'm rereading book six, and a major premise of the horcrux is that you can commit a murder and in the process choose to split your soul in half. In fact, Voldy wanted to split his soul into seven parts. A soul seems to definitely be a sign of religion.
20 Jul 07
Originally posted by twhiteheadWhile it does not spesify, it does say that to come back as a ghost is an active choise not to move forward. The ghost does not know what it is not moving forward to, it just knows it would rather stay in the land of the living, or is too afraid to move on. What you move onto is open to interpretation, and obviously you can't know what we are moving onto, if anything, so really its fair enough for there to be no active concept of heaven within the books.
A soul is not however a sign of a belief in a deity. There are plenty of ghosts of dead people at Hogwarts so it is clear that the concept of a soul that can exist independent of the body is there but as far as I know there is no mention of them ever going to heaven.
20 Jul 07
Originally posted by NemesioI thought "God is love"...
As chess nerds, I have to imagine that many of you are Harry Potter fans.
What do you think of this article?
Thursday, Jul. 12, 2007
Who Dies in Harry Potter? God
By Lev Grossman
Joanne Rowling has three fancy houses and more money than the Queen, but she still doesn't have a middle name: the K. is just an empty invention, added for effect when she ...[text shortened]... Deathly Hallows.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1642885,00.html
20 Jul 07
Originally posted by Jake EllisonHowever, at the end of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", there's a rather strong suggestion that there is some sort of afterlife. So while a concept like heaven or God is not mentioned, it clearly is not "a world free of any religion or spirituality of any kind".
While it does not spesify, it does say that to come back as a ghost is an active choise not to move forward. The ghost does not know what it is not moving forward to, it just knows it would rather stay in the land of the living, or is too afraid to move on. What you move onto is open to interpretation, and obviously you can't know what we are moving ont ...[text shortened]... ything, so really its fair enough for there to be no active concept of heaven within the books.
20 Jul 07
The whole series does seem to argue towards morality based on societies needs rather than a deities desire. It appears that practicing 'dark magic' is considered an option open to all and I don't remember any specific moral teaching against it but at the same time practitioners of dark magic seem to tend to break the law and get sent to Azkaban for that and not for practicing dark magic.
20 Jul 07
Originally posted by twhiteheadIt's an option in the same way in which doing evil or being rotten are options here. But Hogwarts refuses to teach the Dark Arts, whereas the school Viktor Krum came from taught them.
The whole series does seem to argue towards morality based on societies needs rather than a deities desire. It appears that practicing 'dark magic' is considered an option open to all and I don't remember any specific moral teaching against it but at the same time practitioners of dark magic seem to tend to break the law and get sent to Azkaban for that and not for practicing dark magic.
20 Jul 07
Originally posted by pawnhandlerDon't be dissing the Durmstrang Institute -- that cool ghost ship they travel around in is awesome.
It's an option in the same way in which doing evil or being rotten are options here. But Hogwarts refuses to teach the Dark Arts, whereas the school Viktor Krum came from taught them.
Accio, Book 7!
20 Jul 07
Originally posted by NemesioGood point about God=love !!!
As chess nerds, I have to imagine that many of you are Harry Potter fans.
What do you think of this article?
Thursday, Jul. 12, 2007
Who Dies in Harry Potter? God
By Lev Grossman
Joanne Rowling has three fancy houses and more money than the Queen, but she still doesn't have a middle name: the K. is just an empty invention, added for effect when she ...[text shortened]... Deathly Hallows.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1642885,00.html