Baptizing Harry Potter

[snarktastic]

Wow SportsMom, sorry to hear about that.

I've read in a number of places that JK Rowling is a Christian - a nice, normal non-fundamentalist Christian - and this is reflected in a books. In a nice, normal non-evangelical way.

[Arete]

Those books are chocked full of Christian imagery

1. Harry is a child savior that an evil entity wants to kill

2. For Harry to save the wizard world, he must die

3. As mentioned above, Harry's parents and Dumbeldore's mother's grave have Bible verses. As a matter of fact, the one on Harry's parent's' grave is straight out of the Book of Revelation for crying out loud.

4. Dumbledore's character has a lot of parallels to early Christian monks. Ran wild in the world and then a tragedy makes him dedicate the rest of his life as a penance.

5. Both Dumbledore and Snape are martyred. Their deaths are used to bear witness.

Too bad fundies are allergic to both curiosity and reading, because if they were not, they would understand just how steeped in Christianity these books really are.

[Mice]

I lost my dad to lung cancer several years ago and he went into the hospital for the last time (2 weeks before he died) the night that the last book came out. My husband took my son to the midnight release in my place and then brought me a copy to read while I sat in ICU waiting. My very devout Fundy family raised hell over me having "a book about witchcraft" in their presence but they went way over the line at the funeral when one aunt said that my dad died to punish me for reading that "devil book". I drew back to hit before I realized it and only the funeral director grabbing her and telling her to leave saved her.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

[VaSportsMom]

I'm sorry that happened to you.

Thank you. Looking back I should not have been shocked that they acted like raging idiots but I guess, at the time, I just expected they might pretend to show a little decency & compassion under the circumstances. I haven't spoke to most of that side of the family since the funeral though.

I'm atheist and they can't figure out how someone raised in such a "good Christian family" could turn out so "wrong". Bullshit like a vindictive deity that would strike a decent man dead to punish his grown child for reading a damn book is enough to turn anyone off their brand of religion.