Last word on Harry, I promise

Just to add one more thought on Harry and proof of what I wrote below, here is a word for word quote from JK Rowling in her interview on NBC last night.

Young voice: Harry's also referred to as the chosen one. So are there religious--
J.K. Rowling: Well, there-- there clearly is a religious-- undertone. And-- it's always been difficult to talk about that because until we reached Book Seven, views of what happens after death and so on, it would give away a lot of what was coming. So … yes, my belief and my struggling with religious belief and so on I think is quite apparent in this book.

Meredith Vieira: And what is the struggle?
J.K. Rowling: Well my struggle really is to keep believing.
Meredith Vieira: To keep believing?
J.K. Rowling: Yes.

Harry Potter Review (warning, spoilers ahead)

When I first heard of Harry Potter, I was highly suspicious. I thought, with a lot of other Christians, it was an occultish novel, written to attract kids to witchcraft. Of course, I had not read the books, nor was I going to do so. What can I say? Legalism has always been a sin of mine, which Christ needs to constantly save me from.

Then, Wendy and I were talking with a church in Mississippi about going to be their youth pastor. We figured that most of the kids might have read the book (although, knowing more about the church, I realize now that was highly unlikely), so we decided to read the book. We were hooked and found out these books are not about magic at all.

They are about one thing that Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this, then to give up his life for a friend."

Jo Rowling has ingrained that theme into every word in each of the seven books. But, even more, her books are about how sacrificial love overcomes death, evil and destruction. No where is this more apparent than in Deathly Hallows.

The first real glimpse of this is where Harry and Hermoine visit Godric's Hollow. While there, they visit Harry's parents grave and the graves of Albus Dumbledore's family. There are some interesting quotes on both of the tomb stones. On the Dumbledore tombstone, "Where your treasure is, there will your be heart be also."

The quote is from Matthew 6:21 and the sermon on the mount. It is an interesting quote, because we find out that Dumbledore, the wizard who is Harry's mentor, was not the great guy he came to be in his later years. He was obsessed with power, control, awards, etc. And it is because of that obsession that his sister died. So, it is telling that Dumbledore chose that quote for their tomb.

The second quote is from Harry's parent's tomb which reads, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." This quote is so interesting, because unlike the Matthew reference, it is not as well known. It takes some finding to search this out in the Bible. It comes from 1 Corinthians 15:26. In that chapter, Paul is talking about Resurrection and the defeat of death that comes through Christ.

Now, isn't that interesting? If left here, it would just be a shadow, a hint of what JK Rowling was really writing about. But, it does not start there. I knew that Harry was going to have to make a sacrifice to save the wizarding world, all of the signs pointed to it. But, I thought she would not go so far as to have Harry die and be raised back up. I thought that she would be more subtle about it.

I was wrong and I am really glad I was wrong. Harry comes to the conclusion that he has to die to defeat Voldermort. But, more than that, that with his willing death, he will offer the same magical protection for his friends that his mother gave to him. Here is the quote, "I've done what my mother did. They're (his friends) are protected from you. haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them."

Wow. I mean wow. Talk about pointing to Jesus' death and atonement in a beautiful way! And even more, the scenes where Harry goes to his death strongly resemble Aslan's journey in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jo has given a beautiful picture that points directly to Christ and what she believes personally.

She hinted this would be so in an interview about four years ago. In that interview, she stated that she does believe in God and that she did not want to talk too much about that, as it would give away the ending of the book. Well, we have the ending and see what she is pointing at.

Thanks Jo. You have now reached my top three Christian writers of all time with Tolkien and Lewis. You deserve it.

Sometimes, you are just left speechless

I have no words for this other than I thought I had seen everything. I guess not.

www.christiandomesticdiscipline.com

Harry Potter Crystal Ball

My last few posts have been kinda heavy, so I thought I would lighten things up a bit. I am totally on fire for the new Harry Potter book. Seriously. I haven't gotten too excited about it before, but now that things draw near, my family is now with me, I can let my nerd self go.

Jo, if you ever read this, (which I doubt) you are an inspiration to me as I continue to write my story. You have made such an amazing world and done it with such class as a writer. Thank you. Take some much deserved time off.

So, in that spirit, here are my guesses with what will happen in Book Seven.


Major Question-What is with Severus Snape? Good? Bad? Ugly?

Well, he is ugly, but he won't be bad, or well, that is actually complicated. Let me put it this way, he is not a likeable guy. He is a jackass. But as Sirius said, the world is not always divided up between good people and Death Eaters (which is a great view of human sin). And, to be honest, when I first read that Snape killed Dumbledore, I was furious, hated him and relished the idea of Harry killing him.

But, once my brain took control, I started to realize that Snape might have done one of the hardest thing of anyone in the books. I believe that Dumbledore told Snape to kill him. How? Through Occulmency of course during that fatal moment on the tower. Snape's reaction wasnt because he hated Dumbledore, but because he knew what it would cost him. No friends on the good side, who all pretty much hated him anyway. That is why he reacts so strongly to Harry calling him a coward. And why he helped Harry, even in their final duel, as he tells him, "blocked again and again until you learn to close your mind."

Now, the question is, why? And the answer is, I have no idea. I don't even want to guess. But, take my word for it, Snape will help Harry, even as he helped him in book six through the Half Blood Prince book.


Second major issue, will Harry die? Now, Jo has once said in an interview that she did not want too many people to know that she was a Christian. Why? because it might give away the ending. What does that mean? It essentially means that sacrifice will play a huge role as it already has in so many ways, most especially through Harry's mother giving her life for him.

So, this means that Harry will die right? Dying for the wizard world? Maybe, but I don't think so. My theory (and others have come up with this as well, so I cant take credit for it) is that Harry's sacrifice will be his magical powers.

There are many strong hints that point to this. First and foremost, Jo has been asked over and over again if she believes in magic. She has said no and that when we reach the end of series, we will know why. Second, Harry is told constantly by Dumbledore that love is more powerful than any magic known to the wizarding world. But, also, Dumbledore's semiwhimsical statements about other things being more powerful that magic, such as music, etc.

Voldemort doesn't get this, but Harry will. He will give up his magical powers to defeat Voldemort. How will this happen? I have no idea, but the evidence is strongly in that direction. If i am wrong, totally fine, but it would really satisfy me, because Harry would not be dead, but victory over evil came with a sacrifice. A pretty big one in Harry's world.


Other Minor Predections (Some serious and some not so serious)

Ron and Hermoine will be engaged or married by the end of the book. Possibly Ron will get smart and pop the question at Bill and Fleur's wedding.
So will Ginny and Harry.
Lupin will kill the werewolf who bit him, but then be in turn killed by Wormtail.
The flying car will a huge role in the book.
We will see Godric's Hollow and the graves of Harry's parents.
Godric's Hollow will play a huge role in the book (Deathly Hallows, Hollow, get it?)
I think there will be a major event at Bill and Fleur's wedding, possibly a death eater attack, with characters killed. Horrible, but its possible.

Deaths-
Hedwig-a seemingly minor death, but it would make me sad.
Hagrid- I cannot believe he has lasted this long
McGongall-She is a target as the new headmistress of Hogwarts
Two Weasleys- I hate this, but I just have this horrible feeling two of them will go. The twins? Maybe, but more likely Mr. and Mrs Weasley.
Lupin- by far one of my favorite, if not favorite Characters in the books.

I think all of the three will survive, but will be "hurt" in some way.

Anyway, those are my thoughts and I am sticking to them!