Okay, friends - those of us who are HP fans (which has proven to be quite a diverse group!), this is a great video of a discussion on what mysteries will be solved in the 7th (and final) book in the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows. Click to watch the video: QuickTime or Windows Media.The Discussion was filmed during the recent Phoenix Rising conference in New Orleans by Borders. It features the hosts of the Leaky Cauldron podcasts.
One of the things that I enjoy about discussions such as this one is that it's such a great model for studying Scripture. What you will see when you watch the video is that the participants in the discussion "stick to canon" - in other words, they defend their positions from the books themselves and it makes for lively and fun conversation - there is a common place to stand. You don't hear anyone saying "Well, I don't really think that Harry Potter is the center of these books," or that "when Jo says the phrase "Harry Potter" that she's always talking about a boy, she could be talking about a Symbiotic Idea." Well, in the grand scheme of things, there will be those who go down that road - but not here, not now. The people in the room know their HP Canon and it makes for fascinating conversation. What matters is the story, the characters, and the point. And notice how much they love the books. Another primary point in Bible Study is to fall in the love with the Scriptures, to see them come alive and real inside of us. Great stories do that - and Scripture goes even further in.
Who said they were just children's books? New York Times - prepare to move Book 7 to the Best Seller List.
Right now Jo Rowling is conducting the final test (called WOMBATs) at her website. Took it the other night and my head nearly fell off. It's might tough. You will need to solve a few puzzles to get through (need help - click here), but in case there was any question that these books are extraordinary, this test ought to finish those questions off. Hint: when you get to her webside, click on the eraser. The rest you can get by clicking the help link above. God speed. And don't say I didn't warn you!
LATER: The Door has now closed at Jo Rowling's website. Here at the HP Table at the Cafe (we do realize that there are many tables in here with lots of conversations going on!) we've decided that the test itself was filled with hints about Deathly Hallows.
5 comments:
Babyblue,
I think your analogy to bible study is completely in error. For one thing, if a group is studying a modern piece of literature, or a series by one author, that group has a definitive source to rely on. And as your video shows, speak the same language the author used for the book.
Scripture is very far from this. In scripture we have translations of translations of copies of manuscripts of copies of manuscripts of differing text across a wide cultural divide and time difference. It makes it much more complicated. Anyone who seriously studies scripture without acknowledging this wide difference, without looking into history, without talking about context, is not really studying scripture. Sorry, but that is just the way it is.
I suppose in 2000 years if people are still reading HP, there might be some arguments about authenticity of the text, the historical context, etc.
Yours truly,
Plainsparson
I believe what BB is saying is that the skills that make for a good Bible study also make for a good literary discussion (but she described it in reverse). So when you come to a narrative of nonfiction or fiction, one should stick to the text, but also don't turn off your imagination.
The story of Ruth has only one meaning, that the author meant, but one should still imagine what it was like back then to see what lessons might be drawn out.
Some of the Scripture is instructional text but a vast majority is told in a narrative form. Even the Gospels are narratives which in themselves contain stories within stories.
In the case of HP, Jo Rowling is around to correct the discussion. I think BB saying the principles are good for any proper discussion of literature. Don't read in stuff that's not there but do place yourself in the story that its not abstract and disconnected from your mind.
Thanks, Kevin - that's it. The discovery in reading Jo Rowling's fiction was that there is a real movement to "stick to canon." People know that there's a big difference between reading into the text and reading out of the text. But what matters is the text. The discussion comes from the text - and for bible study, scripture informs scripture. Reading "in context" means reading in context of scripture.
For example, there is a perception that the God of the Old Testament is Angry!God and the God of the New Testament is Loving!God. But when we actually read the scriptures and apply the same type of principles (inductively) to the text, we discover that this perception is so unfounded and false. "God" as a character in Scripture is so amazing and as revealed through the Trinity, which is informed from scripture, life transforming.
While we do have Jo Rowling around to ask questions (though she doesn't answer them all - at least not yet), we have our Risen Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to ask us to make plain the scriptures to us. How He responds is still informed by Scripture.
If Jo Rowling were to suddenly tell us that Voldemort is a Really Great Guy and try to convince us of that, we'd reject it - even though she's the author. We'd think that either this Jo Rowling is an imposter or she might be ill - but such a statement would call into question her own knowledge of the books.
This is similar to what we find when Friends With Whom We Disagree assert that certain immoral practices are suddenly immoral because "the spirit is doing a new thing." But what spirit? It does not appear to be the Holy Spirit as found in the Scriptures because such a thing contradicts the whole of scripture and the understanding that holy living is made in marriage between a husband and wife or in celibacy. We ask for arguments from "canon" - from the scriptures - but it can't be done - or it hasn't been done, the arguments have to come from outside canon and in the Harry Potter realm, that's called "fan fiction."
It's simply not there - so the scriptures are reduced to dry esoteric dronings like Prof. Binns, the Hogwarts History Professor. We certainly don't find the enthusiasm for the scriptures with such a perspective as we find with these story books by J.K. Rowling.
What struck me about watching this conversation was the joy of the story, the knowledge of the subject, the diversity of opinions (yet all sticking to canon), and the sheer fun of it. I have been in evangelical Bible Studies like this and it is so fun - and it deepens and strengthens our walk with Jesus.
I remember one of my first "ah ha" moments, when scripture just leapt off the page and into my heart - the scene when Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb and finds what she thinks is the gardner, only to discover it's Jesus. Her sheer joy at discovering Him alive still brings tears to my eyes each time I read it. It illustrates my own conversion and the words are alive - not only with the current scene that's illustrated, but the character of Jesus (even in this scene we see his humor!) and the great themes of all scripture, as the words in Amazing Grace say "I was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."
As for Harry Potter, do we not have a feeling that he may be experiencing the words to this hymn in the final book? What do the books say?
bb
My learning this was EN210. While I grew up attending sci-fi conventions, I never really learned anything from fandom.
I'm dyslexic and really struggle reading (except Scripture, go figure, we're promised the Spirit and He show up, this does not work with Christan books about Scripture, but the Holy Texts I can read). However my professor loved me in N210 American Literature because I was much better than other kids in the classroom in engaging the readings (I used Bible Study technique because I'm too stupid to know any other approach than that I've used with Scripture).
I got an "A" in the class, the proudest "A" I ever earned!!!!
----
Nothing beats the Bible, but I'm happy I had to take the class. We did the play Fences and many short stories, some not worth their salt, but Willa Cather's Neighbor Rosicky really spoke to me, not so much into TS Elliot or Ezra Pound, though my reader (mom) loves Emily Dickinson so love for love shown me.
The night she read Amy Tan's Half and Half, Loise Erdrich's The Red Convertable and Bharati Mukherjee's The Management of Grief was a very intense night as well as looking at our racial ills through the eyes of Richard Wright's Black Boy.
Then the climate of course was F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby.
Most here probably never thought Bible study skills were transferable, after all, who wants to hear 'What does it say, what does it say in the context of when it was written, what does it say to us?' This dyslexic learned that's exactly what English professors want.
Signed, a dyslexic who got an "A" on my Lit class requirement because of prayer, but also Bible study skill (must not forget parents who read to 30+ child),
Kevin
Plainsparson, textual criticism means that the texts we have of Scripture are not a case of "whisper down the lane," but accurate renditions that are close to the originals -- and the differences among the extant texts are not that great and do not call central doctrines into question.
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