Posts tagged "Harry Potter"
Hopelessly Devoted: Colossians Chapter Three Verses Three and Four
Bible / Death / Suffering / Theology

Hopelessly Devoted: Colossians Chapter Three Verses Three and Four

by Mockingbird on Oct 22, 2012 • 3 Comments

An amazing devotion this morning comes from Lynn MacDougall, who shares a reflection on both the Fall Mockingbird Conference and its cornerstone concept–the hope we find in death. 

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Since my time at the recent Mockingbird Conference in Charlottesville, I have been thinking about death. A lot.  Suffering was the heart of the matter, but “death” was the “piece de resistance.”   Questions that emerged: What does it mean to live? What does it mean…

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The Devil Within: A World Without Voldemort
America / Film / Identity

The Devil Within: A World Without Voldemort

by Todd Brewer on Dec 8, 2011 • 1 Comment

In a recent NY Times article, A.O. Scott has conducted a fascinating survey of the movie villains of the last year. For Scott, the death of Lord Voldemort marks the end of an era in the American characterization of evil. The rise of the Harry Potter franchise and Voldemort coincided with the rise of terrorism and Osama Bin Laden in the national consciousness. Within the world of Harry Potter, Voldemort embodied evil without qualification in the same way that Bin Laden gave a face to the mercurial threat of terror. Both men offered the possibility that good and evil, right…

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A Harry Potter Heresy? In Defense of Draco
Children / Film / Law / Literature

A Harry Potter Heresy? In Defense of Draco

by Addie on Oct 4, 2011 • 3 Comments

Who would think of naming someone other than the belovedly scar-ridden H.P. the hero of J.K. Rowling’s famous tales of witchcraft and wizardry? This is precisely the claim coming from the mouth of Jason Isaacs, who plays Lucius Malfoy, father of privileged bad boy and Slytherin typecast, Draco, in the film adaptation of Harry Potter. Don’t curse us just yet, Gryffindor. Isaacs’ comment isn’t meant to derail the entire Potter fantasy, nor take away from the golden child that is Harry Potter, but to reinstate the luster lost within a character so commonly perceived as sinister. Isaacs sheds light [Lumos!]…

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Another Week Ends: Divorce Delusions, FNL, KJV, Natural Family Planning, Pastafarianism, Harry Potter and 30 Rock
America / Bible / Film / Humor / Music / Psychology / Relationships / Religion / TV / Week In Review

Another Week Ends: Divorce Delusions, FNL, KJV, Natural Family Planning, Pastafarianism, Harry Potter and 30 Rock

by David Zahl on Jul 15, 2011 • No Comments

1. New Mbird favorite Heather Havrilesky hit another home run in this past Sunday’s NY Times Magazine with her column “The Divorce Delusion,” in which she exposed the current sunny pop-climate about divorce for what it is, namely, delusional. Or at least very naive. She also took the opportunity to muse on the underlying narcissism:

The moral to this modern divorce story? If everyone involved doesn’t emerge stronger, happier and more productive, well, then, in the vague parlance of today’s progressive preschool, someone is making bad choices.

The notion that there’s some “right” choice for every life challenge fits neatly into the…

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The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 7: The Deathly Hallows
Books / Death / Film / Suffering / Theology

The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 7: The Deathly Hallows

by Ethan Richardson on Jul 14, 2011 • 4 Comments

Mischief managed! On the eve of the final film’s release, we conclude our Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter series with the final book’s namesake, The Deathly Hallows, the three folkloric and instrumental relics of magic which enable its beholder to cheat death, in costly ways. The Master of the three Hallows is the Master of Death. As a word of caution to those who have not yet read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (for shame!), or would prefer not to be made aware of insights, theological or otherwise, related to the final part of the saga, this is your…

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The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 6: Horcruxes
Books / Death / Film / Suffering / Theology

The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 6: Horcruxes

by Ethan Richardson on Jul 11, 2011 • 3 Comments

As we enter the week of the final film‘s release, out this Friday in a theater near you, we finish our Harry Potter Sacraments series with two theologically potent elements, both of which are imperative for the saga’s conclusion. We’ll begin today with Horcruxes, the darkest of Dark Magic, and what they say about human malediction, and one’s desire for substitution. On Wednesday, we finish with the final book’s namesake, The Deathly Hallows.

Slughorn: “You must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature.”

Riddle: “But how do…

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The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 5: The Mudblood
Books / Church / Film / Identity / Law

The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 5: The Mudblood

by Ethan Richardson on Jul 6, 2011 • No Comments

As we continued our series last week with the Pensieve, so we move into Part 5: The Mudblood, the derogatory and tradition-favoring term used against wizards from non-magic families. A thoughtful and enduring device used by Rowling throughout the Harry Potter saga, the notion of race purity says a lot about our own sociological world, the inversion of that sociological world in the Church, as well as the world of faith in regards to the relationship between law and acceptance.

“No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood,” he spat.

Harry knew at once that Malfoy had said something…

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The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 4: The Pensieve
Books / Film / Psychology

The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 4: The Pensieve

by Ethan Richardson on Jun 30, 2011 • 2 Comments

“We solemnly swear that we are up to no good!” As the Potter series continues, we take a look into the Pensieve–which will play a large role in the final film–the magical basin of memory’s stains and understandings. To read this series’ earlier entries, look no further than here, here and here.

Dumbledore got to his feet and walked around the desk, past Harry, who turned eagerly in his seat to watch Dumbledore bending over the cabinet beside the door. When Dumbledore straightened up, he was holding a familiar shallow stone basin etched with odd markings around its rim. He placed…

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The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 3: The Dementor
Books / Film / Suffering

The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 3: The Dementor

by Ethan Richardson on Jun 23, 2011 • 2 Comments

We continue our seven-part exploration of the most theologically potent elements in the Harry Potter saga with a look at the nature of, and inspiration for, the dementor–the hellish wardens of Azkaban prison–and the only counterforce that repels them. Just how did Sirius Black escape?! For Parts 1 and 2, click here and here.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin’s hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry’s eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from…

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The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 2: The Mirror of Erised
Addiction / Books / Film / Identity

The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 2: The Mirror of Erised

by Ethan Richardson on Jun 20, 2011 • 3 Comments

Wands at the ready! We bring you the second installment of our series exploring some of the theological elements in the Harry Potter saga. You can find part one here.

And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his…Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life…He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness. How long he stood there, he didn’t know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked…

It is…

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The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 1: The Scar
Books / Death / Film / Suffering

The Seven Sacraments of Harry Potter, Part 1: The Scar

by Ethan Richardson on Jun 15, 2011 • 11 Comments

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is arguably the most critically and commercially successful children’s series of all time. Over the course of the next month or so, leading up to the release of the cinematic conclusion, we’ll be taking a look at seven elements—some pivotal, some relatively marginal—of particular theological significance within the series. Accio posto!

“Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.”

It has become the brand. The focal, jagged-tail P that now crosses the screen of X-Box…

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Eleven Or So Entertainments Worth Looking Forward To This Year
Books / Film / Music / TV

Eleven Or So Entertainments Worth Looking Forward To This Year

by David Zahl on Feb 4, 2011 • 1 Comment

As snow continues to pound the East Coast and seasonal affective disorder hits full stride, I thought we could all use a reminder of what the rest of 2011 promises, pop culture-wise:

1. Damsels in Distress. Hallelujah, hallelujah, a new Whit Stillman film at last! If this were the only thing happening this year, it’d be enough.

2. The Pale King. David Foster Wallace’s unfinished final novel hits the stands April 15th. Mindfulness and taxes sound like a powerful brew. 

3. The Muppets. (11/23). For the first time since The Muppet Christmas Carol, it would appear that Kermit and company are…

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Atonement in Harry Potter
Books / Film / Suffering / Theology

Atonement in Harry Potter

by David Zahl on Nov 18, 2010 • 3 Comments

Two more quotes from Travis Prinzi’s excellent Harry Potter & Imagination, this time with a significant spoiler alert attached: 

Harry’s journey into the forest [at the end of The Deathly Hallows] is, in J.K. Rowling’s mind, the point of the whole series. “That is the chapter that I had planned for 17 years. That moment is the heart of all the books”. Harry reaches the forest much like Aslan – his strength is spent (so much so that he’s unable to conjure a patronus), and he is terribly shaken at the prospect of death… When Harry arrives at the clearing in the forest,…

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Harry Potter and the Transformative Power of Grief
Books / Death / Film / Literature / Suffering

Harry Potter and the Transformative Power of Grief

by David Zahl on Nov 17, 2010 • No Comments

A few particularly profound excerpts from Travis Prinzi’s masterful and highly recommended book Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds would be appropriate (more tomorrow):

A fire-baptism can do one of two things to a person: it can consume him in judgment, or it can purify him. Harry’s willingness and ability to be purified, to be “rebuilt,” or “reborn” like a pheonix, becomes the key to his success as a hero… Harry’s suffering throughout the series has been necessary, primarily because the character it produces in Harry makes him able to confront Voldemort.

Harry’s ability to love was created by…

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Books / Film

Epic New Harry Potter Trailer

by David Zahl on Sep 23, 2010 • 2 Comments