Tuesday, November 22, 2005

The Gospel According to Albus Dumbledore

I am reading the Harry Potter series to my daughter of 5 years old. Last night, I read a paragraph that I found so beautiful that I had to blog it. I am taking some editing license, indicated by [], to illustrate the beauty and profound statement that I read into it. This is my take and not intended to reflect any view by the author J.K. Rowling.


[Christ] died to save you. If there is one thing [Satan] cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your [Savior's] love for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign...to have been loved so deeply, even though [the One] who loved us is gone, will give us protection* forever. It is in your very skin. [People], full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing [their] soul with [Satan], [can] not touch you for this reason. It [is] agony to touch a person marked by something so good.
-- modified from Albus Dumbledore's commentary on Voldemort, Harry Potter & The Sorcer's Stone, J. K. Rowling. Arthur A. Levine Books. 2003.

I give them [my sheep] eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one.
-- Christ, John 10:28-30.


* edited from "some protection".

8 comments:

Phil said...

I told you they were book crack, Amanda.

jettybetty said...

I am so thankful you took some editorial license--I just love this. It's enough to make me try on the Harry Potter books again. Aggie-Ed just loves them and I have tried in the past for him. I assume M. is enjoying them??

Tony Arnold said...

At the moment, she likes me reading to her more than she enjoys the story. She does love the movies.

I am working hard to teach the book is always better and deeper than the movie. But since she cannot read most books for herself yet, it will be a while before I can really illustrate this point.

She loves to read though! I am so proud.

Tony

erinlo said...

Very interesting post, Tony. My husband has read all the Harry Potter books but I couldn't get into them because they were a little too "witchy" for me. Maybe I ought to pick them up again and read in a different frame of mind.

Tony Arnold said...

Erinlo, you have to do what you feel is right for you. But I have no more problem with them than I do with Tolkien or C.S. Lewis's Naria.

Tony

Tony Arnold said...

Naria? A rare series of books that few know that C.S. Lewis wrote, published under the name, I. B. Solews.

As many have said before, I wish we could edit our comments.

Tony

Malia said...

uh, try proofreading sometime

Tony Arnold said...

Bor-ring!