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Using |
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A chapter by chapter examination of
Looking for
Author: John
Christian
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Note: To say that I was disturbed to discover that a
respected Christian publisher such as Tyndale House would publish a book
that applauded alchemy and sorcery as a pathway to God would be an
understatement. Throughout His Word, God warns us to shun any
association real or imagined with the dark world of the occult.
But in our times of blurred visions and spiritual blindness, even the
occult secrets of alchemical sorcery and hermetic magic are once again
becoming acceptable to people who call themselves Christians.To highlight the deception promoted in this book, I
will let the author, John Granger, speak for himself. My indented
comments (in blue, italicized letters) follow the quotes from his book.
The bold letters in his quotes are added for emphasis.Verses from the Bible are also indented but not italicized.
Background information from
the article, “The
Alchemists Tale“
by John Granger
“Understanding the Harry Potter books
as alchemical writing in the tradition of the English ‘Greats’ will
explain otherwise bizarre events, plot turns, and names in the novels….“The alchemist,
like all traditional or non-modern people, understood man to be essentially
spirit (as man is created by the Spirit), then soul, then physical body….
His personhood or humanity he knew to be a joining of soul and body without
seamand his tragedy was that he was fallen, i.e., that he had lost his
spiritual capacity or intellectus, by means of which Adam walked and talked
with God in the garden. Alchemy was the means, in conjunction with the
mysteries of the Church, by which he could regain this lost capacity.
The substance changing from lead to gold was his soul, and the riches he
would glean were spiritual richesholiness and immortality.
“It is essentially a
super-conscious or spiritual work that happens through correspondence
with archetypes that are
above, not below, individual consciousness.
“So what was alchemy? It was a traditional or sacred science,
supporting the work of the revealed tradition and its means of grace,
for the purification and perfection of the alchemists soul in correspondence
with the metallurgical perfection of a base metal into gold….
“Rowling clearly understands
both ‘alchemy in literature’ and the ‘alchemy of literature.’ Her books
satisfy the need in us, born in a profane culture without heroes or
avenues of transcendent experience….
“We get this experience in our identification
with Harry, and we are better, more human even, for having been at least
for a while in the alembic vessel, changing from spiritual lead to gold,
dying and rising from the dead. In brief, Rowlings novels are so popular
because her works transform the human person via imaginative identification,
catharsis, and resurrection.”
[Emphasis added]
“Woe to those
who call evil good, and good evil…” Isaiah 5:20
Introduction
“The Potter books are the most edifying works of fiction written in many
years….”
“My thesis is existentially this: As images of God designed for life in Christ,
all humans naturally resonate with stories that reflect the greatest story ever
told the story of God who became man. The Harry Potter novels… touch our
hearts because they contain themes, imagery, and engaging stories that echo
the Great Story we are wired to receive and respond to. …they address the
need… we have for spiritual nourishment in the form of edifying, imaginative
experience of life in Christ.”
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and
empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic
principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Colossians 2:6-9
Chapter 1 – Magic, fantasy and the Christian
worldview
“The ‘sorcery’ in Harry Potter supports
biblical teaching, not practice of the occult.”
Page 1
Granger: “I am convinced that the fundamental reason for the astonishing popularity
of the Harry Potter novels is their ability to meet a spiritual longing for
some experience of the truths of life, love and death taught by Christianity
but denied by a secular culture. Human beings are designed for Christ, whether
they know it or not. That the Harry Potter stories ‘sing along’ with the Great
Story of Christ is a significant key to understanding their compelling richness.”
Page 2
Our fallen human nature
drives us toward self-gratification, not toward Jesus Christ and the cross.
Because the “flesh” (human nature) prompts us to follow our inclinations
rather than God’s spirit, He warns us that
“…the flesh lusts against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to
one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. … Now
the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions,
jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like… [T]hose who
practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians
5:17
Granger: “Some Christians object to Harry Potter because Christian Scripture in many
places explicitly forbids occult practice. Though reading about occult practice
is not forbidden, these Christians prudently prefer to protect their children
because of the books’ sympathetic portrayal of occult practice. These Christians
believe that such approving and causal exposure to the occult opens the door
to occult practice.” Page 2
Any
participation in or love for pagan practices is forbidden. That
includes virtual or imaginary experiences as well as real-life
participation. To follow Jesus Christ, we must love what He loves and hate what He hates. The Bible tells us to “Abhor
what is evil” and “cling to what is good.”
(Romans 12:9) But hundreds of letters we have received from “Christian”
Potter fans show that they now
love what God calls evil
and abhor His Word which shows us His way.
(See
Twelve reasons not to see
Harry Potter movies)
“He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly….who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and
shuts his eyes from seeing
evil: he will dwell on high; his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks….”
Isaiah 33:15
Granger: “Other Christians… point out the books are ‘only stories’ and that many
stories… have portrayed witches and wizards in a positive light…. Given
this impasse… note three observations: Page 3
1. “Occult practices are universally denounced by major world-religions.
Every major religionHinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam
(not to mention animism)prohibited invocational sorcery and individual
(or unguided) exploration of the spirit world.”
All those religions, except
Biblical Christianity, have historically embraced invocational sorcery and
explorations of the demonic spirit world. Hinduism and Buddhism involve
all kinds of occult rituals and practices. Kabala is a form of Jewish mysticism
steeped in occult symbols and rituals, while Sufism and Folk Islam are examples
of Islamic mysticism and animism.
Granger: 2. “Scripture itself contains material about occult practices.”
Page 3
Yes, but it always points
out that occult practices are evil and forbidden to God’s people.
Granger: “The Bible nowhere forbids reading
material with occult elements in it.
”
While few could read or write in Old Testament days, God’s people
were forbidden any contact with the occult beliefs or objects of
surrounding cultures. Centuries later, converted Christians in the early
church willingly disposed of their reading materials on occultism:
“Many also
of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their
practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their
books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone;
and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces
of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.”
Acts 19:17-20
Granger: “I know devout Christians who hate Harry as well as many who love him; both
groups read their Bible daily and enjoy fantasy stories with occult elements
and magic in themstories as diverse as Shakespeare’s The Tempest, L. Frank
Baum‘s Oz stories, Lewis’ Narnia and…. and Tolkien’s
Lord of the
Rings trilogy.” Page 4
So do I, but that doesn’t
justify stories that approve of magic. Baum was a Theosophist. In fact,
the official website for
The
Theosophical Society of America boasts of its most famous member.
Granger: 3. “Whether or not to read Harry Potter from the logical, human
view, then, is a question of whether reading Harry fosters a curiosity in the
occult or in a rewarding spiritual life. Scripture forbids occult practice
and tells us to ‘train a child in the way he should go.’ … Does Harry foster
an interest in the real world occult or doesn’t he?”
Page 4
“…the magic in Harry Potter is no more likely to encourage real-life witchcraft
than time travel in science fiction novels encourages readers to seek passage
to previous centuries….. I say this without hesitation because the magic in
Harry Potter is not ‘sorcery’ or invocational magic. …the magic practiced
in the Potter books, by hero and villain alike, is incantational magic,
a magic that showsin story formour human thirst for a reality beyond
the physical world around us.” Page 4
“Invocational means literally ‘to call in.’ Magic of this sort is usually
referred to as sorcery. Scripture warns that ‘calling in’ demonic principalities
and power for personal power and advantage is dangerously stupid…. But there is no invocational sorcery in the Harry Potter books. Even the most
evil wizards do their nasty magic with spell.”
Page
5
Yet Mr. Granger describes
invocational magic on page 141:
“The Patronus Charm required the wizard to say
the words ‘Expecto Patronum’ and to concentrate as hard as possible on a
happy memory… At first, Harry is only able to conjure a thin,
wispy Patronus… After he gives himself a stern talking-to… he conjures
a magnificent Patronus and… dispels the dementor impersonators….”
Ponder these
definitions from a reputable Internet dictionary:
Conjure: 1. To summon (a devil
or spirit) by magical or supernatural power.
2. To influence or effect by or as if by magic: tried to conjure away
the doubts that beset her.
3. To practice black magic
http://dictionary.reference.com/Incantation: Ritual recitation
of verbal charms or spells to produce a magic effect.
A formula used in ritual recitation; a verbal charm or spell.
http://dictionary.reference.com/Invocational: The act or an instance
of invoking, especially an appeal to a higher power for assistance.
A prayer or other formula used in invoking, as at the opening of a religious
service.
The act of conjuring up a spirit by incantation. An incantation used
in conjuring.
http://dictionary.reference.com/
In other words, you can’t
separate Harry’s invocational magic from his incantational magic.
Incantations are used to invoke supernatural forces that make something
happen according to the will of the sorcerer. They go together! John
Granger is wrong when he states that
“The magic in Harry Potter is exclusively incantational magic
in
conformity with… scriptures’ admonitions.”
Page 6
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Granger’s justification: “We live
in a time in which naturalism… is the state religions and belief and supernatural
or contra-natural powers is considered delusion. The incantational magic in
Harry Potter… undermines faith in this godless worldview. And by undermining
the materialistic view of our times… the books lay the foundation not for
occult practices but for a traditional understanding of the spiritual
life.” Page 8
Not true unless “traditional”
refers to something other than Biblical understanding. Many new spiritual
forms and religious blends are becoming increasingly popular. Postmodern
mysticism is in. Modern secularism is fading. What is fast replacing
secularism are the self-made spiritual blends which embrace materialism
as well as dialectic thinking and which
increasingly justify occult practices. Even former atheist Gorbachev now
promotes a global spirituality. But Biblical Christianity doesn’t fit.
Granger: “Have you heard stories of children being sucked into witches’ covens because
they want to be like Harry Potter? Your child is far more likely to become
a Hare Krishna or member of a Christian cult than a witch or wizard.”
Pages 8-9
Yes, I have read many
such examples. Some of the children who visit our website fall into that
category. Even Ms Rowling admits
that children are drawn toward witchcraft because of her books.
In an interview with Newsweek writer Malcolm Jones, she said,
“I get letters from children addressed to Professor
Dumbledore [headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
the books setting], and its not a joke, begging to be let into
Hogwarts, and some of them are really sad. Because they want it
to be true so badly theyve convinced themselves its true.”
More sophisticated youth know
they can study or embrace witchcraft without joining Hogwarts, an actual
coven or an occult order. Instead they simply form their own neopagan groups on high
school campuses across the country. Postmodern values have freed new converts
to visit occult websites, read what they want, then pick and choose whatever
pleases them.
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Many prefer to “do their own
thing” instead of conforming to traditional or established covens. Here
are a few examples:
(See also
Harry Potter Lures Kids to Witchcraft)
“I have been encouraged by my pastor at my CHRISTIAN church to read
the Harry Potter books, because even though they have references to
magic and sorcery, they can teach us more about the values of Friendship
and Bravery then he can…. I am no longer Christian. Somewhere
along the way my beliefs changed. I practice Wicca….”
a student
“I am a [Harry Potter] fan
for several reasons. Initially it’s the universe. The books with
the largest pull have this highly detailed, well-thought out universe
that almost seems real and, importantly, that you would want to be a
part of. You are not just drawn into the story but into that world.
Then through talking about them with fans you fall further and further
in love with the characters, you analyze them and worry about them
until they feel real to you. Then you have, in a way, become
a part of that shared universe, and it is a wonderful place to be.”
A young “solitary”
witch
“I am a strong Christian and love the Lord with all my heart. The
problem is I really enjoy reading the books and nothing about them conflicts
with my spirit…. ” A youth pastor
“You love evil more than good….” Psalm 52:3
“Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Romans
12:9
Chapter 2 – God’s Army versus the servants
of Satan?
“The Harry Potter novels revolve around the central
conflict of good and evil.” Page 11
Granger: “Having argued that
the magic in Harry Potter is at the very least consistent with a Christian worldview,
let’s turn to the other parts of the setting that receive much less media attention
than the magic to understand what part of the Great Story each reflects and,
in this, to see if they pass a litmus test for conformity to Christian tradition.”
Page 11
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Granger: “The battle between Gryffindor and Slytherin is a battle between good
and evil.” Page 15
“The central conflict… is the antagonism between the descendants of Godric
Griffindor and Salazar Slytherin, a conflict that is consistent with the Christian
view of the world as a battleground in the cosmic war between good and evil.”
Page 18
So are most myths rooted
in occult traditions around the world. In animist cultures (as in Alchemy
and other philosophical occult orders of Medieval times) a “good” sorcerer
would often fight against what he saw as evil by using his own “good” magic.
In other words, sorcerers or magicians would pit what they saw as a
“good” demonic force against an “evil” force.It all depends on the standard you use to distinguish what is good or
evil. Granger has chosen a feeling-based, cultural and relative standard
for defining good and evil. In contrast, God calls us to evaluate good
and evil from His perspective — according to the standard He has
revealed in the Bible.
Granger: “The Gryffindors (Harry, Ron, Hermione) choose to do the right thing….
The Slytherins do the wrong thing without reservation or restraint.”
Page 16
What counts is what God considers right and
wrong, not what Mr. Granger or popular culture calls right and wrong.
And God’s standard is consistently clarified throughout the Bible:
“There shall not be found among you anyone who…
practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets
omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a
medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord…”
Deuteronomy 18:9-12“Therefore do not
listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your
soothsayers, or your sorcerers….”Jeremiah 27:9
“Elymas the sorcerer… withstood them, seeking to turn
the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called
Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and
said, ‘O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil,
you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease
perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the
hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the
sun for a time.’ And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he
went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the
proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished
at the teaching of the Lord.” Acts 13:8
“And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Revelation
9:21
“…murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all
liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire….
Revelation 21:8
Chapter 3 – The Hero’s
Christ like Journey
“Harry’s adventures
take him through life, death, and resurrection”
Page 19
Granger: “…these books are built on a structure… that powerfully drives home a
Christian truth the world disregards or denies…. As the apostle Paul writes…
‘To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.'”
Page 23
Paul was referring
to the Spirit of God, not the occult forces or pagan spirituality that have captivated
people around the world since the fall.
Granger: “God is love (1 John 4:8). In each Harry Potter novel… it is this love,
within Harry by the sacrificial love of his mom and in the symbols of Christ
around him, that every year raises him up from underground in victory over death.”
Page 23
We are raised up by God
as we recognize our need for redemption and put our faith not in
symbols, man-made icons, or a mother’s sacrificial love but in Jesus Christ
and His victory over sin through the cross in which we participate by faith.
(See
Romans 6:6-14)
Chapter 4 – The Alchemy
of spiritual growth
“The story
cycles are built on the stages of transformation”
Page 25
Granger: “Maybe you think that all this fuss about the hero’s journey is wrong-headed.”
Page 25
Yes, it causes me to wonder
how much Granger was influenced by Joseph Campbell’s popular images of “The
Hero’s Journey.”
Granger: “But there’s another way to look at the Harry Potter stories that is at least
as likely as the annual journey: alchemy. Alchemy… is so misunderstood that
saying the Harry Potter books are built on alchemical structures and imagery
is not much different from saying the books aren’t worth reading.”
Page 25
“For our purposes, alchemy can simply be defended as the transformation
of something common into something special. If historians of religion and
sacred art are to be believed (most notably, Titus Burckhardt and Mircea
Eliade), alchemy was a spiritual path within the great revealed traditions
to return fallen man to his Edenic perfection.”
Page 26
Those “great revealed
traditions” do not include Biblical Christianity.Titus Burckhardt’s
book
Sacred Art in East and West
is featured on an occult website dealing with
Traditional metaphysics, art
and symbolism.”
It summarizes Burckhardt’s mystical, universalist message:
“A
work of such profound importancedefining the meaning and spiritual
use of Sacred Art through its symbolic content and dependence on metaphysical
principlescould only have come from a scholar of the caliber of Titus
Burckhardt. Wide in scope, covering Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic,
and Taoist art, this workunlike other books in its fieldcan
help readers accomplish in themselves the very goals for sacred art
(i.e. spiritual transfiguration).”To validate another point
later in his book, Granger relies on author Martin Lings who is also featured
on this website.
Granger: “Alchemical symbols are a large part of classic English literature. And if
we don’t understand the idea of alchemy, we can easily miss out on the depth,
breadth and height of plays by Shakespeare, pottery by Donne and Eliot, and
the novels of Lewis and Tolkien. … Rowling uses alchemy in Harry Potter
as a metaphor for change.” Page 25
“The magic of alchemy and stage dramas is that through these
external
transformations, the alchemist’s metals, the audience, and the actors
onstage are all purified and transformed from leaden to golden hearts.”
Pages 26-7
Whether they know the
God who revealed Himself to us in His Word or not? This makes no
sense from a Biblical perspective! It sounds as if Mr. Granger is using
an occult standard — mixed with Gnosticism — to analyze the occult and to argue that it is
Christian.
Granger: “Where is the alchemy in Harry Potter? It’s everywhere from
book titles to character transformation.” 28
[Three examples follow:]
1. “The book titles… Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
[originally Philosopher’s Stone creating the philosopher’s stone was the
goal of alchemy]
| Response from Peter: The title, The Philosopher’s Stone, was already taken by a well-known and respected occultist, Israel Regardie, who wrote The Philosopher’s Stone some time early in the 20th century. If you do an author search in www.amazon.com and click through to the 3rd page of the 314 returns you will find the book, which is out of print. Israel Regardie who was also tied to Could Rowling have been appealing to the youth of the occult |
Granger: 2. “The alchemical characters. …
- Hermione Granger’s name has an obvious alchemical reference in
it…. Hermione is the feminine form of Hermes, who besides being
the Greek messenger god (Mercury), was also the name of the great
alchemist Hermes Trismegistos… [laid the foundation for Hermetic
Magic and the occult Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn] - Harry’s father is named James, the name of the patron saint
of alchemists, and - his mother is named Lily, a symbol for the second, purifying stage
of the alchemical work.
| Response from Peter: Further down on page 28 Granger mentions Nicolas Flamel. His comment that Flamel was an actual famous alchemist who lived in the 14th century in Paris is correct. However, he failed to mention that what made Flamel famous was that he discovered the occult work of Abraham the Jew. Abraham the Jew wrote a great work of alchemy called, Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra Merlin the Mage. If you do an amazon.com search for Nicolas Flamel you will find the book. This reference to Nicolas Flamel leaves the reader to wonder why Rowling, if she was not a knowledgeable occultist, would throw something like that into the story. As an individual Nicolas Flamel is very obscure. |
Granger: 3. “Harry’s transformation from lead to gold. The alchemical
work is all about changing the soul from lead to gold.”
28
4. “The design…. The alchemical work purifies a base
metal by dissolving and recongealing the metal using two principal
reagents… These reagent reflect the masculine and feminine polarities
of existence.” Page 30 [Yin/yang?]
Ron and Hermione are “living symbols of alchemical sulfur (Ron) and mercury
(Hermione).” Page 30
“What has often been described as Harry’s annual hero journey is actually
the cycle of the alchemical transformation.”
- “dissolution, usually called nigredo, or black
stage.” [Sirius Black] Page
30 - “purification, usually called the albedo, or white work.
[Albus Dumbledore] Page 31 - “recongealing or perfection, usually called the
rubedo
or red stage.” [Rubeous Hagrid] Page 31
| Response from Peter: Granger emphasizes that Ron represents sulfur and Hermione represents mercury. In alchemy there are seven foundational pillars upon which the practice is based. Four elements (fire, air, water and earth) and three essences (salt, sulfur and mercury) make up those pillars. Granger ignores five of the seven pillars and he focuses on the pillars of the essences of sulfur and mercury because that is convenient to his argument. All seven pillars work together in alchemy. You cannot create the same effect using only two of those pillars. |
Granger: “Great writers in the English tradition use alchemical imagery because
it helps them connect with that place in our heart designed to respond
to the Great Story and promise of our life in Christ…. Far from preparing
a generation of candidates for New Age apostasy, these [Harry Potter] books
have baptized the imagination of hundreds of millions and nourished the
faith of readers who believe.” Page 35
If the Harry Potter books
“Harry Potter books, indeed, are built on alchemical structures and imagery,”
we need to ask: What is Alchemy? An occult reference book titled “A Dictionary of Mind and
Spirit” (compiled by Donald Watson, 1991) helps answer that question:
“Whatever the alchemists own beliefs in the possibilities of turning
lead into gold, they had no qualms about financing their investigations
by duping wealthy patrons. The other modern view, particularly since
Jungs research into the subject, is that the alchemical writings
are symbolic representations of the individuals mental and spiritual
work, striving to unify body, MIND and SPIRIT and thus achieve
a human divinity, the perfected human being.“According to this view, the transmutation of base metal into gold
symbolized the transformation of natural, material man into spiritual
man. The catalyst in this process was known as the PHILOSOPHERS STONE….
According to alchemists, the production of the Philosophers Stone involved
blending and treating three basic substances, salt, sulphur and mercury,
which in the esoteric view corresponded to the body, soul or mind,
and spirit. When brought together in the cauldron and blended in
the element of fire (representing love) the threefold process began.
The first stage of Blackness represented purgation, the second,
Whiteness, represented illumination, and the third, Redness,
the colour of alchemical gold, represented the marriage of Luna and
Sol, the union of the human and the divine, the finite and the infinite.“Each individual, belonging to both the material and the divine world,
contained a spark of the universal spirit imprisoned in matter,
as well as having a soul and a body. The Great Work can thus
be understood as a symbolic representation of how human beings might
achieve insight into their own divine perfection by freeing the spirit
from the bonds of matter. The Church was notoriously antagonistic to
such GNOSTIC beliefs, so it was only natural that a doctrine
of this kind should be couched in esoteric terms. The ROSICRUCIANS
continued the tradition into relatively modem times. According to
the symbolism gold represented the state of perfection which
could be achieved in the material world; it therefore also represented
the perfected body and the perfected soul, towards which we should all
be striving.”
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Chapter 5 – One person two natures
“Doppelgangers
point to the struggle of dual natures and their resolution in the God-Man“
Page 37
Granger: “A doppelganger is a creature’ complementary figure of shadow
which reveals aspects of its character otherwise invisible.”
Page 38
“Many of Rowling’s characters… are animagi. These are masters
of the magical subject of transfiguration who can change at will into an
animal shape.” Page 38
“This shape-changing stunt … The shape each animagus takes is a pointer
to its character…. The animal figure is a shadow, or doppelganger,
that allows us to see more clearly the outline of the true person.”
Page 38
Not unlike shape-shifting
especially by witchdoctors or shamans in pagan cultures.
Granger: “Voldemort is not the Dark Lord’s given name. His real name is
Tom Riddle,
which because Thomas comes form the Aramaic word for ‘twin’ is a pointer to
how important the doppelganger structure is….”
Page 43
“Alchemy helps unwrap the riddle.
As you’ll recall, the principal activity of alchemy is the chemical marriage
of the imbalanced ‘arguing couple’: masculine sulfur and feminine quicksilver.
These two qualities have to be reconciled and resolved (die and be
reborn) before then can be rejoined in a perfected golden unity.
Opposites have to be reconciled and resolved for there to be a new life.
“Alchemists frequently cited Christ’s words: ‘…except a corn of wheat
fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth froth
much fruit.’ (John 12:24) Alchemists
took this verse and the hope of eternal life in Christ’s death and resurrection
as a scriptural confirmation that their doctrines were correct.”
Page 44
“You find a balance of hot and cold
water by pairing the opposites.” Page 47
“Dumbledore points to Christ.”
Page 47
(see his quote below)
It sounds
as if Granger is referring to
Hegel’s
dialectic process the yin-yang of the West the heart of Communist
brainwashing. Hegel was a student of alchemy, kabala, Rosicrucianism and
hermetic magic. See
Granger also sounds fascinated with the worlds of Carl Jung (known to
his disciples in Zurich as the “Hexenmeister” or sorcerer).
Chapter 7 – The triumph of love over death
“The mystery of
death meets the ultimate answer“ Page
59
Granger: “Dumbledore explains to Harry that
‘to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'”
Page 60
Harry admits to Dumbledore that he
thought he saw his dead father save him from the dementor’s kiss. Dumbledore’s
response is that the dead we love never ‘truly leave us’ and that
James Potter ‘is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly
when you have need of him.” [See
Harry Potter and the Postmodern Church]
“…the love of the departed lives
on in us as a protecting grace.” Page 62
They do? Pagan ancestral
worship clings to that belief, but it clashes with God’s Word. “For to
me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” wrote Paul. “…I am hard-pressed
between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which
is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful
for you.” Philippians 1:21
Granger: “Only cowardly wizards like Nick,
afraid of death, ‘choose to remain behind’ as an ‘imprint of themselves.’ This
shatters Harry until he is reminded by Luna [moon, a common symbol
in witchcraft] that they have evidence of an afterlife. In the Department
of Mysteries… are the Death Chambers… Luna reminds Harry that, yes, death
if final, but the fact that they hear voices on the other side of the veil
means there is good reason to hope for an afterlife.”
Page 64
What kind of comfort is that
for the reader? If a Christian, he receives a far clearer and more certain
message from the Bible. Those who need Harry Potter to affirm life after
death in order to believe God’s truth are probably not true Christians.
As for unbelievers, this “encouraging” wizardly message would only bring
deception and false hope.
Granger: “Dumbledore calls the ‘ancient magic’
he used consequent to Lily’s sacrifice ‘the bond of blood.’ He places Harry
with Lily’s sister because her home is a place where Harry’s mother’s blood
dwells. As Dumbledore put it, ‘Her blood became your refuge.'”
Page 66
Their confidence was not in
the blood of Christ, but in the blood of a witch who demonstrated maternal
love. Granger goes on to describe what he sees as the meaning of salvation.
Chapter 8 – The question of identity
“Harry
defines himself through choices, change, and destiny“
Page 71
Granger: “Let’s look at the choices Harry
makes choices that will define who he is. … He chooses (with one exception
that has heavy consequences) loyalty to the good.
Page 71
He does? While he usually shows
loyalty to his friends (a good trait in all cultures Christian or pagan),
he also lies, steals, breaks rules, “snarls,” and becomes increasingly rude
and angry as the years go by. What’s worse he models all the levels of
magical training for an adept in an actual occult order such as the Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn. See
Granger: “We participate imaginatively with
the characters when they make good choices and this reading experience positively
influences the decision making in our own lives. Sort of like vitamins for the
soul.” Page 74
“Young wizards and witches at Hogwarts
are taught from the first year on the basics… up to the advanced magic of
‘turning [your] friend into a badger.'” Page 75
“By the end of Goblet of Fire,
Harry has transformed into a real he-man of sacrificial virtue and is nearly
a superhero….
“By the end of [Order of the Phoenix],
Harry has learned to look to his heart for his bearings and to the world for
very little.” Page 78
At the end of Phoenix, he is
an angry, bitter, and grieving wizard desperately searching for ways to
communicate with Sirius Black who died because of Harry’s mistakes. But
his conversations with Luna (moon), eases his mind. She, like Harry, is
set apart because of her sensitivity to occult messages and mystical experiences.
Chapter 9 – Evidence of things unseen
“The symbols
in Potterdom are powerful pointers to Christian reality“
Page 83
Granger: “Once we understand symbols we
can better understand what it means to be human. As creatures made in ‘the
image of God,’ we are three-dimensional symbols, in time and space, of the Trinity.”
Page 83-84
The next statement is amazing!
Reality would be incomprehensible except in the light of God’s Word
not
the light of subjective symbols
that can be interpreted according to cultural values and changing beliefs.
Granger: “The world we live in is incomprehensible
except in light of symbols. As Martin Lings, tutorial student and friend
of C. S. Lewis, wrote:
“‘There is no traditional doctrine which does not teach that the world is
the world of symbols, inasmuch as it contains nothing which is not a symbol.
A man should therefore understand at least what that means, not only because
he has to live in the here below but also and above all because without such
understanding he would fail to understand himself, he being the supreme and
central symbol in the terrestrial state.'”
Page 84
Mr. Granger validated his point about symbols
with a quote from
Symbol and Archetype:
A Study of the Meaning of Existence (1991)
a book which offers a metaphysical alternative to the Biblical view of reality
and existence.
The author, Martin Lings, a British authority on spirituality,
Islamic symbols and mysticism, graduated from Oxford in 1932 and became
the Keeper of Oriental Manuscripts at the British Museum. His other books
include The Book of Certainty: The Sufi Doctrine of Faith, Wisdom
and Gnosis (1952),
Ancient Beliefs and Modern
Superstitions (1964),
A Muslim [Sufi]
Saint of the Twentieth Century
(1961), The
Secret of Shakespeare, and
The Eleventh Hour: The Spiritual
Crisis of the Modern World in Light of Tradition and Prophecy
(1989).
A review of the last book
reveals that it mentions the millennium and end-time prophecies, but not
from a Christian perspective. It includes a Scripture to validate its
metaphysical message, but the Scripture is taken out of its Biblical context:“The
Eleventh Hour
has its roots in
the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. The following questions
run through the book: why did the latecomers receive the same wage as
those who had laboured throughout the heat of the day? Why were they
the first to be paid? And why, did Christ say And the last shall be
first?“These questions are
answered in the light of the concept of the Millennium, which
is clearly the equivalent of the new Golden Age of the next cycle of
time, and which is found in all three monotheistic religions,
bringing them into line, in this respect, with Hinduism,
Greco-Roman Antiquity and Buddhism. This new and expanded edition now includes
the fascinating St Malachys Prophecy of the Popes, a remarkable twelfth-century
prophecy which Lings analyses in depth, according to which the end of
time is predicted and also an appendix concerning the apparitions of
the Virgin Mary at Garabandal and other places.“
Remember, adding a few Bible verses doesn’t
make a human observation true or good. Satan’s deceptions are often cloaked
in Scriptures taken out of context. From the beginning, he has been a master
at deceiving people with tempting blends of truth and lies.
Granger: “This is the power of myth: that we can experience invisible spiritual realties
and truths greater than visible, material things in story form. Tolkien described
Christianity as the ‘True Myth,’ the ultimate intrusion of God into the world
through his incarnation…. Tolkien’s explanation of this idea was instrumental
in C. S. Lewis’s conversion to Christianity; it is this understanding to the
purpose and power of story that gives his fiction its depth, breadth, and height.”
Page 86 (See
Tolkien’s Lord of the
Rings: Truth, Myth or ‘Discovered Reality”?)
“Knowing that symbols are points of passage between this world and the
greater world ‘above’ and ‘within’ us explains a lot about Harry Potter
and Potter-mania. Magic, for example is not demonic or contrary to Scripture
when used (as it is in Harry Potter) as a symbol of the miraculously power of
God that mean as images of God are designed to have.”
God never designed man to manipulate supernatural
power with his own will and imagination which is what Harry and the other
wizards demonstrate. They practice the timeless formula for magic taught
by Starhawk, the Wiccan founder of the Covenant of the Goddess. In The Spiral
Dance (p. 62), she explains that the
purpose of magical training is –
“To work magic is to weave the unseen forces into form, to soar beyond
sight, to explore the uncharted dream realm of the hidden reality…
to leap beyond imagination into that space between the worlds where
fantasy becomes real; to be at once animal and god…
“Spells [and magic]… require the combined
faculties of relaxation, visualization, concentration, and [mental]
projection…. To cast a spell is to project energy through
a symbol.”
See
“My
Will be Done.”
Mental projection means using your will to project
the visible or invisible images created in the mind as needed to accomplish
the magical feat. It works in these times, because America has changed.
As the masses shifted their love from our sovereign Lord to countless other
gods, forces and enticements, more and more people were able to communicate
with the demonic realm through pagan rituals (spirit quests, sweat lodge
ceremonies…), which yielded few results some years ago. It seems that
God is withdrawing His protection over his land just as He did in Old
Testament days when Israel sought and followed “other gods.”
See
Deut 8:10-20
Granger: “Books that are rich in symbolism necessarily support a Christian worldview.
… Symbolic literature requires and celebrates this otherworldly perspective
that magically undermines the worldly, atheistic, and materialistic perspective
of our times.”
Page 87
“Tertullian said that ‘all souls are Christian souls‘ and Augustine
echoed him in writing that ‘our hearts are restless ’til they rest in Thee.'”
Page 87
Who is our authority in matters of faith
God’s Word or human quotes? If Tertullian did make that universalist statement,
he was wrong. In contrast, Augustine was speaking as a Christian would be
speaking to his church family.The fact that Granger would quote the statement
attributed to Tertullian causes me to wonder if Granger believes in universalism.
Does he believe in a broad, universal “Christian” umbrella of
spiritual
safety that includes people from all the “major” religions he mentioned
earlier (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam with its mystical branch
Sufism)? It almost sounds that way.
Granger: “Unlike most contemporary novels, which portray realistic morals or earthbound
allegories, Harry Potter is very much a myth pointing to the True Myth…. I
already explained how Harry’s two friends are ciphers for the ‘quarreling couple’
of alchemy.” Page 88
“The trio’s love for one another and our identification with them makes their
hard times with each other the most painful parts of the stories…. We become
aligned in this identificationspirit to mind to bodyand fell strangely upright
and all right for the change. Good literature trains us in the ‘stock responses’
and lets us see and pattern ourselves after the right alignment of the soul’s
powers. When our desires are in line with our will, and both will and
desires are obedient to directions from the heart or spirit, we are in operation
the way we were designed to be.” 88
In light of Granger’s quote leading up to this
point, ‘all souls are Christian souls,’ do you wonder whether that “spirit”
is the Holy Spirit or a human or universal “spirit” in all people? Since
he didn’t capitalize “spirit” and since elsewhere in his book he refers
to man’s “spirit” I tend to believe he is referring to the human spirit,
not God’s Spirit unless he sees the two as one.
Granger: “Harry also decides to go to Hogsmeade on Ron’s advice and against Hermione’s
pleasand narrowly misses being expelled.” Page
89 (always chooses good?)
“Mythical Beasts in Harry Potter – Page
91
(All these real or
mythical beasts are popular pagan symbols often featured in the complex symbolism
of Alchemy, Rosicrucianism,
Freemasonry and the Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn.)
“The Unicorn: ‘the symbol of Christ.’ … Scholars of symbolism as
diverse as Carl Jung and Narnia expert Paul Ford confirm the interpretation
of the pure white animal whose single horn symbolizes the ‘invincible strength
of Christ.'” Page 93
“The Phoenix: … Fawkes, Dumbledore’s pet. … How is the phoenix
a symbol of Christ? In the Middle Ages, the phoenix, because of its ability
to ‘rise from death,’ was known as the ‘resurrection bird.’ Like the griffin,
it was used in heraldic devices and shields to represent the bearer’s hope of
eternal life in Christ.” Page 94
From an occult website:
“The
Phoenix completes this process of soul development. The Phoenix bird
builds its nest which at the same time is its funeral pyre, and then setting
it alight cremates itself. But it arises anew from the ashes transformed.
Here we have captured the alchemists experience of spiritualization.
He has integrated his being so much, that he is no longer dependent upon
his physical body as a foundation for his being. He now stands upon the
sureness of the spiritual – he has in this sense attained the Philosopher’s
Stone, the Spiritual core of his being. Thus we can sketch shortly the
process of Soul alchemy, the integration, purification and transmutation
of the soul, as pictured in this series of bird symbols.”
http://www.crystalinks.com/birdsalchemy.html
“The Stag: … Just as the phoenix is the ‘resurrection bird’ because
it can rise from its own funeral pyre, so the noble stag ‘came to be thought
of as a symbol of regeneration because of the way its antlers are renewed.
The stag’s antlers break off and grow back, tying the animal symbolically to
the tree of life and the Resurrection… a symbol for Christ.”
Page 95
In Celtic mythology and witchcraft, the stag
is the horned god, the consort of the sensual goddess.
From
Peter: The graph on page 99 of his book says the stag is the tree of
life > Christ. This is bizarre Bible bungee. What the stag has to do with the tree is life is absolutely NOTHING. Take a look
at this site:
http://www.crystalinks.com/kabala.html
Here is a picture of the
Kabbalistic tree (Qabbalistic)
of life. A stag has nothing more to do with this tree of life than it does with the tree of life in the garden. This
is a true Kabbalistic website.Scroll down to see the word alchemy in blue (it’s a link). When you click on the link you come to this site:
http://www.crystalinks.com/alchemy.html
where you can read the
history of alchemy and how alchemy has been a part of all the world’s major religions back through the centuries.
“The Centaur: The head and chest of a man are man’s will, thought
and spirit; the horsy bottom is his desires and passions.”
Page 96
“The Philosopher’s Stone: (not exactly a beast) The end result
of the alchemical Great Word was the stone that produced the Elixir of Life
(often called the red lion). This magical object… gave its owner immortality
and infinite wealth. Historians of science, region and literature…. do agree
that the philosopher’s stone is a symbol of Christ…. The end product or aim
of alchemy is life in Christ; English authors and poets of many centuries have
used this symbol of Christ… to dramatize the search for an answer to death
and human poverty of spirit.” Page 97-98
The occultists that practiced alchemy were not
seeking for the Christ of the Bible. They had invented their own counterfeit
alternative to the Biblical story.
“The Red Lion: … the Elixir of Life coming from the philosopher’s
stone, a symbol of the blood of Christ received in Communion.”
Page 99
“The Harry Potter stories, in their formulaic journeys that end every year
with love’s triumph over death in the presence of a Christ symbol, find their
power and popularity in the resonance they create in our hearts. We connect
with them because they point toward the True Myth that saves us.”
Page 100
Or is it because Rowling tickles our ears with
the kinds of enticing stories and power-filled myths that gratify natural
desires and stir the imagination with images of supernatural power?
Granger: “Much of Harry Potter…. foster a Christian perspective by ‘baptizing
the imagination.’ The gospel has rarely, if ever, been smuggled into the
heart and minds of readers so successfully and profoundly.”
Page 100
“But they
hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels
and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and
not forward.” Jeremiah 7:24
Chapter 11 – The purification of the soul
“Christian
keys to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
Page 117
Granger: “Perhaps the scariest scene … is the detention in the Forbidden Forest
where Harry and Draco see the Dark Lord drinking unicorn blood.”
Page 118
“As we saw earlier, the centaur is a symbol of a perfect man and an imaginative
icon of Christ riding into Jerusalem. … That the blood of the unicorn will
curse those who drink it unworthily, and that it has life-giving power, echoes
Paul’s discourse on the unworthy reception of Communion, which is the blood
of Christ.” (1 Cor 11:23-29)
Page 118
Remember, Satan counterfeits all that God offers
His own people. The blood has also played an important part in occult rituals
performed by the various occult orders that grew during the Middle Ages,
blending selected Biblical phrases with Egyptian mythology, alchemical symbolism,
the Kabala and Hermetic magic. The blood rituals in these groups were a
mockery of Christ and His holy Word, as it is in the Harry Potter series.
Granger: “The authentic and accomplished alchemist is able to produce the Stone
because of his spiritual achievement. It is a by-product to that perfection,
as are the immortality and the riches of transcending the world…. We know
Dumbledore and the Flamel are of this perfected type because
they destroy the Stone at the book’s end.” Page
123
Three problems: (1)The two wizards follow a
path God forbids in His Word! (2) The word “perfection” here doesn’t correspond
to Biblical sanctification. (3) Granger gives credit to human achievement
in contrast to Christians who know that achievement is by God’s grace, not
our own wisdom or strength.
Granger: “So what is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone about? Written in the symbolism
of alchemy and traditional Christian doctrine, it is an ode to the purification
and perfection of the soul in Christ and His saving, sacrificial love. The perfected
soul at death will experience the glory and love of God as joy.”
Page 126
Where is the cross, repentance, confession?
This is a counterfeit gospel, twisted to justify and accommodate popular
occultism and “white magic.”
Chapter 12 – Dangerous books and edifying
Books
“Christian
keys to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets“
Page 127
Granger: “When Harry and Ron discover the diary in Moaning
Myrtle’s toilet, Ron warns
Harry about the dangerous magic contained in books to keep him from looking
at it. Harry, after Ron’s hysterical warnings and barely concealed prediction of
a fate worse than death, decides he’ll have to read it to find out. I don’t
doubt that this is a bit of advice for the sensible, sober reader:
in the matter of a controversial or supposedly dangerous book, you should
read it and decide for yourself what it is about.“
Page 128
Should you? What about the occult books in
Acts 19:17-20? What if
you were told this “dangerous book” was full of spells or pornography? Would
it still be wise to read it and decide for yourself? See
Harry Potter and the Power of Suggestion
Granger: “The effect of the book on Ginny is that she turns into a rooster-murdering,
basilisk-releasing servant of Riddle. She thinks she is losing her mindand
she is right. Her mind is now Voldemort’s.” Page
129
Yes. She became possessed by his spirit.
Yet, Granger doesn’t see the danger of introducing occultism to
children. Instead he equates the magic in these books with “a counter-spell” that would
protect young readers from “the enchantment of modernity” or
materialism.
[Page 130]
But much of the occult world has been steeped in materialism! After all, possessions
are some of the coveted rewards for successful magic or alchemy. That’s
one reason why the early alchemists sought to create gold!
Granger: “…this kind of book [by the arrogant Gilderoy] is as corrosive to right
spiritual formation as the moral relativism and other poisons hiding
in textbook. Godless fiction is slow poison to the soul.”
Page 132
Do you wonder what Granger
means by “right spiritual formation?”
Chapter 13 – Despair and delivery
“Christian
keys to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”
Page 137
Granger: “Prisoner of Azkaban is really a book about escapes and revealed secrets….
Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban….”137
“Harry… escapes from Privet Drive and the badgering of Aunt Marge…. revealing
himself to be an angry young man with a host of unresolved issues about
his parents and his own identity. He escapes from these passions via dissolution
of his confusion…. in the alchemical crucible of the Shrieking Shack.”
Page 139
“Lupin acts as Harry’s tutor and de facto Jungian analyst.”
Page 140
“Lupin tries to teach Harry… how to conjure a Patronus using
the Patronus Charm…. [concentrate on a happy memory, then
project with the will using the words ‘Expecto Patronum!’ “
Page 141
Remember Starhawk’s formula for spells and
magic: “relaxation, visualization, concentration, and [mental] projection….”
Here the key is exercising the will and counting on results. In other words,
expecting the power tapped by the magic to deliver results. In Hermetic
magic the process is summarized thus: As above, so below. See
Popular Occultism and
Granger: “As Harry said, ‘I’m not doing this [preventing his father’s friends from
killing Pettigrew] for you. I’m doing it because I don’t reckon my dad would’ve
wanted them to become killers. This humility, compassion and mercy is evidence
that he has indeed achieved a degree of spiritual perfection; his will
and his father’s will are one and the same, just as we see in John 17:21 and
Matthew 6:10; 26:39.” Page 144
In other words, Harry has gone through the alchemical
process (dissolution, purification and perfection) and ends up perfect.
Of course, he is anything but perfect when we start the next book, and this
formula for occult transformation has nothing to do with Biblical salvation.
It’s absurd to equate an alchemical process in a pagan setting with God’s
sanctifying work in a person joined to Him through the cross.
Granger: “Harry is not equal to this magic until his ego concerns have been
purified and dissolved.”
[More Jungian and alchemical psychology]
Jung received his information from at least
three different spirit guides. These revolutionary teachings would captivate
the world. See
Carl
Jung, Alchemy and Neo-Gnosticism. Notice the references to those spirit
guides, to Gnosticism, and to the occult practices of channeling
and automatic writing.
Chapter 14 – Girded with Virtue
“Christian keys
to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire“
Page 149
Granger: “The social drama of good versus evil.
Page 150
“The Tournament tasks are keyed to the four elements of alchemy:
air, earth, fire, and water.” Page 150
[See
A Twist of Faith]
“The Harry Potter books seem to be telling us that it is not study, your
special external preparations, or even your piety that save you in the end.
Rather, it is your internal qualitythe courage, love and virtue withinthat
determines your receptivity to the graces that will save you in spiritual warfare.”
Page 154
What about confidence
in God’s promises, the cleansing Blood of Jesus, His
righteousness in us, and the shield of faith of God’s armor? Or the meekness and humility
taught in the beatitudes?
Granger: “In Arthurian legend, the magical object that selected those champions worthy
to behold it was the Holy Grail. … It has power because it is the Communion
cup of Christ’s Last Supper; others say it caught the blood of Christ as He was
crucified. … Readers of the Arthurian tales know that it could be found only
by the most pure of heart.” Page 156
The apparent surface similarities
between Christian truth and occult myths cannot not make the myths true or
holy.“…what fellowship has righteousness
with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what
accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the
temple of the living God.”
2 Corinthians 6:14-16Satan is
a deceiver who twists God’s truth and mimics His promises in order to tempt
and divert Christians from the true truth.
Granger: “The strangest characteristic of the fire in this Goblet is that it is a
nonconsuming fire…. Though it may seem a stretch to modern Americans, most
Christians can’t help but note its parallels with the nonconsuming fire of the
burning bush on Mount Sinai, the purifying flames of what Catholic believers
call purgatory, and the glory of the love of God….All these are signatures
or correspondences with God’s Word….” Page 157
“Hear this now, O foolish people, without understanding,
Who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not:
Do you not fear Me? says the Lord.
Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea….
But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart….
They do not say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear the Lord our God….
‘An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land:
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their
own
power;
And My people love to have it so.“ Jeremiah 5:22-30
Chapter 15 – Dark night of the soul
“Order of
the Phoenix“ Page 159
Granger: “Lyndy Abraham’s Dictionary of
Alchemical Imagery describes the nigredo as: ‘The initial black stage of
the opus alchymicum in which the body of the impure metal, the matter for
the Stone, or the old outmoded state of being is killed, putrefied, and
dissolved into the original substance of creation, the prima material, in
order that it may be renovated and reborn in a new form.’
“Citing the alchemists’ dependence on Christ’s teaching,
‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground
and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit’ (John
12:24, KJV) — Abraham concludes:“The beginning
of spiritual realization is always accompanied by some kind of sacrifice or
death, a dying to the old state of things, in order to make way for the new
insight and creation. Burckhardt [his metaphysical philosophy
was introduced earlier] observed that the turning away of the outer world
to the inner to face the shadow of the psyche is frequently experienced as a
nox profunda, before the dawning of the new light of illumination).”
Page 161-162
“If the language of alchemy and Christianity
makes your eyes go glossy, look at it as a psychology course. Understand
the ‘old man’ as ‘dad,’ the way we use the phrase in common speech. Phoenix
is, in large part, about Harry’s coming to term with his being the heir of his
biological father, James.” Pages 164-165
“Our discomfort with the Phoenix
segment of the Harry Potter saga might be summarized as our resistance to the
demands of Christian life.” Page 167
“Reading about the Bond of Blood
that protects Harry, we must examine our understanding of the bond of blood
we have in Christ by his sacrifice and the Eucharist he left us to preserve
us in that bond.” Page 167
“Order of the Phoenix contains
the most explicitly Christian references of the series so far. Harry gets a
glimpse beyond the Veil, a reference both to the Veil of the Temple and the
Shack in Lewis’ Last Battle to an afterlife where the righteous will
meet again. She [Luna] points again to the Mysterious power behind the door
which is both ‘more wonderful and more terrible than death, than Human
intelligence, than forces of nature.’ Page 168
Granger’s arguments make the occult seem one and
the same with Christianity thus prompting the kind of dialectic thinking
that has blurred the line between truth and deception throughout history.
The
dialectic process leapt into greater
prominence — first under Communist leaders such as Lenin and Stalin,
then in Western education and culture — through the more sophisticated
methodology of Georg Hegel, who studied Alchemy,
Rosicrucianism, Hermetic Magic, Kabala
and Freemasonry.
Granger: “The word ‘order’ is a religious
term, after all, referring to a group with a specific vocation (until modern
times almost always primarily contemplative) within the Church. That this order
is the ‘of the Phoenix’ a traditional symbol both of the ends of alchemy and
of Christ Himself highlights this otherworldly meaning.”
Page 169
Note from
Berit: Although I have debated John Granger on radio and exchanged email
with him, I don’t know him personally. This analysis is not a personal criticism
of his beliefs and values. Instead it is an open response to his public
teaching on the topics of Harry Potter, alchemy, sorcery, magic and Jungian
psychology and how all these supposedly enhance a Christian’s understanding
of God. Since Mr. Granger’s book is already in the public domain, it calls
for a public and Biblical response.
See also
Comment on Alchemy & Christianity
Harry Potter & The Order
of the Phoenix
|
Twelve Reasons not to see Harry
Potter Movies
Harry Potter and the Power of Suggestion
|
Bewitched
by Harry Potter
|
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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