Notes from the Trail

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Looking for God in Harry Potter

by John Granger

My dad recommended this book to me. My folks and I have all read all of the Potter books to date. I’ve pre-ordered the newest one to be released this summer.

I didn’t really need a book that set out to defend Harry Potter from well-intentioned Christians. I don’t mind if people don’t want to read the book. I even don’t mind if folks cast stones at those who do.

However, Dad kept harping about it, so I read it… or tried to. This guy is either a LOT smarter than me, or this book was a real snoozer. He deftly takes the Potter series and claims classic status for it, showing how it uses classical Greek and Latin symbolism as do many of the greats of literature. I was a little surprised by that. Perhaps Mark could speak to some of that. I was bewildered by it.

The author also proceeds to demonstrate how the consistent use of imagery, symbolism, names, and plot actually serve to illuminate and consistently reveal Christian themes. Ideas such as atonement, resurrection, good vs. evil, hope, incarnation, sacrfice, and love are consistent in the Potter books. The author claims these themes and their treatment should draw Christian readers to use them as analogies and allegories, much as pastors and churches have found similar themes in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy and C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series.

I can’t necessarily recommend the book to you if you already like Harry. It’s a snoozer, and not nearly as entertaining as reading about muggles. However, if you have previously sworn off of Potter for fear of being indiscriminate, I would urge you to give this book a good reading. It might be illuminating for you though I doubt you’ll enroll at Hogwarts anytime soon.

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Whoa. Did you see the total raised by last week’s American Idol “Gives Back“? It’s over $60 million so far… and counting. What do you think about that? What are is the historical and cultural perspective for this “instant” fund-raising and mobilization of such a large scale charitable push?

A story today over at AppleInsider relates that Apple’s market share continues to rise, in spite of the debut of Vista, Microsoft’s first major system revision in 5 years. Hoo hoo hoo ha ha ha.

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It sits forlornly in the middle of Monticello, just south of Main Street. Alone and unused, it was once one of Monticello’s busiest and most entertaining sites for teenagers, families, friends, and out-of-towners. It’s the Drew Theater. Every small town had one at one time, probably.

The small box office juts out on the left side of the front of the building, inviting movie-goers. Its small lobby was just enough to intoxicate visitors with aromas of thick, buttered popcorn. Replete with a balcony and steeply sloped main floor, it could probably seat more than 400 at a time.

We looked at the building a couple of years ago as a possible site for Journey. It was last used by a church - a fly-by-night church that had enough time to paint the walls of the main auditorium purple, as well as the redo the carpet and build a stage that would make Joel Osteen envious. It and Monticello’s old drive-in theater are listed here.

At the time we looked at it, someone, possibly the pastor of this church had been using the box office as a bedroom, and suits still hung from a pole that had been stretched across the room. The place was filthy, and dead rats (we’re talking puppy-sized!) were found in several places. The rats, more than the building itself, were the biggest turnoff for the group that looked at it. I wonder why?

We eventually went a different direction, and the building still sits unoccupied today. It’s available for lease or sale, from what I understand. I have always thought it would make a fantastic small $1-theater. I hope that there’s life to yet to be wrung from this historic building.

In thinking of the Drew Theater, I also think of abandoned dreams generally. The theater was a hotspot in its heyday, but no longer. Someone’s pride and joy became an albatross, passed by and passed over by our “larger-is-better” culture. What do you find in your life has been passed by and passed over? Care to share?

What are your hopes and dreams yet to be realized? Do you have a vision sitting dormant? Has it been abandoned, or is it waiting for the right person or circumstance to revitalize it?

Scott Adams, Dilbert creator, has a great post about “what is fair?” To him, fairness is in the eye of the beholder, apparently. Check it out here.