I don't mean to come off as sacrileges, but this is the truth: In a way, Harry Potter has helped me understand the atonement just a little bit better. Yes, I'm drawing a bit on comparing the two, but before I'm burned for heresy, let me explain myself.
Harry goes into the Forbidden Forest for the express purpose of allowing Voldemort to take his life because he doesn't want any more of his friends and supporters to die for him, and also because he recognizes his need to die for Voldemort to also die. He willingly and courageously is willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. Sound familiar to you? It did to me.
Later, once Harry is discovered to be alive, (in the book) Voldemort's curses on people stop working. This is because Harry, who willingly gave his life/ was willing to give his life, had done the same thing for his friends that his mother had done for him. His love, to the point of sacrificing his own life, protected them.
Anyway... Somehow in my brain something about the atonement clicked for me after thinking about the final scenes of the final Harry Potter.
Christ laid down his life for us. He loved us enough to suffer and to bleed and to die for our individual sins and mortality. Through this great and everlasting sacrifice for us, this atonement, His love has given us a full protection from the evil that surrounds us, on the conditions that we accept His sacrifice with gratitude and obedience and godly sorrow for our sins. Faith, repentance, and baptism put us on Christ's side of this war we are in -and my friends we are IN a war. Every bit as intense as the one in Harry Potter, with just as much at stake -more, actually. Only our war is not fiction. It's real. And it is every. single. day.
Just as Voldemort lost strength and power when Harry laid down his life/ was willing to, Satan also lost strength and power when the Savior died/ was willing to die (the atonement was saving people before it was actually performed.) for us. The Savior sealed us His -and the only way Satan can have any control over us is if we give it to him.
10 comments:
One thing I always forget but that has become very apparent to me given the events of the last few months of my life is that the Lord also felt ALL OUR PAINS AND SORROWS. He feels every loss that we feel because he has felt it as well. He knows our physical pain as well as our emotional and mental pain. That alone is an incredible gift, to have someone who can truly understand the whole of our trials.
An awesome, non blasphemous comparison:)
Have you ever seen Tangled? Not only was I crying because it was a fabulous movie, but I was crying because I saw parallels between that movie and our trip here in mortality too. I don't think this is blasphemous at all! I love it :)
You made a great analogy. I am always surprised at myself when I can understand a gospel principle by relating it to something else that is really tangible right now. My Savior must slap his forehead in response to my immmature brain.You know like "DUH". I am a slow learner.
Jesus taught in parables so it would be easier to understand for those who where ready and those who weren't wouldn't. I think that is awesome! Not saying HP is a parable but it sure does help in seeing the atonement in a different light. Thanks for sharing your testimony :)
Stopping over from MMB.
I love this comparison. I thought of it too when I read the book. It seems that books like these that contain these archetypal characters always represent the good and evil that are seen between the children of God and in God's very plan of happiness. That's probably why I love the series so much. Even the way Voldemort tries to tear apart families and trick his followers that they will have glory are much like Satan. Very thoughtful.
I always think it's great when we see truth in everyday things. However we learn them or feel them is good.
I agree with you. The first time I read Book 7, I set it down and told my husband pretty much what you say here. I honestly think that people like JK Rowling, unbeknownst to them are inspired to write stories like this that teach us about our Savior. Or, she may have set out to do it, I don't know. Either way, I do think that the Lord used her as a vehicle to teach us more than to entertain us. (Maybe that's even more blasphemous, but there you go!)
I've thought this before too. At a certain level I think it is an excellent way to explain how the atonement works.
I've also had moments where I think about how much time I've spent reading Harry Potter (or whatever other book I'm reading) and wonder why I don't spend at least that much time reading my scriptures. Always something to work on. :)
I love it! I so missed how they didn't bring that up in the movie-they went for the thrilling rather than the better!
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