Thank you for those excellent quotes. Even though I’ll do my own research, any URLs or documents you can send me that have those quotes, I would appreciate it. el_sayf@yahoo.com

As a Catholic at least, I have to live the delicate balance between the two extremes of only listening to my spiritual fathers in Rome when they speak on matters of faith and morals infallibly and taking every opinion as dogma. The virtue, as Aristotle would say, is somewhere in the middle. I won’t disregard opinions from the Vatican just because they’re opinions, but for the same reason I’ll take them with a grain of salt.

“I don’t see any, any problems in the Harry Potter series.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic and angels in their imaginary world. They aren’t bad. They aren’t serving as a banner for an anti-Christian ideology.”

“If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter’s author, they help children to see the difference between good and evil. And she is very clear on this.”

Father Fleetwood also stated that JK Rowling is “Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing.”

I found these quotes in an article in the archives of the UK Guardian on-line, dated Feb. 4, 2003, and they can be found in a lot of other sources as well. I certainly hope these comments have been brought to Ms. Rowling’s attention. The Church is not her enemy.

Kitties refuse “cat”egories…

Cutsinger is indeed an interesting read, and you’re right, it isn’t universalism, but it certainly seems rooted in a gnostic or mystic Christian tradition, and ever-faithful wiki notes too a Platonic/neo-Platonic philosophy and apparently seems to have influenced Aquinas to some degree or another (only ever read his Summa Theologica though).

Travis, it’s odd you would mention L’Engle, as I just started re-reading Walking on Water this week.

In any case, whether she’s done deep thinking about it or not, I’d agree – the Perennial approach is the one she’d take.

In some ways, I suspect her faith is somewhat ‘Lengle-esque, though I need to work that idea out a bit more. And L’Engle certainly spent more time specifically commenting on her faith and its influence on her work. I get the impression Rowling will continue this drawing-close, then backing-away dance around her faith’s impact on her work. But I’d love to see what would happen if she were asked to write something along the lines of L’Engle’s Walking on Water. I’ve argued extensively in the work I’m doing for the book that Rowling gives sufficient evidence that she “serves the work.”

Both the Cutsinger articles explain this — though his Perennial approach is esoteric ecumenism, not universalism. I don’t think any of the Perennialists believe “all will be saved;” they certainly don’t think all religions are the same or that any denomination that is not “orthodox” within a tradition is a valid spiritual way.

Great catch, too, Adam, on “a cult” versus “occult.” Big difference!

Wonderful to see you here, Sayf, and to read your comments on natural law (that I missed when responding to Travis). Indeed, if I’m right about Ms. Rowling and the Perennialists, her thinking about religion is drawn much more from natural theology and metaphysics than sacred or systematic theology of any kind.

I think the “a cult” might actually be wrongly transcribed in the Q/A. It makes more sense for it to read “occult.”

“Ms. Rowling’s discomfort with “fundamentalism in any religion and that includes my own religion” may just be impatience with an exclusivism that is contrary to traditional Christian belief.”

John, I found this sentence confusing. Are you saying that it is her impatience with exclusivism which is contrary to traditional Christian belief; or that she believes exclusivism is contrary to traditional Christian belief?

I don’t know what event she was invited to, but I am so glad to hear that she was invited. I think this is important, and I am glad to hear about it. Thanks for posting.

Interesting stuff from Cutsinger. While I have a difficult time with his arguments, particularly the lean towards universalism, I’m rather certain that’s precisely the kind of Christianity Rowling would espouse. I’ll give those two articles more thought when I get a little more time.

I agree that when she says her books “don’t promote a specifically Christian agenda” she means “not an exclusively Christian agenda.” This would jibe with her comments about Harry Potter being the “biggest missed opportunity” for Christians, especially if I am right in thinking her alchemical symbolism and other relatively esoteric literary touches are consequent to study of perennialist writers like Titus Burckhardt and Frithjof Schuon.

For an introduction to, or, better, for a thinking person’s guide to a non-exclusive but comprehensive Christian faith (a la Schuon) that may be the backdrop of Ms. Rowling’s disdain for fideism, Prof. James Cutsinger’s “The Mystery of the Two Natures” is invaluable and worth the effort it requires. Ms. Rowling’s discomfort with “fundamentalism in any religion and that includes my own religion” may just be impatience with an exclusivism that she thinks is contrary to traditional Christian belief.