Freethought & Rationalism Archive

tiggerette · 03-03-2004, 05:10 PM

Someone wrote this in another forum. I thought it was worth sharing

Comparisons between Jesus and Harry Potter

Jesus: Born to mysterious parents
Harry: Born to mysterious parents

Jesus: Miracle child born which will save us from evil
Harry: Miracle child born which will save us from evil

Jesus: Raised in secrecy
Harry: Raised in secrecy

Jesus: Attracts a group of loyal followers
Harry: Attracts a group of loyal followers

Jesus: Performs miracles
Harry: Performs miracles

Jesus: Has a destiny to face and defeat evil
Harry: Has a destiny to face and defeat evil

Jesus: Willing to sacrifice self for the greater good
Harry: Willing to sacrifice self for the greater good

Jesus: Broke the rules when necessary for the greater good.
Harry: Broke the rules when necessary for the greater good.

Jesus: Helped the downtrodden. (Mary the prostitue)
Harry: Helped the downtrodden. (Dobbie the slave)

Jesus: Caused outrage among those who blindly followed their religious ideologies
Harry: Caused outrage among those who blindly followed their religious ideologies

Jesus: Dies but arises from his tomb
Harry: Almost dies at the end of every book but is miraculously healed by magic and awakens at the hospital.

Jesus: Story produced the all-time best seller
Harry: TBA

extinctionist · 03-03-2004, 06:52 PM

Jesus: Turned water into wine.
Harry: What the hell kind of 16 year old wizard are you?

Jesus: Secret affair with Mary Magdalene
Harry: Secret affair with Hermione

Jesus: Carries a heavy piece of wood and hobbles along.
Harry: Sits on a light piece of wood and flies.

NeoApostate · 03-03-2004, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by extinctionist
Jesus: Carries a heavy piece of wood and hobbles along.
Harry: Sits on a light piece of wood and flies.

naltariel · 03-04-2004, 08:21 AM

Jesus: target of fic writers who paired him with Judas.
Harry: target of fic writers who paired him with Snape and Draco and Lucius Malfoy and Dobby and the Squid and ... and...

I'll take Harry any day.

(email me if you want the link to above fics.)

Rymmie1981 · 03-04-2004, 08:33 AM

Jesus:Fictional character who inspired world-wide religion
Harry Potter:Fictional character who inspired world-wide religion

Don't believe me? Try prying one of those books out of one of those kid's hands.

Heurismus · 03-04-2004, 12:06 PM

At last, I have seen the light; thankyou tiggerette!!!
That's it, I'm off to buy the complete set.
And I just didn't listen to those who said I should have.
But as I'm writing a childrens novel of my own I will finish it first, so that any influences don't affect its course.

tracer · 03-04-2004, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Heurismus
That's it, I'm off to buy the complete set.

Blast it! Another convert to the Potterites.

naltariel · 03-04-2004, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Another convert to the Potterites.

Maybe in next 100 years some Potterites fundie will ban Muggles' marriage and burn Bibles.

Mageth · 03-04-2004, 10:40 PM

Jesus didn't wear glasses...

Anyway, that's a clever list. But I would not be surprised ifRowling based her character on the Jesus Legend. The legend of Jesus, after all, was largely based on an older hero's tale from his people's mythology...the Moses legend. You could do an almost identical, if not identical, list comparing Moses and Harry Potter. If a story line has worked so well in the past, why not give it a modern update?

People have been writing and telling stories about mythic, magical, and even "Christlike" heroes, and basing their hero's legends on the legends of earlier heroes, for as long as we've been able to communicate. There are many tales of heroes that share several of the same motifs you've listed for Potter and Jesus. Potter is just another, albeit unusually successful, recasting of a classical Hero story.

Read Joseph Campbell's A Hero with a Thousand Faces for an excellent description of the "Hero" and the heroic motifs in various mythologies, if you really want to learn more about Heroic myths.

tiggerette · 03-05-2004, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Read Joseph Campbell's A Hero with a Thousand Faces for an excellent description of the "Hero" and the heroic motifs in various mythologies, if you really want to learn more about Heroic myths.

Thanks, I think I will.

03-03-2004, 05:10 PM	#1
tiggerette Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 14	Harry Potter & Jesus Someone wrote this in another forum. I thought it was worth sharing Comparisons between Jesus and Harry Potter Jesus: Born to mysterious parents Harry: Born to mysterious parents Jesus: Miracle child born which will save us from evil Harry: Miracle child born which will save us from evil Jesus: Raised in secrecy Harry: Raised in secrecy Jesus: Attracts a group of loyal followers Harry: Attracts a group of loyal followers Jesus: Performs miracles Harry: Performs miracles Jesus: Has a destiny to face and defeat evil Harry: Has a destiny to face and defeat evil Jesus: Willing to sacrifice self for the greater good Harry: Willing to sacrifice self for the greater good Jesus: Broke the rules when necessary for the greater good. Harry: Broke the rules when necessary for the greater good. Jesus: Helped the downtrodden. (Mary the prostitue) Harry: Helped the downtrodden. (Dobbie the slave) Jesus: Caused outrage among those who blindly followed their religious ideologies Harry: Caused outrage among those who blindly followed their religious ideologies Jesus: Dies but arises from his tomb Harry: Almost dies at the end of every book but is miraculously healed by magic and awakens at the hospital. Jesus: Story produced the all-time best seller Harry: TBA

03-04-2004, 12:06 PM	#6
Heurismus Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: West London Posts: 2,337	The penny just dropped...!!! At last, I have seen the light; thankyou tiggerette!!! That's it, I'm off to buy the complete set. And I just didn't listen to those who said I should have. But as I'm writing a childrens novel of my own I will finish it first, so that any influences don't affect its course.

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03-03-2004, 06:52 PM	#2
extinctionist Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 1,440	Jesus: Turned water into wine. Harry: What the hell kind of 16 year old wizard are you? Jesus: Secret affair with Mary Magdalene Harry: Secret affair with Hermione Jesus: Carries a heavy piece of wood and hobbles along. Harry: Sits on a light piece of wood and flies.

03-04-2004, 08:21 AM	#4
naltariel Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: somewhere out there Posts: 130	Jesus: target of fic writers who paired him with Judas. Harry: target of fic writers who paired him with Snape and Draco and Lucius Malfoy and Dobby and the Squid and ... and... I'll take Harry any day. (email me if you want the link to above fics.)

03-04-2004, 08:33 AM	#5
Rymmie1981 Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: At the Edge of the River Posts: 499	Jesus:Fictional character who inspired world-wide religion Harry Potter:Fictional character who inspired world-wide religion Don't believe me? Try prying one of those books out of one of those kid's hands.

03-04-2004, 10:40 PM	#9
Mageth Contributor Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Deep in the heart of mother-lovin' Texas Posts: 29,689	Jesus didn't wear glasses... Anyway, that's a clever list. But I would not be surprised ifRowling based her character on the Jesus Legend. The legend of Jesus, after all, was largely based on an older hero's tale from his people's mythology...the Moses legend. You could do an almost identical, if not identical, list comparing Moses and Harry Potter. If a story line has worked so well in the past, why not give it a modern update? People have been writing and telling stories about mythic, magical, and even "Christlike" heroes, and basing their hero's legends on the legends of earlier heroes, for as long as we've been able to communicate. There are many tales of heroes that share several of the same motifs you've listed for Potter and Jesus. Potter is just another, albeit unusually successful, recasting of a classical Hero story. Read Joseph Campbell's A Hero with a Thousand Faces for an excellent description of the "Hero" and the heroic motifs in various mythologies, if you really want to learn more about Heroic myths.

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