I thought it was just me. But it’s not. Someone else has spotted it. See Sarah Barnett’s comments http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/culture/reading/harry_potter_and_the_deathly_hallows/.

If you’ve not read the book and you don’t want me to spoil it then don’t read on!

But I couldn’t believe the cheek of it. J.K. Rowling does Christianity. Without wishing to attract a law suit I’ll steer clear of accusations of plagiarism. And it might be a little strong to suggest that the final instalment of the unfolding Potter narrative is parasitical on another bestseller. But you can’t fail to spot that parallels with the Bible. In the wonderful final volume of her seven book series there are strong hints that Rowling is familiar with at least some of the dominant themes of the gospel. They’re never explicit but to those with more than a passing familiarity with the scriptures the illusions are as plain as the nose on your face. Choosing not to give the references she even quotes scripture on two occasions [Matthew 6:21 & 1 Corinthians 15:26].

Unconvinced? Consider this. The hopes of a world rest on an increasingly isolated young man. He obediently and willingly goes to his death. He leaves behind his faithful group of disciples. He must fight alone. His self sacrificial death ensures the defeat of his enemy. He dies but is resurrected back to life to redeem the world. The ultimate confrontation between good and evil, between love and death takes place at the end of his life. In his death he destroys his enemy once and for all. Yet he remains innocent of crime. He’s not responsible for the death of his opponent. The ‘happily ever after’ is the eradication of evil, the establishment of relational bonds and the enjoyment of a world free from wickedness.

You’ve got to ask, ‘does that remind you of anyone?’

I won’t pretend to have exhausted the complexities of the plot or to have understood every literary nuance. But, to my mind, the similarities are incontrovertible.

In case you’re wondering, I loved it!

Plot outline here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows 

I’m no luddite but it’d be fair to say that I’m not an ‘early adopter’ either [luddite = opponent of new technology]. I still have to give one of the young lads at church a call to get the DVD Recorder to work [Bruce if you’re reading this I need another tutorial – tried to record the cricket and got 45 minutes of ‘snow’]. The latest phenomenon that I’ve been slow to endorse is Facebook. I’ve only ever seen it once and when I visited the site I found a picture of me with the additional appendage of a redneck beard. The boys at Quirky Motion were clearly having a quiet week!

Facebook is the social networking tool that’s replaced MySpace as the ‘de rigeur’ site for virtual interaction and communication. It’s nothing less than a phenomenon. There are apparently 30 million registered users. Most of them are young adults. I’m no longer a young adult and so it’s not come into my purview until recently. But Facebook has now reached the tipping point. It’s gone from being ‘niche’ to becoming ‘mainstream’. People’s Dads are now registering! That’s why it’s come onto my radar.

Actually, it’s been buzzing around in the background of church life for a few months now. At first it seemed a brilliant way to facilitate what’s been described as ‘social networking’. And undoubtedly there are many positive things to be said about it. Andrew Lim, a fellow touch rugby player from my time at Moore Theological College Sydney, has listed the positives here and here. I’m inclined to agree with him. Like any relationship forming tool this has great potential for the gospel but I’m also aware that we’re in danger of uncritically accepting something of which we ought to be a little more cautious. There’s a need perhaps for discretion and discernment in our use of this tool.

None of my worries are determinative but let me express my reservations.

1. Facebook may be another distracting influence

On average people spend 19 minutes a day on Facebook. That’s not awful. But many Christians fail to find the time to open their Bibles and pray. I know that we’re not justified by the ‘quiet time’ but that can’t be right can it? Daisy Goodwin, writing in the Times, said ‘my habit is under control, but only just’. And that’s the point. It’s another tempting distraction that can quickly become addictive. If someone is poking us, leaving messages on the board, asking us to be our friend and so on it’s very easy to be checking our profile more often that our employers might like and more often that might be considered healthy!

2. Facebook encourages loveless interaction

Despite its name, its essentially faceless communication. That carries great dangers. Here are a few of the more obvious risks.

• Social convention means that if we’re in a group of people and one or more are being left out of the conversation we make every effort to include them. Online we don’t feel the same obligation to help those who are a little on the periphery.
• Whilst we’d never deliberately blank someone in real life, there’s no real issue in the virtual world. We just leave their advances unaddressed or we never even bother to include them.
• We can be misunderstood because human communication involves more than words. I remember being told that a ‘senior saint’ had tried to discourage a young church leader from his habit of writing strongly worded letters. His reason was, ‘letters can’t smile’. His point was simply that much of our communication is non verbal and we can soften what’s said or strengthen what’s said through the intonation of our voice, our mannerisms, the eyes and perhaps all manner of things that might be termed ‘body language’. We can’t do virtual body language. Not even those small yellow characters [emotions?] that smile and wink and so on can complement our communication to the degree that a raised eyebrow or a shrug of the shoulders can manage.

We need to be aware that, perhaps inadvertently, we can be neglectful of what might be described as ’social graces’. In all our social interaction we must love one another. I know that we know that, I just think it’s harder to do online.

3. Facebook can help us create a virtual Amish community

We mustn’t be naïve about the tendency amongst some evangelicals to want to retreat from the world into the safety of the Christian ghetto. It’s such a safe place to be. And let’s be honest, contrary to the world’s perception of church, it’s terrific. After all, it’s what the new creation will be like, except without the sin. Rather than interacting with the unbelieving and occasionally antagonistic world we can run for cover and seek refuge amongst those who already agree with us on most things. But Jesus wants his church to be outward orientated and I fear that social networking sites simply play to our inclination to want to mix with people like us. So if we’re using Facebook in an exclusive and introverted way then I’ve got issues. That’s especially the case when it’s used for church groups. Just as we should at church, so we have to make every effort online to invite and include absolutely everyone. Not everyone will want to sign up to Facebook. Perhaps they know that they’ll be tempted to waste time and so they’ll want to keep it arms’ length. I guess I fall into that category. If the alternative to working hard at the Greek text for a Sunday sermon is some playful banter via the internet it doesn’t take a professional psychologist to work out which one panders to my sinful nature! Therefore our invitations to parties, social gatherings and so on must not only be given via Facebook. Sure we can use e-mail and text but how about phoning people up and talking - just like the good old days!

I may be over reacting. This may be an unjustified rant. But I think I’ve got a point. Some may disagree. I just hope that someone tells me to my face!