Offered as an item of interest to you Potter fans:
J. K. Rowling is an Inkling. That's the well-argued thesis of John Granger's fine book The Hidden Key to Harry Potter. Granger demonstrates the absurdity of the claim that Harry Potter is anti-Christian. And even if you've never worried about charges brought by misguided fundamentalists, The Hidden Key will substantially augment your understanding of what's really at stake in Harry's adventures.The Inklings were originally a group of Oxford dons who wrote Christian fiction. The most famous of them are J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Lord of the Rings and the Narnia series never mention Christianity overtly, and in Tolkien's books, religion itself is absent from the plot. Yet these mythopoeic books aim to "baptize the imagination" of the reader — to teach her the importance of fighting for the right, no matter how powerful the forces of evil may appear.
Rowling has confessed herself to be a great fan of C. S. Lewis, her use of "J. R." for her byline evokes "J. R. R." Tolkien, and she is a member of the Church of Scotland (that's Presbyterian, for American readers).
The rest of the article here.
Posted by Ith at June 22, 2003 12:54 PMHi Ith! Thanks so much for stopping by my site. I remember you from "Gaggle"---an awesome site that saw me thru many a frustrating day during the war.
Love your Toby Keith quote. It's a great son, isn't it? We share a love of animals and I've known your desire to have as many as you can. Currently we have 2 dogs, 2 horses, 2 rats, 2 snakes, 1 cat and 1 tarantula. Enough is enough for us now! Phew!
Posted by: Cynthia on June 22, 2003 2:58 PMGlad it helped!
I kept losing track of your blog, so this time I linked to it over on Girls! Girls! Girls!
So I should be a more frequent visitor now :)
Posted by: Ith on June 22, 2003 3:04 PMStuff like that guy's book makes my teeth ache. Why can't people just accept that Rowling wrote a good story? No, that's not enough for them -- they have to have a secret code with hidden messages. It makes me want to run around screaming, "there is no spoon! There is no spoon!"
Posted by: Andrea Harris on June 22, 2003 11:49 PMIf you do, make sure someone videotapes it [g]
Posted by: Ith on June 23, 2003 8:25 AM