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Letter to the Editor Opinions

Letter to the Editor Issue 12

Dear Editor,

I was disappointed with the news article “Riots in Ferguson Cause Unrest” in the last [Dec. 5, 2014] issue. It was unfortunately biased. The title starts out the piece with a questionable cause and effect relationship. Doesn’t unrest cause riots? I think it’s safe to assume that the unrest was there long before the riots. Or better yet, we need not try to mention any solid cause and effect relationship. A much better title could have been chosen.

Regardless, as the article continues it severely undermines the voice of the protesters. Calling the shooting of Mike Brown a “not so ordinary incident” expresses bias because a major aspect of the controversy surrounding this case is that it is believed that this is not a rare occurrence. Then, it is implied that all the protests were violent and the article fails to truly explain why the protests even occur upon first mentioning them. Then the account of the event, although it is mentioned as being debatable, is given from the final court decision, ignoring the voice of the protesters and their slogan “Hands up don’t shoot.” While you can say the evidence seems to support the side given —  it is important to explain why the protesters are protesting by representing their point of view especially as they responded before the court case and release of evidence.

Towards the end of the article the questions surrounding racism are finally brought to attention, but with some false conclusions. After the paragraph of quotes from President Obama about the “legacy of racial discrimination” it is said “these statements reflect the facts that Ferguson County consists of predominantly black communities”. The quotes used do not reflect that at all. Other assumptions are made that had just as little obvious correlation.

Overall the article was a disservice to the Houghton community. Many of the students here have not been following the Ferguson case or any others, and it is difficult for them to understand the complexity of Ferguson through this article. Some fine tuning could make this article much more informative.

Thank You,

Emma Brittain

Class of 2016

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Letter to the Editor Opinions

Letter to the Editor Issue 12

Dear Editor,

Regarding last [Dec. 5, 2014] week’s letters, it seems that Ms. Wool, class of ’16, and Mr. Oliver, class of ’15, can’t see the whole point of the new napkin policy.  Neither did I at first.  But, it is fully explained for all to see on the new, snazzy, dispensers:  “Better for you” they proclaim in bold print.  Smaller, yet still quite legible for those who can read: “One napkin at a time means better health.”

Get it?  Please remember it when I wipe my hands on the back of your shirt.

Carlton Fisher

No class at all.

 

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Opinions

Justice for Michael Brown

Following the grand jury decision to not indict Darren Wilson for any crimes in the killing of Michael Brown, the matter remains, in the hearts and minds of many, unresolved. What now?

On the most basic level, we must resolve the injustice in Brown’s death: a human being died at the hands of a police officer under circumstances steeped in a deeply troubling senselessness or even maliciousness.

Brown deserves justice, but justice is not wholly dependent on what happens to Wilson. Complete justice involves a larger scope. It requires tackling not just an individual but the system from which that individual emerged and the flaws in that system which people perpetuate with continued unresponsiveness.

By now you have probably heard the prevalent slogans, “Black Lives Matter” and “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot.” These simple but poignant phrases address two major concerns in Ferguson: racism and police brutality. Advocating police accountability offers partial solutions to both.

Sylvia MorrowAs Michael Jeffries said in The Boston Globe, “The simplicity of the phrase [Black Lives Matter] is a national shame.” While we struggle to figure out the degree to which Brown’s race influenced Wilson’s actions, Jeffries pointed out that, “Brown is described as ‘it’ and ‘a demon’ in his killer’s testimony.” While this does not directly indicate racism, it portrays with disturbing clarity Wilson’s sense of otherness towards Brown: Wilson has stripped Brown of his humanity.

“Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” addresses the police’s use of excessive force. A chart compiled by PBS Newshour indicated witnesses agreed with high consistency that Brown put his hands up in surrender when Wilson fired upon him. At least six of Wilson’s shots hit Brown, two of which impacted his head. After Brown’s death, the police abused peaceful protestors. According to a Vox article by German Lopez, “police donned riot gear, wielded sniper rifles, rode on armored vehicles that resembled tanks, fired rubber bullets, and launched tear gas – a chemical weapon banned from international warfare – into demonstrating crowds.” Beyond the obvious physical harm this caused, the police’s actions blew open an already perilously wide trust gap between the residents of Ferguson and the police.

According to The Washington Post editorial board, “Congress in 1994 told the Justice Department to collect and publish national numbers on the excessive use of force, but federal officials have never managed to do it.” The system will not change without transparency.

In the past few years American police forces have started implementing body cameras and car dashboard cameras. The Ferguson Police Department owns cameras, but Police Chief Thomas Jackson said the department does not have the money to implement the technology. The Ferguson police would better serve their community by wearing cameras than wearing riot gear.

SylviaShadee Ashtari and Sara Boboltz said in the The Huffington Post that police obtain military-grade weaponry largely through the 1033 program which provides “billions of dollars’ worth of surplus military weapons at no charge” to police departments nationwide. The police action following Brown’s death indicates a significant need for greater accountability regarding the equipment and its use. It would make more sense if police received free cameras and had to budget for weaponry according to necessity.

Similarly, Wilson’s actions against Brown imply a basic need within the police force to increase officer training that focuses on de-escalating an altercation. Retired police sergeant and criminal justice educator Peter Jirasek told The Huffington Post that “if you only seek to wound someone by shooting, you do not have justification to shoot at all.”

I feel powerless when faced with an issue as ubiquitous and enigmatic as police accountability, but as a first step we can sign various petitions created as backlash to the police’s use of force against peaceful protestors and supporting the dissolution of the 1033 program. In the long term we can pay closer attention to the bents of the politicians we vote for. Maplight, a nonpartisan research organization, has a map displaying which house representatives voted for a congressional amendment which would have effectively disbanded the 1033 program had it passed. We must educate ourselves because we have no simple or quick solution to injustice; we must vote into power politicians committed to standing with us in solidarity.

Ferguson has the power to take the media attention it has already gained and direct the attention of politicians, police, and voters alike by putting the spotlight on important conversations – racism and police accountability – so let’s talk.

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Opinions

Third Gender: A Push for Inclusion

Female and male. Woman and man. American society is ruled by an overwhelming tendency to divide the human population into two distinct, polarized categories based on sex and gender. Gendered bathrooms, changing rooms, academia, government identification, healthcare and even the English language are reflective of a culture that recognizes two distinct genders. There are those, however, who do not fit into this binary structure of gender—individuals whose bodies and experiences fall outside of the male-female gender binary. This third gender is in need of recognition.

Achieving an inclusive understanding of gender requires challenging important assumptions that American society tends to make. To begin with, one’s gender is not equivalent to one’s sex. While it may be determined genetically whether a human’s biological sex is male or female, though intersex people are also born, gender is fluid. Gender is a culturally and socially constructed aspect of one’s personal identity that does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with the genitals one is born with.

Different cultures and individuals understand third gender differently. A third gender may represent an intermediate state between man and woman, a state of being both, the state of being neither, the ability to cross or swap genders, or another category altogether independent of man and woman. In the United States, those whose personal identities exist outside of the male-female gender binary may identify as queer, third gender, gender neutral, agender, genderless, non-gender, two-spirit—terms that are often used interchangeably or defined differently by each individual. Still, all terms refer generally to the same experience of gender as one who does not fit into the cultural construct of “man” or “woman”.

MaryChristians, as those who are called to model the life of Jesus, have a responsibility to be at the forefront of the response to the oppressed and marginalized. In that way, Christians ought to open their eyes to those in society who are routinely overlooked as they are forced to associate with a gender with which they do not identify.

The story of Philip encountering the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40, as interpreted by Reta Halteman Finger of Sojourners Magazine, provides clarity to this Christian calling. Castrated before puberty, appearing beardless with a higher voice, and having been trained to take sensitive positions not typically entrusted to males, the eunuch is never referred to as a man. Eunuchs were, thus, understood as a third gender, inhabiting a distinct space between women and men within their societies. While the position held by the Ethiopian eunuch provided him with some wealth and privilege due to his relationship with his Queen, the eunuch was routinely humiliated and rejected by the religious establishment in Jerusalem. His early castration inhibited him from societal status as a “proper male” as he lacked the ability to procreate and become circumcised—both necessities to carry on the covenant line. For that reason, despite his being a God-fearing individual, the eunuch’s gender status prevented him from worshiping in the temple in Jerusalem and having a place in the religious community.

MaryStrandAfter having known a deep rejection and marginalization by the religious community, the eunuch listens carefully to Philip’s words. Philip explains Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and resurrection as the fulfillment of the “humiliated servant” of God described in Isaiah 53. Reading further in Isaiah to chapter 56, it is declared: “Do not let the eunuch say, ‘I am just a dry tree.’ For thus says the Lord, ‘to the eunuchs who … hold fast my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.’” When the two reach a stream, then, the eunuch says, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” The answer? Nothing.

Certainly, this particular story in Acts may be interpreted to communicate other important ideas. Modern Western Christians may tend to pay little attention to the condition of the eunuch, assuming that they have never met a eunuch. Understanding the eunuch’s position in society as that of a third gender, however, has significant implications on how one ought to respond to the marginalized, queer population.

Let’s strive to understand all people as they understand themselves, educating ourselves about, and building open relationship with, the marginalized. Let’s take steps that will enable us to refrain from forcing the human population into a two-gender system that is neither innate nor universal. Let’s embrace an inclusive theology, a theology that seeks to understand and love all human beings as they are.

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Opinions

The Hunger for Violence

Over Thanksgiving break I went to see the third movie of The Hunger Games series, of which I have read all three books. Since then, multiple people have asked me if I liked it, and each time I have had trouble answering. Did I like it? I don’t think so; but I don’t think this series was meant to be enjoyed.

CoryBrautigamIt’s not that the cinematography was bad or the acting was poor, but it’s disturbing to see the parallels between the dystopian society imagined by the author of The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins, and the world we live in. And surely this is, at least in part, the point of the series. However, what’s more disturbing is the number of people I hear talking about how much they like the series. I’m not saying that it’s necessarily wrong for someone to like it, but we need to at least understand that it is more than entertainment. It is revelatory.

If you’re not convinced this is true, look to Thailand. Following the military coup in May, people began to use the three-fingered salute from The Hunger Games as an act of resistance to the new military-run government. This led to multiple arrests. People living in the systems of our world can relate to this story of a totalitarian empire that sends children into the “Hunger Games” where only one can come out victorious, only one survives — these games held to display government power. This is scary.

There are many disheartening parallels to be found between the nation of Panem in The Hunger Games, the nation we live in, and all the powers and principalities of this world. But this is not the only evil exposed by this series. Though, it is the easiest to see. In fact, the larger wrongdoing revealed, the one I think we would do good to uncover, may be the very reason that it is easiest to see the evil of the government.

So what is this subtle evil? Violence. The will of the crowd. The most disturbing part of reading this series was witnessing my own passion to bring about justice by the way of violence catch fire, so to speak.

13150546874_b3f7296522_bLet me say that I am thankful to be an American. However, I was ready to throw the first stone at my nation upon reading these books, but I am now realizing that, sadly, I have both benefited from the brokenness of the system and contributed to it. I certainly have no right to violence; and as Brian Zhand points out in his book A Farewell to Mars, we often think this is what freedom is: a right to violence. He goes on in this book to say that “violence cannot tolerate the presence of one who owes it nothing.” This is a hard truth. We either put ourselves at risk of being stoned or we join in the stoning. No other options exist.

In The Hunger Games, the resistance to the government is formed behind the image of a warrior, a victor, a “courageous” killer, Katniss Everdeen and her three-finger salute. This symbol brings the people of Panem together against the Capitol. The Jews would have much preferred Katniss Everdeen riding in her flaming chariot to Jesus riding on a donkey. Surely, they would not have killed her.

In the series, you see Katniss struggling with the symbol she has become. She is unsure of whether she should continue in her role as the incarnate representation of this resistance movement. In some ways she wants to be more like Jesus and his way of peace. Yet, she cannot overcome the need the mass has for her as a symbol of retaliation, and the systemic “necessitation” of violence.

As Christians we have a different symbol to unite behind, the only symbol that can unite people in peace. That is Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Through his death on the cross he has exposed the inherent evil of the violent systems of the world, the systems that put him on the cross. I think, if we are attentive to the revelatory nature of The Hunger Games series, we might be able to see how they also shine light on these evils. May we not worry about whether the odds are ever in our favor, but instead always choose to follow Christ down the path of peace and peacemaking.

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I am writing about the new napkin arrangement in the cafeteria. Recently Sodexo has snatched away our napkin dispensers and replaced them with more centralized napkin holders. Students no longer have access to napkins while at their tables, and must leave their food and friends to venture out for a measly napkin. As a result many students have begun to “silently protest” the new arrangement by snagging as many napkins from the holders as possible – whether they use them or not. This has led to significant waste of napkins and time. Another issue that the new arrangement has made is students often forget to grab napkins for their meal and must make, yet another, trip to the food lines in order to grab them. The problem is aggravated by the smaller plates that cause food to spill off the edges. This has created another issue altogether – finding a table clean of scraps. It is a shame that the new napkin arrangement has overshadowed the recent good changes that Sodexo has made. My request for Sodexo is simple; please bring back the napkin dispensers.

Bradley Oliver

Class of ’15

 

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Letter to the Editor Opinions

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

This napkin fiasco is absolutely disappointing and disconcerting. It is frustrating that Sodexo would make such a fundamental change without even attempting to see how the Houghton community would react. While it is understandable, and even admirable, that our “food” provider is attempting to use less and conserve resources, getting rid of table-by-table napkin dispensers is not the best way to go about it. While I can appreciate the effort of trying to use less, I have seen innumerable students partaking in the usual meals, with stacks of unused napkins resting on their tables, or being sent into the dish room because everyone at the table brings a small stack of napkins, not knowing what disastrous spillage may occur. Especially considering Sodexo deemed it acceptable to completely throw away all of the table dispensers. Now, each one of the dispensers has a retail value of about $10, and let’s say there are 50 tables in the cafeteria (a modestly low estimate), that’s a solid $500 quite literally in the trash.  Could we not have donated them to a community organization, at the very least? Ironically, this has all come to light in the midst of the Eco Rep’s waste awareness week, a week dedicated to making the campus aware of exactly how much we’re wasting on a week to week basis.  I’m so glad we have Sodexo as such a wonderful example of what waste looks like.

Liana Wool

Class of ’16

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Opinions

Operation Christmas Child

It has been hard to avoid the sight of Operation Christmas Child boxes around campus the last few weeks. In years past, I have been the one filling them with dollar store toothbrushes, coloring books, school supplies, dolls, socks, etc. This was a project undertaken by countless years of youth groups as well as within my own family.

This year I haven’t.

Sarah SlaterI was considering why I had become so uncomfortable with the images of smiling children with their shoeboxes of toys, and I think I realized why. This semester, for my senior seminar, I’ve been studying a myriad of nonprofit organizations and the different ways they give back. My concern about Operation Christmas Child is simply this: that it tries to do a lot of things, and it doesn’t do any of them particularly well.

What are you trying to achieve with your shoebox of gifts? If you are trying to have a personal connection with a person on the other side of the world, sponsor a child or find a pen-pal. For the past few years I have been writing to a Kenyan middle-schooler through Empowering Lives International. Her name is Gloria, and she wants to be a professor at a university. I have no doubt in her capability to do so. But the reason I know she can achieve her ambitions is because we have a (limited) relationship. I have written to her and received responses over time. The recipient of your shoebox, on the other hand, is unknown to you, and you are equally anonymous to her.

The level of monitoring appropriate to various types of programs is frequently debated in the international development community. One approach is known as outcome-based aid, which according to the definition used by the World Bank attempts to tie disbursement of aid to specific results achieved by the recipient of the aid. This approach to development has received some pushback due to the intangible, long-term character of many interventions.

It is even more difficult to hold mission-based programs to standards because of the non-coercive element that should be inherent in preaching the gospel. It should never be a condition that someone need to become a Christian in order to participate in a program. On the other hand, how can we know if a given program is doing anything? One standard to look at is the impact a given program will have over the long term. Over the years, it has become apparent that giving out free things tends to have a net negative effect, destroying the ability of local entrepreneurs and farmers to make a living.

Of course Christians run mission hospitals, schools, feeding centers, water access programs and many other sorts of projects around the world. But there is a clear difference between showing the love of Christ through sacrificial service, and giving people things in exchange for listening to the gospel. The one is in the tradition of the disciples; the other is in the tradition of American consumerism.

Mediocrity is not something we accept readily in most aspects of our lives. When it comes to international development and Christian mission, though, it sometimes seems like good intentions are good enough. But to paraphrase blogger Jamie Wright, good intentions do not relieve us of our responsibility to engage carefully with the world. Part of responsible engagement is taking the time to think through what you are supporting. If it were your sister in need, would you prefer her to receive a single box of gifts at Christmas? Or would you wish instead for school sponsorship and medical care, or the love of a pastor or missionary in her own community?

It’s amazing that you feel called to participate in the spread of the good news. The last thing I would ever want to do is discourage that impulse. And if Operation Christmas Child is something you’ve thought through and truly believe in, I can’t find fault with that.

What I can do, though, is encourage you to carefully consider what you are doing when you fill that box with a washcloth, a ball, soap, crayons. And think if there is a different way you could achieve your goal of encouraging school attendance, good hygiene, a happy childhood, or the spread of the gospel.

Operation Christmas Child is not the worst thing a person could do to show love at Christmas. But I would argue that it is far from the best.

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The Beloved Discount

Every year, shopping malls, department stores, and megastores alike are swarmed in the early hours of the morning after Thanksgiving with millions of shoppers eager to capitalize on limited-time offers on nearly everything. To me, this day embodies two very troubling conceptions of worth: the value of a sale and the value of time.

Connor VoganOf the people I have talked to who go Black Friday shopping, most go not because they need anything, but because they saw an ad for something and couldn’t resist taking advantage of the great deal being offered. Or, they just go without anything in mind, and see what deals they find. I have a friend who got up at 4 a.m., went out, and purchased a flat-screen TV on Black Friday several years ago. I remember being intrigued by his purchase. I asked him why he bought it, and he simply responded, “It was on sale for only $70. Normally this TV is $200!”

I didn’t think much about it then, but in hindsight it strikes me that there was no real reason he had for buying that TV. You see, the rest of my conversation with my friend revealed that he hadn’t actually been looking for a new TV; he didn’t need one. But a Black Friday advertisement caught his eye and lured him right into BestBuy to get it. He may have theoretically “saved” $130 in this transaction, but in reality, he spent $70 he could have just as easily kept in his pocket. He didn’t actually save any money at all.

My friend’s story is certainly not unique. It is not uncommon to see or hear of an item on sale and think, “wow, that’s a great deal.” But when that thought isn’t followed up with something like, “do I really need it though?”, the risk is run of valuing that item more for the money theoretically saved than for its potential to enrich one’s life. This is a dangerous trap to fall into, especially habitually, and needs to be recognized.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a great deal. And I know many people have saved a lot of money on Black Friday by purchasing needed items at huge discounts. It’s not the discounts I disagree with. I simply think we tend to buy too much and spend money on things we could – and in this age of overconsumption, should – go without. We ought to at least stop to consider what kind of added value an unnecessary purchase would have in our lives, because the deal should not be the only reason we buy.

One factor we really should consider is time. Getting up early on Black Friday, scrambling through a store filled with people to then wait in line for who-knows-how-long before finally getting to finalize the sale, you might think you’ve come out on top of the whole ordeal. But is the money you save on the purchases worth several hours of stress?

Consider the value you place on your time in relation to the value of your money. I’m not saying that it’s all about time and not at all about money. I’m just saying that I think it is important for us to realize how much time we can spend in the process of making holiday purchases for the sake of saving a few bucks. There are plenty of other things we can do with our time during the holiday season. Our time is valuable, and we should hold more value in it than in pocket change.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the spirit of our society’s holiday spending sprees given the discounts offered for our taking. We are quick to be distracted by obtaining new stuff if the price is right. I wonder how much time we spend viewing holiday advertisements, shopping, or thinking about shopping. Not every moment we spend shopping and the like should be thought of as a waste, but there certainly can be excess that we should watch out for. There is a lot more in this world to see, experience, and do besides shopping for the best discounts.

So before you set out for Black Friday shopping this year, and approach the whole holiday shopping season in general, I want to challenge you to consider two things: What do you need, and how do you want to spend your time?

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Harry Potter and Jesus

Reading Rowling in the Context of Christianity

J._K._Rowling_2010“‘Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles?’ Harry queried. . . ’I want to go there!’ Hagrid beamed widely. He had been praying so hard to save a soul today; and he was so happy to have saved the soul of such a sweet, earnest little one. The poor boy, being raised by two parents who were not Christian…It was a good thing Hagrid had got here in time. Five years down the road, Harry might have been a fornicating, drug-addicted Evolutionist!”

This excerpt is taken from the Harry Potter fan fiction Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles, written by username Proudhousewife. Her motivation behind writing is so her “little ones” can read Harry Potter without “turning into witches”.

While the legitimacy of Hogwarts School of Prayers and Miracles is debatable (gag reflexes worldwide hope it’s satire) it remains that the fan fiction speaks to enduring controversy surrounding the J. K. Rowling Harry Potter series. It is a fairly common opinion that Christianity and Harry Potter are in direct opposition with one another, with proponents of this belief usually citing Revelation 21:8 or Zechariah 10:2. Many parents prevent their children from reading the books, either because they believe them to be promoting Satan or because they are simply unwilling to take that chance. This is unfortunate, as once one actually reads the series it becomes difficult to hold fast to belief in its anti-Jesus agenda.

In fact, Harry Potter can be read as an allegory for Jesus’s resurrection. While obviously the plot isn’t an exact parallel, Christian themes pervade throughout: the ultimate triumph of love over hate, speaking out for the oppressed, standing beside and supporting the weak. Voldemort, the Dark Lord notorious for his explicit and unapologetic evil, possesses a “gift for spreading discord and enmity”, and stands as an allegorical representation of Satan. Like the fallen angel Lucifer, he too was once beautiful; his pride in attempting to create his own immortality is his downfall.

Ava BergenHarry himself is an imperfect character allegory for Jesus; unlike Jesus, Harry is flawed. Yet there are unmistakable parallels to be found between the two: Jesus ignores the value the world places on social standing and wealth; he breaks bread with prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners. Harry similarly refuses to acknowledge the hierarchical barriers the wizarding world places on the purity of one’s “blood”, and instead operates outside them. Harry’s loved ones do not fit into conventional pureblood wizard society. His closest friends include “muggle-born” Hermione; Ron, who comes from an embarrassingly poor family (who in addition are “muggle” sympathizers); Hagrid, a  “half-breed”, half-giant, half-man; Dobby, a house-elf; and his godfather Sirius Black who is demonized by the wizarding world at large as a criminal.

Jesus’s choice to eat with sinners is controversial due to the world’s respect for him as a rabbi and prophet, someone holy. Harry is usually widely admired and respected throughout the wizarding world (though this favor varies), and therefore “people expect [him] to have cooler friends than us,” says Luna Lovegood, a character avoided for being especially eccentric. Jesus transcends the world’s understanding of worth; Harry ignores the wizarding world’s social hierarchy.

Harry’s most striking parallel to Jesus is apparent in the last book, The Deathly Hallows. Harry willingly gives up his life to save the entire world from Voldemort. Without Harry’s death, Voldemort’s defeat would not be possible.  Just as the lion Aslan allows himself to be sacrificed on the Stone Table in The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry meets Voldemort and death in the Forbidden Forest, sacrificing himself for those he loves.

Jesus died for our sins in an undeserved act of unfathomable love, conquered sin and death and rose again. Harry dies so Voldemort can ultimately be defeated, protecting the wizarding world. He then rises from the dead and participates in the battle, where Voldemort is killed when his own killing curse backfires.

Clearly, the Harry Potter books are not intended as perfect allegories to the resurrection story. However, it cannot be denied that the stories contain Christian truth. Douglas Jones, editor of evangelical magazine Credenda/Agenda writes, “the Potter stories give us largely Christianized witches, witches who have fully absorbed Christian ethical categories: love, kindness, hope, loyalty, hierarchy, community.” J.K. Rowling even admits that Christianity was one of her “major inspirations” while writing. In this way, Harry Potter can be read through a Christian context: to be attentive to God’s truth embedded in the art around us (even Harry Potter) is an effort towards wholeness, comprehending faith from a variety of angles.