Rumors of Glory: Waiting for Harry

At Books & Culture, Alan Jacobs writes at some length about the soon-to-be-published final book in the Harry Potter series, which he intends to read immediately upon its publication. He concludes the essay with a prediction of the end of Harry Potter:

Will Harry survive? I do not think he will. I believe that, in one way or another, he will choose death: his life will not be taken from him against his will, as though Voldemort is right in believing that death is the worst thing that could happen to someone; instead, he will give it up, trusting that what Dumbledore told him about "the next great adventure" is true. In the sixth book he twice identifies himself as "Dumbledore's man through and through"; when faced with death he will, I believe, prove himself to be just that.

That there is something beyond death, in the world that J. K. Rowling has made, we know. For one thing, there are the ghosts we meet in Hogwarts. And from one of them, Nearly Headless Nick, we learn that ghosts are those who refuse to leave this world, who fear to learn what lies Beyond. Which indicates that something does indeed lie Beyond. In the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, there is a veil through which one can pass into the realm of the dead—that is how Sirius Black dies—and Harry and his friend Luna Lovegood both hear quiet, incomprehensible voices through that veil. I expect that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will take our hero through that veil—perhaps quite literally—and into that other world. Perhaps his final confrontation with Voldemort will even happen there, or will take the two of them there, so that Voldemort will finally discover just what he has been so afraid of. And will Harry's parents be there, and his godfather Sirius? It seems to me likely. It means much, I think, that Dumbledore's bird Fawkes is a phoenix—the animal that represents resurrection—and that Harry Potter's wand, like that of Lord Voldemort, contains at its core a feather from that phoenix.

Rusell Arben Fox has written thoughtfully about these matters, and he calls our attention to comments that Joanne Rowling has made about her own religious beliefs. I'll close with her words. "Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books. … This [talking about religion] is so frustrating. Again, there is so much I would like to say, and come back when I've written book seven. But then maybe you won't need to even say it because you'll have found it out anyway. You'll have read it."

After reading this, and exploring some of the links at the original site, I came across this reply to some of the Christians [in this case Catholics, including the current pope] who have objected to the books:

Here is a summary of some salient concerns of Catholics regarding the books. I write this as a Catholic author, as a homeschooling parent, and as a fierce critic of most children’s literature being written today.

Rumors of Glory: Waiting for Harry - Books & Culture Magazine, Amy Welborn: Open Book: OKay, one more