Concursus Dei?
I'm throwing this one at the rim hoping for a Merlin theological rebound. Divine concurrency is defined as a doctrine that God can decree human choices without men losing responsibility. I was wondering if the sorting hat's decrees might be analogous to this. Here's a passage from Philosopher's Stone, Harry is talking to Neville: "You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said. "The sorting hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin." In the next book, Harry is wondering whether the sorting hat made a mistake in placing him in Gryffindor. After all, it did "try" to put him in Slytherin at first. Dumbledore assures him that pulling Gryffindor's sword out of the hat was confirmation that the hat had made the correct choice. In a sense, it was Harry's choice to turn from the evil which he knew existed Slytherin and the hat's response to put him into Gryffindor. But was the hat's mention of Slytherin a sort of test or temptation? Draco Malfoy didn't need to be tempted - it seemed like he got exactly what he wanted which was to be in Slytherin. So in a sense the temptation elicited the strong response given by Harry, but without forcing Harry's will or making the decision without his input. The hat is of course not divine, but does appear to have the ability to "see" into the mind of the wearer. |
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