Christian Carnival: The Sorting Hat Edition

Oh you may not think me pretty,
But don’t judge on what you see,
I’ll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There’s nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can’t see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you’ve a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You’ll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don’t be afraid!
And don’t get in a flap!
You’re in safe hands (though I have none)
For I’m a Thinking Cap!

House Hufflepuff

• Rodney Olsen. participates in a Five Meme but it’s about reasons he loves Jesus although it’s no where near exhaustive and he’s sure you can list several more.
• Ann (from Christian Counseling & Educational Services) notes from the Psalms (and elsewhere) that God’s ways bring freedom.
• Stretch Mark Mama has a personal and touching post where she really saw the light.
• Allison assigns us some homework: to Forgive Someone.
• Noah, while rereading Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address finds some spiritual lesson’s over at Everyday Liturgy.
• Jody moves from a Believer to A Disciple at Jody Along the Path.

A thousand years or more ago
when I was newly sewn,
there lived four wizards of renown,
whose names are still well known:
bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
they hatched a daring plan
to educate young sorcerers
thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
formed their own house, for each
did value different virtues
in the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?

‘Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I’ve never yet been wrong,
I’ll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!

House Gryffindor

• Jeremy (the Parableman) has a response to the argument that the GOP nominating a pro-choice candidate makes the GOP pro-choice.
• The Nation That Shrunk God posted at Adam’s Blog is a call to action for the American Church which has backslidden from her previous glory.
• William (of Beyond the Rim)takes a look at the relationship between hope and trust and the difference between those in Christ and those who are not.
• Messy Christian used to be afraid of God’s CIA Agents: Pastors.
• Daniel Condurachi presents Ecclesiast 10 – very interesting and practical indeed posted at Daniel Condurachi’s Blog.
• Doug presents Atheism as a way station to Materialistic Religion posted at Bounded Irrationality.

House Ravenclaw

• Henry Neufeld has copious notes on Mark 12:13-17 at the Participatory Bible Study Blog.
• John Sanders examines the Law of Attraction over at Voice in the Wilderness.
• Tupelo notices that when people criticize it’s more about them than you. Therefore he suggests that you don’t take it personally.
• Richard looks at Ben Shira’s second century writings where Shira summarizes the prophets as Comforting Jacob.
• Guest blogger Chris talks about his visit to Kentucky’s Creation Museum over at The Faughn Family of Four.

In times of old, when I was new,
And Hogwarts barely started,
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted.
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning
To make the world’s best magic school
And pass along their learning.
“Together we will build and teach”
The four good friends decided.
And never did they dream that they
Might some day be divided.
For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there, so I can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, “We’ll teach just those
Whose ancestry’s purest.”
Said Ravenclaw, “We’ll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest”
Said Gryffindor, “We’ll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name.”
Said Hufflepuff, “I’ll teach the lot
And treat them just the same.”
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light.
For each of the four founders had
A house in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning just like him.
And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest
and taught them all she knew,
Thus, the houses and their founders
Maintained friendships firm and true.

House Slytherin

• ChristianPF (of Money in the Bible) asks a question and requests your participation: Was Jesus a tightwad?
• Fired Up Phil has some thoughts on giving and receiving in He Makes His Ministers a Flame of Fire. (Note: The Sorting Hat, seeing only a few posts and mostly links to a business, struggled with including this in the Christian Carnival but in the end decided to allow it. The Sorting Hat apologizes for feeling compelled to include this note).
• Mark has aA Curtain Call up at his site Pseudo-Polymath where he looks at Augustine’s (and subsequently our own) aspiration for greatness.
• And for something completely different, this week Light Along the Journey takes an in-depth look at Dog vs. Cat Theology.
• Rey, (your Carnival host) best known for his heresy and arcane ability of Snake Speak (parceltongue) spoils the heck out of the final Harry Potter book and justifies this grave sin action by examining Rowling’s Christian themes.

(ps. Some might be upset by the Sorting Hat’s methods. Others might be upset by the fact that Hogwarts Sorting Hat was used at all. But if you look around your house you’ll notice that you might not like being under that header but the other folk in that house do keep nice company: Yourself.)
(pss. I didn’t come up with the Sorting Hat Song; that was all Rowling).