Great points about the wand wood! It didn't occur to me to look up its symbolism.
As to the phoenix and the unicorn, aren't they older than Christianity? I agree that they are associated with Christ, but they existed without the Christian frame and were adapted to fit into Christian beliefs, weren't they? (My knowledge on this is a bit fuzzy, admittedly.)
I agree that Fawkes possesses immortality as a natural gift. However, I think that Flamel's actions move in a sort of grey area. Obviously, he seems to be one of the good guys and he knows when to let go. But by creating the Philosopher's Stone, he acts in exactly the same way as all the misguided scientists and alchemists I mentioned have. Apparently, he has caused no harm. However, we don't know any background details on the whole Philosopher's Stone story, and we will never know, because I doubt that Rowling will come back to it. Now that I'm typing it, it occurs to me how likely it is that Flamel didn't want to give up the stone. He didn't, after all, destroy it when it became apparent that Voldemort was after it. He continued clinging to life month after month throughout PS. And it was only after a talk with Dumbledore that he decided to destroy it. I don't remember off the top of my head what Dumbledore told Harry about his discussion with Flamel, but I don't think it matters anyway, because Dumbledore would not have told Harry the whole truth.
no subject
As to the phoenix and the unicorn, aren't they older than Christianity? I agree that they are associated with Christ, but they existed without the Christian frame and were adapted to fit into Christian beliefs, weren't they? (My knowledge on this is a bit fuzzy, admittedly.)
I agree that Fawkes possesses immortality as a natural gift. However, I think that Flamel's actions move in a sort of grey area. Obviously, he seems to be one of the good guys and he knows when to let go. But by creating the Philosopher's Stone, he acts in exactly the same way as all the misguided scientists and alchemists I mentioned have. Apparently, he has caused no harm. However, we don't know any background details on the whole Philosopher's Stone story, and we will never know, because I doubt that Rowling will come back to it. Now that I'm typing it, it occurs to me how likely it is that Flamel didn't want to give up the stone. He didn't, after all, destroy it when it became apparent that Voldemort was after it. He continued clinging to life month after month throughout PS. And it was only after a talk with Dumbledore that he decided to destroy it. I don't remember off the top of my head what Dumbledore told Harry about his discussion with Flamel, but I don't think it matters anyway, because Dumbledore would not have told Harry the whole truth.