May 11, 2004

Re: Neil
speedcorn

Neil (of Mithlond),

What you've heard about His Dark Materials being unfriendly to the church is quite true. As I mentioned in my previous post the story focuses on two children. These children in today's society would probably be considered 'bad' kids because they don't follow rules, don't do as they're told, and most importantly, do what they feel is right rather than what others tell them is right. The parallels to the Church are obvious. For centuries organized religions have told people how to live and how to think. In many cases (but not all) the consequences have been disastrous with countless lives destroyed because they didn't fit with the church's (or with its follower's) idea of what was right.

Here is a quote from Pullman himself that some people will probably find shocking:

"[The Authority in His Dark Materials] is the God of the burners of heretics, the hangers of witches, the persecuters of Jews, the officials who recently flogged that poor girl in Nigeria who had the misfortune to become pregant after having been forced to have sex - all these people claim to know with absolute certainty that their God wants them to do these things. Well, I take them at their word, and I say in response that that God deserves to die."

Now I am sure that the above quote is not going to draw too many Christians to read these books. The second quote probably explains Pullman's position much better.

"We're used to the kingdom of heaven; but you can tell from the general thrust of the book that I'm of the devil's party, like Milton. And I think it's time we thought about a republic of heaven instead of the kingdom of heaven. The king is dead. That's to say I believe that the king is dead. I'm an atheist. But we need heaven nonetheless, we need all the things that heaven meant, we need joy, we need a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives, we need a connection with the universe, we need all the things that the kingdom of heaven used to promise us but failed to deliver. And, furthermore, we need it in this world where we do exist-- not elsewhere, because there ain't no elsewhere."

So now you know the truth behind His Dark Materials. For those who are torn about whether or not to read these books because of their anti-religious content, the choice is, ironically, exactly what I've already discussed. The choice to read these books is yours and no one else's. And that's part of what these books are trying to say.

Speedcorn

PS: I can hardly believe no one else has read The Song of Ice and Fire. For Tolkien fans this is a must read (and not anti-anything).