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Following the media attention around the film, ‘The Golden Compass’, Michael Spence takes a closer look at ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy and its author , Philip Pullman.
Philip Pullman
He took the golden compasses, prepared
In God’s eternal store, to circumscribe
This universe, and all created things:
— Paradise Lost VII
Philip Pullman should be pleased at all the free publicity his work received when a number of Christian groups in the US called for the movie The Golden Compass to be banned. For the uninitiated, The Golden Compass is an adaptation of Northern Lights the first book in Pullman’s epic trilogy His Dark Materials. This controversy is quite different from the noise made about Harry Potter. In this case the author takes a veraciously anti-Church stance and openly proselytises for Atheism.
The books follow the story of Lyra Belaqua, a twelve-year-old orphan girl raised by scholars in the fictional Jordan College, Oxford in a world parallel to our own. In Lyra’s world, human souls exist outside the body as animal spirits called dæmons. Lyra comes into possession of a precious golden device, the alethiometer- a truth-measure, which becomes both a physical and moral guide.
Viewers and readers may find themselves in familiar surroundings in the world of His Dark Materials. In the opening chapter we accompany a young girl as she hides in a wardrobe, learns of the existence of parallel worlds and takes counsel from talking animals. This borrowing of C.S. Lewis’ motifs signals Pullman’s intentions- what Narnia did for Christianity, His Dark Materials does for Atheism. Indeed, it is Pullman’s harsh criticism of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series - “one of the most ugly and poisonous things I’ve ever read,”- which helped him earn his infamy.
THEOLOGY
His Dark Materials is full of theological references. In Lyra’s world science is called ‘experimental theology’; in the second book she travels with angels; in the third she travels to the world of the dead to free them from captivity. Most significantly, Pullman’s villains are an oppressive, bureaucratic regime- the Church. The battle-lines are very clearly drawn. The Church are evil, malicious dogmatic and controlling. Everyone outside the Church is eminently reasonable, helpful and friendly, and this is somewhat to the detriment of Pullman’s otherwise subtle characterisations.
Some readers will notice that Pullman is retelling Paradise Lost, Milton’s 1667 epic poem of Satan’s War on Heaven and The Fall of Adam and Eve. In the third book Lyra’s uncle, Lord Asriel, calls freethinking creatures from every world to overthrow the tyrant God and build the Republic of Heaven. Lyra and friend Will take the Adam and Eve roll, apparently giving into temptation and re-enacting The Fall. While Paradise Lost raises many interesting questions His Dark Materials is only interested in conclusions- or rather one conclusion- that God is oppressive.
RESPONSE
“My books are about killing God”
-Philip Pullman
Pullman’s criticism of God and the Church centres around a single premise: That there are "those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.” We must choose between independent thought and blinkered servitude -the Republic and the Kingdom.
This idea that God wants man in ignorance is not new, but it is based on the misconception that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden represents wisdom. In the Bible, the command not to eat of the ‘Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil’ is not about ignorance, but innocence. Eating the fruit introduces nothing but guilt and shame into the lives of the man and woman.
Pullman takes full advantage of another common misconception that The Fall is somehow connected to sexuality- that sex is forbidden by God. A quick glance at God’s command to ‘multiply’ in Genesis 1 shows that this is not the case. Pullman missed his mark if he intended to level a charge of intellectual and sexual oppression at the God of the Bible.
THOUGHTS
The books tested my anti-censorship position. I asked myself how comfortable I would be reading to a child about the nefarious acts of “The Society for the Work of the Holy Spirit” for example. In the end though, Christian parents should always be interested in what their children are reading and His Dark Materials could provide for some honest discussion about those opposed to God and the Church.
One short article cannot do justice to the story, draw out the theology and offer a robust response. Personally, I am engaged by his prose and his theology because I love both a good story and a good argument. I hope I have highlighted some of the issues and that the quotations may begin to give you the measure of the man.
Michael Spence
(A note from Rev. Mervyn Kilpatrick
This book review by Michael Spence, a young Methodist from our Carnalea Society who has just completed a Theology degree at Queen's University, Belfast, helps us to be aware of the many ways in which the enemy tries to introduce his lies about God. We don't want to be a people who see a devil around every corner but it is good to know what is anti-God and against the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ especially when it is wrapped up as a children's story.)
Philip Pullman
He took the golden compasses, prepared
In God’s eternal store, to circumscribe
This universe, and all created things:
— Paradise Lost VII
Philip Pullman should be pleased at all the free publicity his work received when a number of Christian groups in the US called for the movie The Golden Compass to be banned. For the uninitiated, The Golden Compass is an adaptation of Northern Lights the first book in Pullman’s epic trilogy His Dark Materials. This controversy is quite different from the noise made about Harry Potter. In this case the author takes a veraciously anti-Church stance and openly proselytises for Atheism.
The books follow the story of Lyra Belaqua, a twelve-year-old orphan girl raised by scholars in the fictional Jordan College, Oxford in a world parallel to our own. In Lyra’s world, human souls exist outside the body as animal spirits called dæmons. Lyra comes into possession of a precious golden device, the alethiometer- a truth-measure, which becomes both a physical and moral guide.
Viewers and readers may find themselves in familiar surroundings in the world of His Dark Materials. In the opening chapter we accompany a young girl as she hides in a wardrobe, learns of the existence of parallel worlds and takes counsel from talking animals. This borrowing of C.S. Lewis’ motifs signals Pullman’s intentions- what Narnia did for Christianity, His Dark Materials does for Atheism. Indeed, it is Pullman’s harsh criticism of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series - “one of the most ugly and poisonous things I’ve ever read,”- which helped him earn his infamy.
THEOLOGY
His Dark Materials is full of theological references. In Lyra’s world science is called ‘experimental theology’; in the second book she travels with angels; in the third she travels to the world of the dead to free them from captivity. Most significantly, Pullman’s villains are an oppressive, bureaucratic regime- the Church. The battle-lines are very clearly drawn. The Church are evil, malicious dogmatic and controlling. Everyone outside the Church is eminently reasonable, helpful and friendly, and this is somewhat to the detriment of Pullman’s otherwise subtle characterisations.
Some readers will notice that Pullman is retelling Paradise Lost, Milton’s 1667 epic poem of Satan’s War on Heaven and The Fall of Adam and Eve. In the third book Lyra’s uncle, Lord Asriel, calls freethinking creatures from every world to overthrow the tyrant God and build the Republic of Heaven. Lyra and friend Will take the Adam and Eve roll, apparently giving into temptation and re-enacting The Fall. While Paradise Lost raises many interesting questions His Dark Materials is only interested in conclusions- or rather one conclusion- that God is oppressive.
RESPONSE
“My books are about killing God”
-Philip Pullman
Pullman’s criticism of God and the Church centres around a single premise: That there are "those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.” We must choose between independent thought and blinkered servitude -the Republic and the Kingdom.
This idea that God wants man in ignorance is not new, but it is based on the misconception that the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden represents wisdom. In the Bible, the command not to eat of the ‘Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil’ is not about ignorance, but innocence. Eating the fruit introduces nothing but guilt and shame into the lives of the man and woman.
Pullman takes full advantage of another common misconception that The Fall is somehow connected to sexuality- that sex is forbidden by God. A quick glance at God’s command to ‘multiply’ in Genesis 1 shows that this is not the case. Pullman missed his mark if he intended to level a charge of intellectual and sexual oppression at the God of the Bible.
THOUGHTS
The books tested my anti-censorship position. I asked myself how comfortable I would be reading to a child about the nefarious acts of “The Society for the Work of the Holy Spirit” for example. In the end though, Christian parents should always be interested in what their children are reading and His Dark Materials could provide for some honest discussion about those opposed to God and the Church.
One short article cannot do justice to the story, draw out the theology and offer a robust response. Personally, I am engaged by his prose and his theology because I love both a good story and a good argument. I hope I have highlighted some of the issues and that the quotations may begin to give you the measure of the man.
Michael Spence
(A note from Rev. Mervyn Kilpatrick
This book review by Michael Spence, a young Methodist from our Carnalea Society who has just completed a Theology degree at Queen's University, Belfast, helps us to be aware of the many ways in which the enemy tries to introduce his lies about God. We don't want to be a people who see a devil around every corner but it is good to know what is anti-God and against the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ especially when it is wrapped up as a children's story.)
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