the golden compass

The Golden Compass does not "preach atheism" - an ironic, and slightly amusing, accusation. The following is an interview with author Philip Pullman, who discusses and explains the themes in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy.


How do you respond to the claim that your books are anti-Catholic and promote atheism? Lyndsay Petersen, Parkersburg, Iowa

Hello, Lyndsay: In the world of the story — Lyra’s world — there is a church that has acquired great political power, rather in the way that some religions in our world have done at various times, and still do (think of the Taliban in Afghanistan). My point is that religion is at its best — it does most good — when it is farthest away from political power, and that when it gets hold of the power to (for example) send armies to war or to condemn people to death, or to rule every aspect of our lives, it rapidly goes bad. Sometimes people think that if something is done in the name of faith or religion, it must be good. Unfortunately, that isn’t true; some things done in the name of religion are very bad. That was what I was trying to describe in my story.

I think the qualities that the books celebrate are those such as kindness, love, courage and courtesy too. And intellectual curiosity. All these good things. And the qualities that the books attack are cold-heartedness, tyranny, close-mindedness, cruelty, the things that we all agree are bad things.

Is there an underlying message for atheism in your book or did you simply want to write a fantasy story, like Tolkien? Kim Mapstead, Friday Harbor, Wash.

Hello, Kim: What I was mainly doing, I hope, was telling a story, but not a story like Tolkien’s. (To be honest I don’t much care for “The Lord of the Rings.”) As for the atheism, it doesn’t matter to me whether people believe in God or not, so I’m not promoting anything of that sort. What I do care about is whether people are cruel or whether they’re kind, whether they act for democracy or for tyranny, whether they believe in open-minded enquiry or in shutting the freedom of thought and expression. Good things have been done in the name of religion, and so have bad things; and both good things and bad things have been done with no religion at all. What I care about is the good, wherever it comes from.

The rest of the (brief) interview can be read here.

But if an explanation from an atheist doesn't suffice, I recommend reading pastor Marc Pitman's blog entry, suggesting that Christians read great literature regardless of whether or not they agree with the author's viewpoint. Compass, like LOTR or Chronicles, is science fiction, after all, taking place in a world similar to our own, but not our own. (Pitman's wife also wrote an interesting three-part entry on The Golden Compass: a rebuttal, a review, and a rant.

And here, Philip Nel, among others, makes compelling arguments on Pullman's behalf. Intelligent responses, I say.