About Phillip Pullman...

Everyone I've talked to about that trilogy regards it (some favorably, others not) as an indictment of organized religion/Christianity, a story in which the angels rise up and essentially destroy God. I can't speak to that interpretation myself; I never made it past maybe half of the first one. I know, I know, throw all the tomatoes at me you want, I adore MG fantasy generally, but my only comment to the friend who'd recommeded these to me was, "What's all the fuss about? The only way this book is sending kids to damnation is if it bores them into acts of crime."

I refuse to read "Battlefield Earth" by L Ron Hubbard or any of his other work. Not because of his religious views (I don't think he really had any) In an interview he had (Pre Scientology) he stated the best way to make lots of money was to start your own religion - hence he made up his own religion and made squillions of dollars. He has suckered millions of people into actually believing the crap too.

When I was a teenager (anout 25 years ago) I was stopped in the street in Melbourne and surveyed by these two people (Scientologists) and since then, they have been sending me brochures and crap every month. I haven't lived at that address for over 20 years but each month my mother still gets a post from them. She has told them I don't live there, sent letters back with "Not at this address" on them, she has even saved up about 6 months worth of pamphlets and parcelled them up with a brick and sent it back to then COD but each month she still gets another post.

Hubbard started all this - for that, I refuse to read any of his writings.

Jeff

I have definitely run into people who won't read books because of the views of the author, or see movies because of the producer. I generally like to read and decide for myself and stay open-minded but admittedly, it’s not always easy. If I know that the author is someone who doesn’t believe the Holocaust really happened (for example), I have a hard time reading their books. Even though the book may have nothing to do with the Holocaust, once the idea is in my head, my perception of what I am reading is changed forever. For some reason this makes me think of the scandal around the movie “Powder”, but that’s another topic…

I knew the Pullman books were going to be Christian in a very broad sense and I was fine with that until I got to the very end. I really enjoyed the first two, but felt that the very end was very preachy and it sort of bugged me. I didn't find it offensive as a non-Christian, just disappointing since I loved the books so much. I do recommend that everyone read them and make their own opinion. They are wonderful books whether I liked the end or not!!!

Finally, my best friend who reads all the same books as me and generally has the same life philosophy as me didn't agree with me at all on the ‘preachy’ thing. To each his own!!

What do you mean? The author himself is an atheist.

When Life gives you lemons make beef stew

Thanks for the responses so far, guys. Interesting points of view to consider. I appreciate it.

I worked in a bookstore for a while and when adults would ask me for book recommendations, I would always bring them over to His Dark Materials. I would also mention that if the book was a present, they might want to be aware that there was a negative slant on organized religion. Some would immediately put the book back on the shelf; others would say it didn't matter.

Aye, I'm with your friend on this one. As a devout Christian, I can be a little picky about books. I won't read Tamora Pierce because of her godess(es) (and gods?? I only read the first in the Lion Quartet). I myself find this odd, as I adore Greek mythology. I think it was really the way Pierce wrote about this godess that bothered me, like this godess was real. Now, Greek mythology is the same way, but that was years ago and I don't think anybody still believes in Zeus and the others. So it was probably the fact that Pierce created this goddess and then wrote about her like she was real. :p

As for Pullman's HIS DARK MATERIALS, *shivers* there were several things that bothered me. The first thing was the fact that they quoted Scripture, and then added to it. After that, the daemon thing started getting to me, and then after I got...erm, close to the end, the whole plot was bothering me. Especially the ending! After I read the final part, I threw the book against the wall. (I really did. Just because it was so...awful to me) I've since read several level-headed (as in, explaining why the people didn't like it) and it just seems like it became an all-out attack on Christianity.

Concerning the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, it seems like that's a slightly different problem. C. S. Lewis doesn't force his beliefs on you. He knew how to write a story, share his views, and make it where you could still enjoy the story. That and he never came out and said, "Aslan is like God." He did hint, however.

May I ask how many people read stories that are geared directly towards Christians when they don't hold that world view? (DRAGONS IN OUR MIDST, Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, THE DOOR WITHIN TRILOGY *mind blanks*) Erm...I can't think of any titles that might be known outside of Christian Circles. Ted Dekker wrote THRE3, and Peretti wrote HANGMAN'S CURSE (both of which have been turned into movies)

Well, I can't help throwing my two cents in....

I consider myself a Christian, though I don't enjoy organized religion. I attend church very rarely, and I feel that my spirituality ought to focus on my own personal relationship with God.

That being said, I've never had a problem with any work of literature. HDM is my favorite series of all-time. I adore everything about it. I do understand why some Christians have a hard time with it. I could certainly argue a case against all those protests, but everyone has the right to believe as they wish, and certainly to read (or not read) what they wish.

Just a couple little things though. Pullman doesn't use the word "daemon" to signify a demon of some sort, or anything demonic at all. Rather than being the "witch's familiar" some people assume, the daemon is actually just a manifestation of a person's soul in animal form. Which, when you think about it, is quite a lovely idea. I love the interaction between people and their daemons.... to me, it says a lot about the importance of the soul.... of knowing your own and being familiar with it. The idea that it takes form at puberty is also quite interesting.... especially when you consider that we ARE very malleable as children... but once we learn to think for ourselves, we have a much firmer grasp on who we are.

I know a lot of Christians have a problem with the idea of Lyra being Eve, and choosing to Fall, but that was my favorite part of the novel. It really spoke to me about the concept of free-will. Adam and Eve had it, and we have it, too. Lyra knew at the end what she was doing, and she did it anyway. We may have all had a wonderful life in the Garden of Eden, but it wasn't to be. Ultimately, sin is a part of God's plan. We all experience it. Many of us use it as a learning opportunity. Others fall victim to it over and over, and it leads to their downfall. It's a human experience. It MAKES us human. To me, that creates beautiful symbolism in the book.

But that's just me :o) My intent is not to offend anyone or force my opinions. Mostly, I just like to talk!!

Oh, and Frank Perretti, Tim LaHaye, and other Christian writers are widely popular in the secular market. The YA version of the Left Behind series is a best-seller, and it's not just Christian kids picking it up and reading.

And you know, C.S. Lewis said time and again that the Chronicles of Narnia was never an allegory for Christianity, and he never intended there to be that sort of symbolism. I personally don't see how you CAN'T see the correllation, but then again, I'm not the author!! Even still, it's a beautifully-told story with good lessons to be learned, and if they translate well into the Christian religion, well then I think that's great.

Okay, that was more like my forty-seven cents..... sorry!!

+++++++++++++

"My love for you will still be strong, after the boys of summer are gone."

NaNo 2007 -- Boys of Summer

One of my best friends in college is Jewish, and her father actually forbade her from reading C.S. Lewis because of the Christianity themes. I thought that was a little extreme, but it turned out quite a few of my other Jewish friends had similar experiences with those books. I think most of us probably hear less about things like this than Christians wanting to ban Harry Potter or HDM, simply because I think for most people, it's a private decision within your family, not something you really need to enforce for everyone else.

As a matter of fact, I don't think Pullman is advocating the destruction of religion, just the destruction of certain negative elements of organized religion, mostly caused by people setting up a hierarchy that determines how everyone ought to be thinking and acting. Personally, I think that the notion that you have to create a kingdom of heaven in your own world, on your own, fits very well with many religions' goals of trying to be a better person and do good in the world. This is usually what I tell people who are concerned about the anti-religion issue. Sometimes it works :-)

I'm a big fan of Pullman's - and a big fan of Jesus. Not a Christian, exactly, since I don't believe you have to worship Jesus to be "saved," whatever that means. I just like what the guy had to say.

So I don't think Pullman's writing has anything to do with Jesus or Christ per se. But Pullman's NOT a fan of organized religion, though, that is for sure. I can see strict Christians getting upset at his books because of this, which I think is a shame, because they are missing out on some great characters and concepts. The daemons are such a fantastic idea that offers so much food for thought. I want to know what my daemon would be!

Pullman hated the Chronicles of Narnia (which I loved) and wrote a diatribe about CS Lewis and how awful his books are for kids that I thought was overheated. I reread the Narnia books a hundred times as a kid and i don't think they warped me any! But none of that takes away from the magic of Pullman's books, which are gut-wrenching and tough and fabulous. (For those who have never finished the first book of His Dark Materials, I think it does take a little while to get going, but once it does -- look out!) Iorek the armored bear is one of my all time favorite characters in a book, ever. And the very end of the third book made my cry.

Yeah, I'm a softie. Pullman's other books - The Ruby in the Smoke, etc., are also quite worth reading. Lots of adventure, really smart characters, and wonderfully malevolent villains, with no anti-religious stuff going on, though one heroic figure is a Jewish socialist in 19th century England, which is awesome.

How can you know if you will enjoy the book or find its content offensive before you even read it? I don't mean to be harsh, but it doesn't really make sense to me. Plus I have difficulties understanding how a book can be offending. It can be poorly written, it can have a stupid point of view, but I'll never be offended by a book.

I had heard that Eragon was crappish. I read it anyway, and found that it wasn't a book that I had interest in, or even liked. When I stopped reading (around page 300), I just said "meh".

I had heard the Narnia books were full of biblical subtext. I gave it a try and I have to admit my views are pretty close to Pullman's. (I kind of like the film, though...)

I didn't reject the books just because someone told me they weren't interesting. I read them, to see by myself, and I think this is what people should do - figure out by themselves.

Anyway! HDM.

His Dark Materials is one of my favourite books ever. Don't expect anything objective. I absolutely loved it from beginning to end. I don't think it's a book against religion, although it does contain heavy criticism against religion. It's more than that. I think focusing on the atheist aspect of His Dark Materials is missing three quarters of the interest of the book. When I read His Dark Materials, I loved it, but not because it contained religious criticism. I loved it because it was a story. A wonderful story. Because the ending made me cry. Because it was one hell of a good story. I realised (and appreciated) the anticlerical part of it later.

What made me love it at first was that, as I closed the book, wiping my teary 11-year-old-girl's eyes, was I had the impression that this story, which is, first, about growing up, had made ME grow up a little more. It brought something to me. I didn't give a crap about religion.

Note: I'm sorry if this comment is "offensive" to some people, it's not meant to be, I swear. The thing is I'm a complete atheist, my parents are too, and most people I know are as well. I'm just not used to being diplomatic with religious people. (I remember this one time when a friend of mind told me that I was being blasphematory just because I said, answering to her statement that Islam was a violent religion, that the Spanish Inquisition was not that much of a model of universal love either. I was completely taken aback, I have to admit.)

2005: FAILED
2006: FAILED
2007: Contes d'Alban et de Catheline (I'm so going to win)

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I agree that HIS DARK MATERIALS is simply a beautiful series, and I'm glad to have read it. It is a masterful work, in my view, whether one agrees with certain content or not. Also, remember that it takes place in a world parallel to ours, not our own.

My final thought is that, for those who want to read literature that only reflects their own world view, consider this: part of the function of literature as an art form is to challenge, express new ideas, cause us to reflect, and this is true whether in the end we accept or reject the message of the work. The journey is what is important in many ways, and the journey through HIS DARK MATERIALS is well worth it.

As for a question posed above - yes, I'll read fiction (if it is excellent fiction) regardless of whether the world view agrees with mine or is totally contrary to mine. Religious, atheistic, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, liberal, conservative, libertarian, socialist...doesn't matter to me. Good literature is a great way to explore these ideas, review them while journeying through a good story, and make up my own mind. Even a great piece of literature isn't going to change my fundamental beliefs on religion or politics, but it's sure going to be a lot of fun to read, and if it is really good it'll make me think about things, whether I come down on the side of the author or not.

I'm not sure why people surround themselves with that with which they already agree (threatened maybe?) but I think in the long run it is a mistake. To delve into the political realm, for example, I'm talking about conservatives who only listen to conservative radio, read conservative blogs, etc. Or liberals who only read liberal political books or read liberal blogs. You get this incestuous and self-congratulatory view of things that is neither in line with the world nor terribly realistic. It's a mistake.

And wow, I am WAY off the topic of Pullman, so I'll thank everyone again for their thoughts and stop now!

"I don't think anybody still believes in Zeus and the others."

Actually, they do. There are quite a few people who's beliefs are, more or less directly, based on Hellenic polytheism. Sorry, just had to mention this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_polytheism

I actually own a book that dissects Harry Potter and everything that's wrong with it according to the Christian faith. I've never been stopped from reading any books but I know of people who have. If you've seen Jesus Camp, you probably remember the part where the minister preaches that Harry Potter is a Warlock and warlocks are against God and would be stoned in the Old Testament. A fictional character would be stoned. That's...special.

Though I was raised christian, I have moved very far away from it. I am actually in the middle of the Subtle Knife right now, but I still find it hard to read the books. I am enduring and trudging along because I did eventually enjoy the Golden Compass and know that I will enjoy the Subtle Knife eventually as well. IMO, if your faith is so shaky that you can't read HDM, you need to concentrate on something other than the books. They should be enjoyed for their literary value, not their religious views and aspects. When you create worlds, you create everything within those worlds.

Someone please just tell me to keep reading along the Subte Knife and into the Amber Spyglass because I want to enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the Golden Compass with the armoured bear.

I think I'm tripping again...

I think that religion is the opium of the masses. Thank you, Karl Marx! If you're a true believer in whatever it is you believe, then reading these books shouldn't sway you into suddenly becoming an atheist. In my experience, the more religious a person claims to be, the more of a hypocrite they actually are.

I read them, and thought they were okay books. Okay, not because of theme or subject matter, but because they seemed to really drag in places (especially that whole subplot with the Mulefa and the wheels). However, when the movie comes out, I'll be the first in line to go see it! Iorek, ftw!

Nerd Fighter

~*~*~
2004 - "The Fall of Autumn" *winner*
2005 - "Le Roman du Mauvais" *winner*
2006 - "Mistaken" *winner*
2007 - "The One that Worked" *winner*

I grew up a passionate fantasy-lover among a lot of fairly conservative/fundamentalist Christian friends, so I've spent a lot of time engaging in dialogues on this subject.

My first thought is that any really good book transcends its ideology. That is, C. S. Lewis and Philip Pullman have both written books with excellent, mind-stretching fantasy, thought-provoking ideas, and engaging characters, despite showing quite strong and opposing religious convictions. You don't have to agree with or even care about their specific points of view to get a lot of value out of the book.

In the Christian community (and I would guess in any other broad religious community as well) there are a lot of people who feel this way, and will read and enjoy a good book regardless of its ideology (though expect a lot of lively discussion afterward!) They will value a well-written book, even if it's hostile to their own beliefs, for its intelligent handling of ideas, and maybe for giving a perspective they aren't usually exposed to.

There are also people who feel that forces of "the world" are out to attack and destroy their faith, and that they need to guard against these attacks. There is often a supernatural component to this belief, which can be backed up by passages in the Christian Bible -- the devil is truly scheming to uproot their faith and will use literature, as well as many other devices, to lure them away from the truth. I don't believe this myself, but perhaps you can understand how someone who does would be quite defensive against literature that they perceive as hostile to their beliefs.

Then, what is probably the most common case, there are just those who feel personally offended, or at the very least uncomfortable, when reading a book that portrays their religion negatively. Makes sense: you believe something strongly, you care about it, you don't like seeing it attacked. Same way someone could feel about a book that spoke negatively about their country, or their race, or their political group -- anything a person cares about and identifies with. Even if you generally try to keep an open ear to other points of view, it can be painful to read something that attacks something so important to you. It's also a lot harder to accept this kind of criticism from "outside the family," as it were... you might be fine with hearing someone of your own religion criticizing an aspect of it, but get quite defensive when hearing the same thing from somebody you know to be in an opposing camp.

I guess my point here is: I think it's to the advantage of a person (and of their religious, or whatever, group as a whole) to value literature that comes from a different point of view, and to expose themselves to art and philosophy that's created by people who disagree with them. But I get frustrated when people say they "can't understand" why anyone would dislike, or refuse to read, a book which presents an ideological perspective which is hostile to theirs. Is it really so hard to imagine?

For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.

-T. S. Eliot

I love this series, truly, I do. I love Lyra and Will, and Serafina, and Lee, and Iorek, and Marisa and Asriel. I love the whole first book soooooooooo much. I am also agnostic, and I have my own personal issues with religion.

HOWEVER, I think Pullman is very pushy. I can totally understand how someone could get offended. I don't agree with Christianity, and I get offended. The problem is that he all but shoves his message (down with religion! Down with the authority! Down with the opiate of the masses!) onto his readers, and it quite nearly overpowers the story. The only thing that saves The Amber Spyglass from sounding completely dogmatic are Lyra and Will's story, and Marisa and Asriel's. As characters, they're stronger than the message.

I personally would only put the first book, if any, on your list.

-"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers." - Charles W. Eliot.
-"There is no mistaking a real book when one meets it. It is like falling in love." - Ch

I know lots of people who won't read "non-Christian" books, and check out reviews of every book their children read before they let them read them.

I liked Pullman's books because he pulled no punches about religion. They don't pander to the idea that in order to be popular you have to please the Christian crowd.

Having said that, there were parts of the trilogy that were exciting and parts that really dragged.

Free Book Give-Away: Your First Novel, by Ann Rittenberg and Laura Whitcomb

I find this whole discussion extremely interesting.

I am about as religious as it gets. I consider Jesus Christ my personal Savior, attend church every Sunday, pray daily, read scripture, and have absolutely no doubt in my mind about the existence of God.

That said, I loved HIS DARK MATERIALS and had no qualms with the books whatsoever. Who cares if he wrote a fictional book that opposes my view of religion? Who cares if he is an atheist? The story was enchanting, and when all is said and done I set the book down, praised such a wonderfully written piece of fiction and thought nothing of it ; my belief in Christ went on unscathed. It's fiction, people! That's the beauty of it. Anything can happen for any reason and why should it be criticized? Are people's faith really shaken by reading it? I mean, do people honestly expect that everything they read should conform to their personal belief system? If so, they are severely limiting themselves.

I'm confused by people who disparrage Harry Potter. Yes, he lives in a world where magic and sorcery is real. We don't. What's the problem? I recently saw a list of books that have been banned in various areas of the country. I was in disbelief. If people are so worried that works are fiction are going to destroy the faith of their children or themselves, perhaps they should spend more time working on their faith and less time making a stink about nothing.

On a sidenote -
If Phillip Pullman's books weren't catagorized as YA, do you think they would be placed in fantasy?

My NaNo book would probably fall in the same genre as HIS DARK MATERIALS. I've labeled it fantasy, because it does contain elements that could not possibly happen in our reality, but it doesn't contain any separate races like elves and such. There is magic but most everything else is realistic seeming. That's still fantasy, right?

My mom is Jewish, and she feels guilty about reading Narnia books.

I'm actually reading the Golden Compass now. I love it.

I might become very unpopular with this post, but I'm not saying anything here to attack or piss anyone off. If you have a problem with anything I say, please feel free to contact me personally and we can talk.

Okay, now that I've covered my bum as a mod of this section, here goes...

Pullman has openly said that he wrote the HDM trilogy to be the oposite of Narnia. All of the religion and preachiness of the Narnia books annoyed him and he wanted to write something with completely opposite views. As far as I know he does lean in the Christian direction, but was just so put out by how preachy Narnia was and wanted to offer kids something different.

I, personally, loved the first book. I started the second one all pumped up and was so disappointed. I thought the writing was terrible and it couldn't hold my attention. I still haven't finished it. I'm very upset about this because I thought the first book was so good and expected that to continue.

About the whole Harry Potter thing mentioned before. I think it's crazy that HP is banned for it 'anti-religious' views. I have attended many HP book and movie protests - I was there to protest the protests. I was extremely put out with the way supposedly devout religious leaders - claiming to be good people - bashed so many things they didn't even understand. They hadn't read any of the books, but they were blasphemy. They showed a film about Pagans and Wiccans that was so skewed it made me laugh. They were there more for the publicity than anything else. They did more to try to make people look bad than say why the books shouldn't be read. The whole thing was a farce and they made themselves looks silly - all over a book they hadn't read and were only going on what they'd been told. If they'd read the books I wouldn't have been pissed.

I'm always amazed when people won't read a book, or let their child read a book, because it could alter their religious or world views. You read to learn new things! This angers me more than a lot of other things in this world.

Ken

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"Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards." R Heinlein

"They hadn't read any of the books, but they were blasphemy."

Exactly the same in my area.

Golden Compass opening night: this is EVERYONE who was there. me, my sister, my best friend, two siblings from our school and their parents, two elderly couples, and a 20-ish-looking couple. That was it, only because so many people around here are Christians.

I'm Christian, go to church ((almost)) every Sunday, say my prayers, etc. I don't read the Bible before bed or anything, but I perform my basic "duties". I read these books, and thought they were great. ((Aside from the parts where they dragged a bit, I've gotta admit.)) But my teacher at school ((INCREDIBLY Christian)) gave us a big lecture for half an hour about HDM just because a girl at school read The Golden Compass, came back to school and said her mom said she couldn't read the others, and my friend and I asked why. ((Separation of church and state, anyone?)) This is basically how it went, involving my teacher (T), me (M), and my best friend (C), who is an atheist.

T: Write down these words: dogmatic, papacy (etc.)......Now, do you know what any of these mean? No? That's why you don't understand what you're talking about when you say there's nothing bad in these books.
C: Just becase we aren't out of college doesn't mean we aren't intelligent.
(another big long speech by T)
T: .....and people who study religion for a living have examined these books, and written reports on what they KNOW ((major emphasis)) is wrong in them. *leaves room to take a phone call*
C: *calls after her* These are long books! Who has the time to read these and cross-examine them?!?!
M: Someone who's SINGLE.

Best part of the day, gotta say, since T came back and lectured at every opportunity....

But my favorite argument of people against the books: children who read them will lose faith in their religion, and they won't be saved.

My favorite response to this: It's called FAITH, dude. It means you BELIEVE. If your kids really believe in this religion and have FAITH, then why would a book make them stop believing?

This is the typical response ((my favorite response)): ....uh......these are bad books!

I don't really have a long post to give, but I do have a little to say...

I have a devoutly Christian friend (though she's not quite so devout now; she's a rabid yaoi fangirl among other things) who, after reading the HDM series and fully enjoying them, refused to talk about them or do anything related to them.

I'm not trying to offend anyone, but I find it kind of ridiculous that (some) Christians act like that towards a /fiction/ book. Just because it doesn't agree with your religion does not mean it should be avoided, like many other people have said. I don't have any religious standing (not atheist, either), but I've read books that imply/openly state atheist, Christian, and (gasp) Wiccan beliefs and have fully enjoyed them for the characters and the story, not the religious notes that may or may not be there.

Sorry, just had to add my little piece.

--

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."
"It's not the years in your life, but the life in your years."

-Script Frenzy 2008 - Hide and Seek - 105/100 WIN!
-NaNoWriMo07 - Untitled - 50044/50000 WIN!

"If you're a true believer in whatever it is you believe, then reading these books shouldn't sway you into suddenly becoming an atheist."

I totally agree with this. I think you should be able to read a book like HIS DARK MATERIALS and be able to believe whatever you like. I haven't read this, but I'm sure he's not forcing his beliefs down your throat. He doesn't outright say "Believe what I do or else!" so why should you think he does? Although I do understand people can get offended when it comes to religion.

you know, there's another, simpler reason not to read Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth" that has nothing to do with his scientology.

it sucks!

it's poorly written, stupid, cliched, predictable, and has been adapted into one of the worst movies of all time

Well, I'm thirteen and I read "The Golden Compass" for the first time when I was eleven. I didn't understand all of it, but I got the general gist of it and thought the whole book was the best thing since sliced bread. I'm 3/4 of the way through The Subtle Knife, which isn't as good as the first, but still pretty up to par.

I hadn't even realized that either book contained an anti-organized religion slant. I've been a Christian all my life and I didn't notice anything wrong with the books until the pastor of my church brought it up in one of his homilies (he has a thing agianst atheists which I will never understand.)

I went back and read the book and realized that, yes, there is a slight anti-religion slant in it. But it got me thinking and this si my view.

I geneuinly don't think that the anti-organized religion slant would have been such a big deal if Pullman wasn't an atheist. If he had been Jewish or Lutheran or any religion at all, even Christian, I think that people would have just wrote it off as being creativity.

But, no, because he doesn't believe in a god, people attack him, convinced that he's out to corrupt thier children into being anti-religion monsters. True, he does have a tendancy to shove the anti-religion thing down the reader's throats at points, but the whole book isn't just about "Religion Is Bad."

I saw him speak at the Chicago Humanitarion Festival last year and the girl who was interviewing him brought up a very good point. His books arn't about "God Is Bad", but that "Life Is Good." The books's central theme for me was that life and death go hand in hand and define each other and that, in a sense, death is a part of life.

People are pursecuting Pullman because of his works when, in reality, they arn't that bad. My mother, a devout Christian, read the books and loved them. No problem with them in the least.

That's just my view on things. Feel free to agree or disagree.

_________
"To days of inspiration, playing hookey, making something out of nothing, the need to *express*, to communicate."-La Vie Boheme A, "RENT"

To be fair ... it's not just that Pullman believes whatever it is that he believes. It's that he's deliberately setting out to convert others to his viewpoint ... he's said as much in interviews. Therefore, the beliefs in his books are fair game. :)

My viewpoint is ... if he's an activist for something I disagree with, then I don't want to support him. Why should I fund something I disagree with? I'm sure his writing is great ... I read part of his mystery series once and thought he wrote well (till I got to the last one which ticked me off). Good writing isn't an end in itself. You've gotta have something worth saying with it. And I don't agree with what he has to say, so I choose not to read and therefore support him.

I don't mind others enjoying his books. I do mind sweeping generalizations that those of us who don't/won't read them are somehow mindless or judgmental.

My thoughts are, if this book created controversy, I want to read it to find out why (just haven't had a chance to at the moment.) Nothing in the book is going to change my "faith" or my ideals, it's fiction, folks! That's what's so great about it, it's a STORY, period. The author can say what he wants and so can others but bottom line is, there is no fact in it so I don't see what the uproar is. Those who don't read it have no right to condemn. I am not defending Mr. Pullman as much, since I haven't read his books, though the movie was OK, as I am disagreeing with anyone condemning a book they haven't read (remember, this is my opinion and everyone else is entitled to theirs.) Are we headed back to book burnings? Not a good thing, if you are a writer!