The Golden Compass

[davywavy]

One thing that keeps on coming up about Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy is that it contains, apparently, anti-religious sentiment.
I have to say that when I read it this passed me by entirely, but Evangelical Christians in the 'states are burbling in their usual frothing fashion about 'foisting atheism on children', and I've read atheists (seemingly) everywhere rattling on about how they approve of doing just that.
In as far as I can remember from reading the books, the villains are the 'Magisterium', a church who worship a god who turns out just to be the 'first angel' who is pretending to be a god. Now, as far as I remember from reading Paradise Lost, the 'first angel' who pretends to be god is usually referred to as Lucifer, or the Devil.
The reaction to this leaves me slightly boggling. Obviously Pullman's grasp of theology is so poor that he's written a book in which the villains are Satanists whilst thinking he's doing the exact opposite, but what is so depressing is just how many people - atheists and folks of religious bent - he's got to go along with him in this. You'd think that people who feel so strongly about a subject - either positively or negatively - would know a little more about their subject before they started spouting off, wouldn't you?
But then again, this is the internet. Ignorance isn't so much a hindrance as an advantage round here.

Comments

[fionnghuala.livejournal.com]

I think the whole point with religious-types is that they don't look too closely at issues of who's good and evil, or the fine-detail of the implications of their own belief.

Isn't there something about a leap of faith and then you just believe everything you're told?

[fionnghuala.livejournal.com]

Maybe I should modify that to 'religious nutter types' to avoid offense.

And if my observations on YouTube are to be believed, being an atheist in parts of the states is to be in a constant rhetorical battle with the Christers, where any small victory is to be celebrated, and every small detail of bollocks to be argued over.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Possibly so, but I don't think it helps anyone's case to claim getting something demonstrably (and quickly so) wrong as a victory?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Isn't there something about a leap of faith and then you just believe everything you're told

Not that I've ever encountered in anything I've ever read about Theology or Metaphysics, except as a pretty common misrepresentation?

[fionnghuala.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I'm talking purely in terms of pretty common misrepresentation. Or, as us sociologists call it, lived experience... or something like that.