Diary of a Disturbing Influence

First of all, let’s get something straight. Philip Pullman (author of the Golden Compass series) is not an atheist. He is an agnostic. This is a direct quote from his website: ” I don’t know whether there’s a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say. I think it’s perfectly possible to explain how the universe came about without bringing God into it, but I don’t know everything, and there may well be a God somewhere, hiding away.”

Philip Pullman is not anti-God. He can’t be. Even if he were a strict atheist, he would not be anti-God. Atheists do not acknowledge the existence of God. It’s impossible for them to be biased against a Being that they believe is nonexistent. The assertion that the Golden Compass is atheistic is fundamentally flawed: if the author is not atheist, it follows that his work is not atheistic in nature

Philip Pullman is not anti-religion. Here is another direct quote from his website: “Actually, if he (God) is keeping out of sight, it’s because he’s ashamed of his followers and all the cruelty and ignorance they’re responsible for promoting in his name. If I were him, I’d want nothing to do with them.” It is obvious that he is not anti-religion. He does not identify religion as a malevolent force. He does, of course, identify “God’s followers” as a malevolent force. He does not mention Christianity by name, and it’s more than a bit arrogant to assume that he is anti-Christian simply because he condemns the actions of religious people.

If you are going to condemn the Golden Compass, I suggest that you a.) read the book and b.) do your research. Otherwise you just look like a fool. I’ve read His Dark Materials (that’s the series that includes the Golden Compass) and I can assure you that there is nothing evil about the books. The series describes a rebellion against a false god and its overzealous followers. There is no resemblence to Christianity unless you put it there, which brings us back to the arrogance I mentioned earlier.

So. Let’s all stop hyperventilating. You’re fulfilling Pullman’s claim that religious people are ignorant. Not only that, but you’re fulfilling it with great gusto. Get a life. If you have to spazz about the Golden Compass, make sure you know what you’re talking about so mean people like me won’t laugh at you.