His Dark Materials

Sigh, The Golden Compass opens this week and the kooks are out denouncing it as "atheist propaganda." I read—and greatly enjoyed—Pullman's trilogy and I thought it was more an argument with Milton than with God himself.

Laura Miller is one of the few writers who actually appears to have read and understood His Dark Materials. Even better, she spoke with British clergy who also had read it and "got it," to the extent that they welcomed a work of ideas that led to discussions on the big issues of life, death, mortality, and humanity's place in the cosmos.

Moreover, as one British Christian commentator said, one could interpret HDM as a call for the death of the patriarchal father figure and the creation of a new divinity "worthy of our age."

Miller wisely lets Pullman have the last word—and it's a killer.

COMMENTS
Max's picture

This line is, I think, the best: "Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever." Some appear to cherry-pick among their favourite constutional rights, no? As in yes to freedom of religion, but not so much for freedom of speech, or is it the other way around? Fascinating!

X