I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this Golden Compass controversy, but maybe if I hash it out here on the blog I'll get somewhere.
I read all three books. I read the first one before it was even published in the US. It was called Northern Lights in England. I really liked it. It was intriguing, thought provoking, a good yarn as well. Much later I read the next two books. The second and third books were also good but I didn't like them as well and I HATED the ending of the third book. I didn't like them as well because there were things in them that made me sad and some things that made me uncomfortable.
What people are saying about Philip Pullman's atheist views is absolutely true. That is what he believes and he doesn't try to hide it. That's the stuff that made me sad. I wasn't angry with any of it because even though it was clear that the author is doesn't believe in God and is against the Church, the things that he said made me think about where he was coming from. I know it's hard to believe that a man who wants to fight and even kill God isn't being offensive, but it really wasn't like that. It was just sad. Not pathetic sad, broken sad. It made me long for things for Philip Pullman that he certainly doesn't long for for himself.
I also thought he had some things to say to the church that need to be heard. He has an outsider’s point of view that is much more revealing than any insiders point of view. As painful as some of those things may be, they still need to be heard.
What I hated about the ending had nothing to do with God. I thought the ending was a cop out. He had spent 1500 pages or so building this amazing world and putting forth such innovative theories and philosophies and then he wraps it all up with the most trite and clichéd ending ever written. I was bitter for a long time about it. Besides it was weird.
Should kids read the books? I guess it depends on what you mean by, "kid." That's a pretty broad term really. My son is nine and I think he should wait. Wait for what though, I don't know. I don't really know any kids with strong faith that have read the books, so I don't know if it caused them to struggle with their faith or not. And is it bad for kids to struggle with their faith? Isn't that how it becomes their own? If Christianity is true and a kid had been taught that truth and has lived with that truth, can a story really take that away? On the other hand, kids walk away from the faith they were raised with every day. They walk away for all kinds of reasons, so I guess a book could be a reason. The only two kids I know who read it didn't pay much attention to the religious issues brought up in the books. They just liked the story and the science in it.
I guess my bottom line, after all this typing, is that parents should wrestle with the story and the ideas for themselves and then decide if their kids should read the books. I don't think that they should let emails or religious groups do their thinking for them. I guess it's no surprise that I came to on this subject. I nearly always conclude that people should do their own wrestling and not be afraid.
6 comments:
I haven't read the books and really don't intend to. Not because of the whole Christian/Atheist debate, but just because they didn't look interesting to me. But I love you and miss you and wanted to comment anyway!
I had a "faith crisis" in my early twenties, and in some ways twitched about it for many, many moons later. But you're right, when you're asked to stop being God's grandkid, and start being his regular kid, you have so much more appreciation for... well, everything. It "makes it your own", as you said. I guess there's a point where kids are really vulnerable and you want to protect their little goodnesses, but I'm with you I just don't know how to do that without stifling them. In the medevil times people didn't protect their children from anything. Fairy tales were riddled with rapes, murders, and all the other things on Law and Order. Anyway, it's seems like people occilate between not protecting kids at all and protecting them too much, and there's GOT to be a right/moderate way to do. If you figure anything else out, let me know. We'll probably have kids some day, and I'd like to know how to do it. :)
well, i'm a little behind in blog reading, but thanks for the post. i'm always in favor of people thinking for themselves. scary as that can be. I do think that books can easily cause a crisis of faith. I've had plenty after some of the books i've read. But so can a lot of experiences cause a crisis of faith. No reason to avoid reading for that reason. I've also grown a lot in my faith from reading books (fiction and non) and I've grown because of the crises as well. Overall, I believe that truth will win out for any heart seeking it and if one isn't seeking truth, it doesn't matter if they already have it, it won't do them any good.
So, Christi, are you saying that people who are atheists aren't seeking the truth or that they just haven't found it yet? I'm not arguing, I'm wondering. I thought that was an interesting idea about seeking the truth
I can't speak for all atheists, but for at least the one I know already thinks he has the truth so to seek it is a contradiction. My comment about someone seeking truth was more about people having a faith crisis. Nothing puts you more into truth seeking mode than a crisis of faith. some give up the search and others keep going. Those that keep seeking and seeking honestly, it is promised that they will find.
Tonia, I feel sad for Phillip Pullman too - sad because he was brought up in the Truth and then left it. Sad, because to me, it feels as though he is still searching. How does that happen to some of us? Do we just hear the Truth with our ears, and never with our hearts? Do we listen for clarity and understanding and miss the Mystery? I really liked the books as well, and told my adult kids about them. Josh had read the first one, but wasn't that impressed, which surprised me, he loves fantasy. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with the world :-)
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