Here I am, an avid reader of the fantasy genre. I am known
for my fanaticism when it comes to The
Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.
I have maps, scarves, and neckties. I even have immortalized Tolkien’s symbol
by tattooing it on my arm and will one day get a Harry Potter tattoo as well. Yet there is one series most people do
not know I love. Why? Because it is immensely controversial. It is far more
controversial than Harry Potter ever
was, meaning humans tend to just avoid making eye contact with it. The series
is His Dark Materials by Phillip
Pullman.
In His Dark Materials:
The Golden Compass we meet a girl named Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon (a
daemon being the physical manifestation of a human’s soul in Lyra’s world).
Lyra is a strong-willed girl who never listens to what her instructors tell
her. She lives at Jordan College in Oxford, England because her parents died
when she was just a baby. The scholars of Jordan raise her and teach her
sporadically. As we are introduced to this girl, we also begin hearing the
story of the “Gobblers” who are snatching children from the streets of England.
The story launches from there as we learn more about the “Gobblers” and what it
is they are doing to the children. It continues into two more books, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass where we learn more
about this world along with parallel universes. In The Subtle Knife we meet Will Parry. Will lives in the England we
are used to. Where souls are inside a human’s body instead of outside. He
eventually meets up with Lyra through a chain of events, leading to a whirlwind
adventure far away from “Gobblers” and scholars into the incomprehensible
battle between the angels.
What makes this story controversial is the fact that Phillip
Pullman is an atheist. When he writes about the evil church, the evil workers
of the church, and the angels, people start getting angry. Why would a
non-believer write such a thing, unless he wanted to brainwash children into no
longer believing in a god? He has been
quoted as saying this was his aim in writing this series, yet I have a
difficult time truly believing it, as the media (both secular and religious) is
known to take things out of context *ahem* Harry
Potter. Do I need to go back into
that controversy?
See, a god-figure does indeed die in the series. I’m sorry.
SPOILERS, right? But if you’re reading this, you should know I will bring in a
few spoilers to explain the story. When we get down to the nitty-gritty of this
world where souls manifest as animals and zeppelins are the main form of
travel, we find out no one knows whom the Authority really is. No one knows who
God really is. We find out an angel claimed to be the Authority, because he was
the first in existence and no one could counter him. In fact, he turns out just
to be an angel with a god-complex, thus not being something infallible or
immortal. At the end of the story, Lyra and her friend Will are struggling to
save this god-figure and by saving him, they accidentally kill him. It is then we
find out his true nature. While all this is going on, we also have this other
crazy angel with a god-complex named Metatron. “But Lydia, Megatron is in
Transformers.” I know. This is Metatron. “But Lydia, Metatron isn’t in the
Bible.” I know. Metatron is actually part of Jewish mysticism. He is the only
angel depicted as sitting in the presence of God and we all know that is a
no-no. Therefore, many tall tales began about this angel and he has made an
appearance in a litany of supernatural storylines. His arrogance lends very
nicely to stories. His appearance in this story shows Pullman isn’t just using
Christianity as source material. We find out Metatron is actually the bad dude.
Metatron wants power, so he is grabbing it up, even if it means an all out war.
The story gets crazy. A lot of people and angels die (Seriously. A lot. Phillip
Pullman is the GRRM of young adult stories.)
Now comes the question, is it faith shattering? No. If your
faith is so shaky that a fantasy book could shatter it, I think you should step
away from the books and look at why your faith is so shaky. If you’re so afraid
a fantasy novel will shatter your faith, maybe you should look at why you
believe it would be shattered. It has nothing to do with the novel’s content,
but more to do with your ability to separate reality and fantasy. Well, what
about kids? Should they read a book written by an atheist? How about I answer
that with a question. Do you let your kids watch Star Trek? You do? Ah, well. An atheist wrote star Trek with a
similar purpose as Phillip Pullman. What have your children learned from Star
Trek? They’ve learned loyalty, bravery, and kindness. They learned it is ok for
a black woman to kiss a white man. They learned women are just as important as
men. The list could continue, but I think you see my point. At least, I hope
you do.
In the end, I think this series is one that can teach
lessons of bravery, of kindness, of pushing through the bad times. It also
teaches a lesson of being oneself, being an individual. It teaches one to stick
to his or her position, but to also take instruction, to being willing to learn
new things and think of new ideas. I don’t think it is faith shattering. If you
feel it is a story that could shatter your faith, then by all means don’t read
it, but seek the reason why it might be shattering. But I beg you, don’t make
others suffer because you are busy searching. Don’t take a great story out of
someone’s hands because it isn’t what YOU think is appropriate. Let them choose
for themselves.
Do I think this post will change a person’s position on this
story? I doubt it. I just hope I was able to get you to think a little more on
why you may be so against this story. If you’re one of those individuals who
bans Disney, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. then this really doesn’t apply to you.
I won’t seek to change your position or beliefs. I just ask you do the same and
show respect to others who hold different beliefs than yourself. Stop the
censorship.
