I will not bore you all with yet another review of The Golden Compass. Good, sensible, in-depth reviews can be found elsewhere.
Yet I will write a couple thoughts about it. I read it and found it very insightful. Mr. Pullman's worldview is much more coherent than that of the secular humanistic writings of say J. K. Rowling (though not necessarily more accurate). I do not feel particularly threatened by his work, but it is always interesting to read the writings of those who are so blatantly non-Christian (especially those who take great joy in being so).
His books glorify humans as that from which all goodness apparently comes. The Authority or God figure only spurs on evil deeds, and Dust, apparently the source of original sin, is something which the heroine decides to pursue. Yet for all the hype about the book, I have found in my experience that the most blatant sign of an author's worldview is how they portray morality (or as Lewis called it, natural law). Books from a humanistic worldview whether it be cosmic or secular, often show goodness to be coming from inside human nature (particularly the rebellious part). One of the best examples of this was how Harry Potter's greatest asset was love, not the love of a divine, perfect creator, but the love from within human hearts which Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
When I finish with books like these, people as if I recommend it. I feel I can't recommend books to people that are written by men who preach blatantly corrupt doctrines. A good Christian friend of mine were talking about Pullman's works (which he loves), and he said that they are good books because they ask good questions. But I can name many religions and ideologies that ask good questions and come up with horrible, wicked answers. Yet, whenever we end up reading anything written by man, we should be wise and discerning and like Jesus said in John 7:24 "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
Yet I will write a couple thoughts about it. I read it and found it very insightful. Mr. Pullman's worldview is much more coherent than that of the secular humanistic writings of say J. K. Rowling (though not necessarily more accurate). I do not feel particularly threatened by his work, but it is always interesting to read the writings of those who are so blatantly non-Christian (especially those who take great joy in being so).
His books glorify humans as that from which all goodness apparently comes. The Authority or God figure only spurs on evil deeds, and Dust, apparently the source of original sin, is something which the heroine decides to pursue. Yet for all the hype about the book, I have found in my experience that the most blatant sign of an author's worldview is how they portray morality (or as Lewis called it, natural law). Books from a humanistic worldview whether it be cosmic or secular, often show goodness to be coming from inside human nature (particularly the rebellious part). One of the best examples of this was how Harry Potter's greatest asset was love, not the love of a divine, perfect creator, but the love from within human hearts which Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"
When I finish with books like these, people as if I recommend it. I feel I can't recommend books to people that are written by men who preach blatantly corrupt doctrines. A good Christian friend of mine were talking about Pullman's works (which he loves), and he said that they are good books because they ask good questions. But I can name many religions and ideologies that ask good questions and come up with horrible, wicked answers. Yet, whenever we end up reading anything written by man, we should be wise and discerning and like Jesus said in John 7:24 "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."
