New Line Cinema
Christian Theology? The character Lyra from New Line Cinema's 'The Golden Compass'
RELIGION

Reluctant Theologian

Some Christian groups see author Philip Pullman as a dangerous disseminator of atheist ideals. I see him entirely differently.

 
 
 

Email To A Friend

Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.

Separate multiple addresses with commas

 

Is Philip Pullman merely the author of an atheist manifesto for kids? He most certainly is, if you believe the conservative Christian groups, such as the Catholic League, that are sponsoring boycotts of "The Golden Compass," the forthcoming film based on the first of Pullman's novels in his trilogy "His Dark Materials."

I see him in an altogether different light. Although Pullman identifies himself as an atheist, I prefer to think of him as a sort of "reluctant theologian." When the British author paid a recent visit to New York City, I had the opportunity put the question to him directly.

"Well," he answered, chuckling a bit, "I admit I am not accustomed to being called a theologian." But the possibility intrigued him, and we spent a good deal of time exploring how it might even be true. He was excited by the idea of himself as an edgy theologian, and about the possibility of "His Dark Materials" as a work of Christian theology.

Intentionally or not, Pullman has given the world a theological masterpiece that is anything but anti-Christian. Its telos or "end purpose," highlights a vision of the Christian God and God's relationship to this world—one that has long lingered in the rhetoric of Christian feminist and liberation theologians. Until Pullman, their work has languished in the dark corners of academe and on the wrong side of Christian orthodoxy. The popularity of  "His Dark Materials" provides an extraordinary opportunity for these oft-hidden and even suppressed theological visionaries. It is a wonderful starting place from which Christians might engage in new and newly invigorated theological reflection about God, the soul, virtue and salvation.

In Pullman's concept of Dust, we discover the divine fabric of the universe in "His Dark Materials." Dust, also named Spirit, Wisdom and Consciousness, is the stuff of which all good things are made. It is Dust that gives us life, love and knowledge. And it is Dust that literally makes the worlds of heroine Lyra and hero Will go 'round. With Dust, Pullman follows directly in the footsteps of several Catholic feminist theological greats. Sandra Schneiders's "Women and the Word" asks us to open our minds to new ways of talking about and imagining the divine. Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's "In Memory of Her" challenges the authority of patriarchal models of biblical interpretation. And most of all, Elizabeth Johnson's "She Who Is" reinterprets the Trinity from a feminist perspective. Rather than read the Trinity through the classic channels of the Father or the Son, Johnson runs her vision of the divine through the third person of the trilogy—the Holy Spirit, Wisdom-Sophia, who is feminine in scripture. Implicitly, Pullman makes the same arguments. His Dust is Wisdom, Spirit, and most definitely a She. From Dust, it is only a short leap to Pullman's vision of the soul, virtue and salvation—all of which are deeply Christian.

Dust makes all beings conscious and conscientious. Our souls—or dæmons, as Pullman calls them—are made of Dust. (In "His Dark Materials," each character's dæmon takes the form of a particular bird or animal that accompanies the character everywhere.) In Lyra's world, humans spend a lifetime cultivating a playful, loving and intimate relationship with their dæmons and therefore with God. Our bodies are made of Dust (think Genesis here). Our spirits, too, in the form of ghosts for Pullman—that which we become after our bodies and dæmons "die"--are destined to return to Dust by dissipating back into creation and consciousness, a kind of afterlife in which our ghosts are intended to nourish not only the divine, but the divine in all who come after us.

Discuss

Sponsored by

Member Comments

  • Posted By: Bridgette D. @ 02/08/2009 11:55:20 PM

    By asking the alethiometer for advice on her journey, about what she must do and likewise avoid, Lyra is communing with???even praying to???God for guidance.
    if you look at eastern religions you will find as with Hinduism and Buhddism that you find your inner truth on your own you also rely for justification on truths ad=bout society. In Christianity God is who provides you with peace and who guides you down the path of true righteousness. In John 14 Jesus speaks saying, " I am the Way the Truth and the Life..." With the aliethometer she is not praying she is finding the truths and lies in her world through the Golden Compass not through God. She is rely on the Compass for guidance. you could say that the Golden compass is a god not God.

  • Posted By: Bridgette D. @ 02/08/2009 11:45:23 PM

    the Trinity through the classic channels of the Father or the Son, Johnson runs her vision of the divine through the third person of the trilogy???the Holy Spirit, Wisdom-Sophia, who is feminine in scripture. Implicitly, Pullman makes the same arguments. His Dust is Wisdom, Spirit, and most definitely a She. From Dust, it is only a short leap to Pullman's vision of the soul, virtue and salvation???all of which are deeply Christian.
    now here is my comment: the Bible describes the Trinity as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And in the Gospel Mary the Virgin Mother of God is chosen by the Lord to be the Mother of Christ to give birth to Him. Now heres the kicker --- she concieved with God through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God came upon her. The Holy Spirit is a man, guy. Is a male; and is most definaltely NOT A FEMALE.
    Also a = no belief and a theism = a belief in God so an atheism is having no belief in God or a god. So another question how can you call Pullman a Theologian when he has no belief in God or a god?

  • Posted By: Aditya Mookerjee @ 08/21/2008 10:54:57 AM

    If atheism is a concept that promotes the belief, that only atheism is rational, then it contradicts its own beliefs, and cannot accept the contradiction. What exactly is atheism, and what exactly is the contradiction of atheism?

Reply

Report Abuse

Enter comments if any for reporting abuse

 

Up and Coming Newsweek Stories on Digg

Discover more Newsweek content on Digg