Reluctant Theologian

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.

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?

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?

This may be a little late in coming-but the Judeo-Christian tradition is LOADED with feminine components for those who care to look, not just Sophia, there is also the Shekinah-the feminine aspect of God, Mary the Mother of Jesus (not to mention the other two Marys), Miriam the sister of Moses, Deborah, Esther, Ruth, Judith, many many many saints. I think the real question here is, why would the author of the article choose to ignore this rich tradition? Hmmm.

P.S. Usually tradition is a good place to start to find what you are looking for, it is important to grasp the basics before any sort of interpretation is drawn-much less any sort of additions, deletions etc. that are jsut based on what is currently vogue in whatever time period and culture you happen to live in. Alas, some of us have other motivations than genuine soul-searching and spiritual questing. I think it is important to keep perspective and retain humility-it is very easy to get lost in self-referential rhetoric when the only ones you speak with are those who happen agree with you.

Thanks for the link, Charlie. Although, admittedly, after having read the Harry Potter books recently, I can't honestly say I found them to be any more far-fetched than what I've read on that site, and in the book(s) to which their teachings refer. There's definitely a common string, though--a magic man who has magical powers the rest of us don't.

For a more detailed discussion of the reasons behind my comments on 11/30, please go to www.ignatiusinsight.com..............................Charlierambler

Your deconstruction of Pullman,converting an atheist to a theologian is hilarious! There is,however, something in common between The Golden Compass and feminist theology, they are both fanatsy.Your rn article is a fairy tale, or as we would say in 2007, postmodern jibberish................Charlierambler

Your deconstruction of Pullman,converting an atheist to a theologian is hilarious.Feminist Theology and The Golden Compass are quite similar......they are both fantasies.Your entire article is a fairy tale,or as one would say in 2007 terminology,postmodern jibberish...

So much discussion and wasted time over works of fiction and mythological/thelogical ideas. Were there actually a god/creator thingy, perhaps the worst punishment it could impose on humans is the establishment of theology and the church. Do these books or the bible attempt to teach about right and wrong, morality and the difference between good and evil? Good luck, we will never learn and our history of theology/religion will never lead us into a true understanding of we should treat each other.

I've read all of the books and I don't remember reading anything about the people who teach us about heaven lying, that Christianity is a mistake and that there is no God.
BTW what happens to peoples atoms when they die in your religion? I think the content of the books is a better source of information about them then whatever you've been reading.

I've read all of the books and I don't remember reading anything about the people who teach us about heaven lying, that Christianity is a mistake and that there is no God.
BTW what happens to peoples atoms when they die in your religion? I think the content of the books is a better source of information about them then whatever you've been reading.

I've read all of the books and I don't remember reading anything about the people who teach us about heaven lying, that Christianity is a mistake and that there is no God.
BTW what happens to peoples atoms when they die in your religion?
I think the content of the books is a better source of information about them then whatever you've been reading.

How can it be a Christian work when it says that people who teach about heaven are "lying," that Christianity is "a mistake," that there is no God, and that when people die their atoms just float in the air? Pullman wants people to be nice to each other despite the fact that there is no God telling them to do so, which is a common aethestic fallacy. "Anything but anti-Christian"? That is a dangerous and horribly erroneous view.

I like the theology for it resonates with Bishop John Shelby Spong's idea of God as essentially Being. Bishop Spong's idea of a New Christianity emphasizes a closer relationship with God as the sacred Being in us, much as Dust is the essential ingredient in the people of the Golden Compass

Interesting article, and even more interesting comments. Mr. Pullman's trilogy encompasses a complicated and interweaving battle of good versus evil. In his stories, the church, the "authority," and those who fight to protect them are either considered evil or ignorant or deceptive or a little of all three. These entities and iinstitutions are considered evil in Lyra's world and in Wil's world (which parallels are own). You could say that Lyra and the "good guys" are fighting for freedom and liberty from the religious right-wing, conservatives, and all that represents Christian fundamentalism. This point is clearly made in the books when the "good guys" go about to destroy the kingdom of heaven to build a new republic of heaven. But, this is what I find to be interesting. Many of the comments on this board mirror this exact idealogy! The Christians are wrong, evil, oppressive, and they need to shut-up and (if necessary) removed from the political, social, and ethical arenas of life. Before commenting on the books and Pullman's idealogies, read the books for yourselves -- whether you are on the Christian or anti-Christian side of the argument. Read what is being written. The female character **Jenavive** referenced as evil -- is considered good by the book's standards. To another reader/commenter, **Michael Hennigan**, do you want your kids involved with a story where pre-teens are getting drunk, smoking cigarette remains off the ground, and eventually kissing and having sexual relations as an expression of true and deep love? And to **xxIcy** who is disgusted by those who have a superficial understanding of the "killing god" scene and ideas in the books: what is there to not understand when God is represented as an acient angel who was not the creator, who is a deceiver, and some old, weak, and impotent being incapable of existing outside of a protective crystal shell? It is not Pullman's killing of God that is injust, but his depiction of God. Those who agree with Pullman's theology or ideaology also agree with his view of God and eternity. Is Pullman correct? If so, then live without any externally-imposed boundaries and proclaim true truth as you see it. But, if Pullman is wrong, then we have to wonder, is there a true standard of truth established (not by a church or religion), but by a true, living, eternal, and loving God? Interesting....

This is a nice way of veiwing Pullman's writting's, one fo the many ways one can veiw a book , i don't know if he wrote it to purposely scare Christain fundamentalists, but i think just about anything scares Christain fundamentalists, because people who follow Christain theology don't want room for change or imagination, and whenever they get a book or a movie that breaks down their religion in a scientific, or veiwpoint that is not their own they instantly claim that it's Anti_christain, r that is's Satanic to make themself's feel better about the situation, well according to evidence there are always going to be other ways of veiwing the same ideal or belief and there are always going to be oher beleives weather the Christdom society beleives it or ackknowleges it or not.

I don't see anything wrong with this movei or book i see nothing anti Christain, orsatanic. I see some what of a Christin veiw and somewhat of a pagan or atheist veiw, no of which is evil. the only evil i can see if the villain charater with they moneky. She goes for self right reasons and self gain, there for has an selfish evil veiw point in the story,,further more making her evil in my veiw others may dissagree.that's fine, too each their own, put i do tire of heaChrisitn fundamentalist groups pointing out anything that is different and saying it's evil and against their religion. Eveeverything is against their religion

What a fascinating article. I've always been avers [and somewhat disgusted, I'll say] at the religious people who cannot look past the superficial understanding of Lyra and Will 'killing' God. This article explains and presses the reluctant reader to look forward.

-appluase-
-applause-

The Idea of the author making Christain theology and perhaps a mix of long forgotten pagan believes all mixed into one type of writting, is a nice one and perhaps has alot of proof inside the book, but to say that the authors way of writting this story is evil or anti-Christain is perpostiorous. There's nothing evil about using a spiritual guide for people, there's nothing evil or anti-Christain about magic, make believe, Daemons, or witches. I must admit that witches haven't had a good light cast on them you centeries and have continues to recieve a bad imagin from the chruch and Christaindom, but to be compeletly hoesnt the only evil i can see it the self rightous, woman who wants to hurt people in the film, the eliged bad "Gilr"