His Dark Materials, Robert Pullman

After watching the movie "The Golden Compass", I was intrigued by the story and wanted to know more. Little did I know that there was so much controversy in religious circles about this novel. The more I heard from friends, the more I wanted to find out what all the fuss is about. In the end, I am glad I read the book; even though I hardly agree with everything, I think it was thoughtful, interesting and entertaining.

What I found disappointing about the movie, in retrospect, was that it ended on a note that veered wildly away from where the book was going - very misleading. The movie is based on Pullman's first volume (of the same title), yet there are two other volumes that come after which really dive into the mysteries and complexity of Pullman's story.

I enjoyed his characters, except that the children became way too adult-like to be believable. How come this so often happens in stories involving children heroes? Even if we grant them the right of passage based on bizarre and unusual circumstances, there is just way too much depth to their passion, convictions and persona. However, if one can imagine them being 10 or 20 years older, then everything seems to click in place a bit more readily.

I enjoyed the author's perspective, new to me, when exploring the nature of life and world views. These are so entwined with religious thoughts that we cannot separate them. I found it strange that the author acknowledges so many biblical stories (references to Adam and Eve, Enoch, Apostle Paul, God, angels, fallen angels, Satan, etc), while on the other hand he seems to putting forth the position that there really is no god at all. He acknowledges the enigma of good and bad, right and wrong, love and hate, and some how attributes these to the ultimate Enigma, Dust, his so-called "elementary particle".

What I found rather interesting about this approach is the criticism it has drawn. Christian circles seem to get a bit excited about Pullman's alleged attack on CS Lewis. I do not see it that way. I see a man who is terribly confused about reality, and is exploring his perceptions. True, Pullman paints a picture that might seem to say "there is no God", especially when he sets up a god-like central power figure that is actually a created being, the first angel. It all comes down to "What is Dust?" I saw an interview with Pullman when he emphasized that question and tried to answer it. I do not recall his reply very well (you can find it on the dark materials website), but he classified it as "particles with intent". Kind of a non-answer. His stories paint a picture of all good things coming from the presence of Dust; without Dust, people would go sour and start killing each other. With Dust, love and kindness abounds.

Given Pullman's extreme distaste of the "Church" (or the idea of the Church), I can only surmise that he had one or more negative experiences with such a body of folks. Yet it is obvious that he still struggles with the idea of where love comes from, where evil comes from, and why they wax and wane. Even more curious is Pullman's utter lack of mentioning "the dark one" except in two conspicuous places. The title, and a thought from a religious fanatic a couple pages before he did (mentioning Satan). Pullman obviously subscribes to the universal constructs of good and evil, and is equally perplexed by their ultimate origins and purpose in life.

There is one question that seems to be underlying this concept. "How can a good God allow bad things to happen?" That has been debated over and over. Tied up in that seemingly simple question is the paradox of predestination and free will. If you have an all-powerful being who has stated that he does not want people to do bad things, how come people do bad things? Or even more perplexing, how come bad things happen to "good" people? I get the impression that Pullman has concluded that since such a powerful, good God could not possibly allow such bad things to happen, then such a God must not exist. Or at least not as we traditionally define the concept and character of God.