"Pullman's Compass:
Leading Children Away From God"
by Richard Abanes


This article appeared @ pastors.com, a Saddleback Church website for pastors

I love fantasy literature, science fiction movies, video games, and even a good comic book now and then. And I'm not the only one, it seems, who occasionally wants a break from reality. Video games have become a multi-billion dollar industry; Hollywood is churning out dozens of science fiction and fantasy films annually; and even comic books have reclaimed a sizable chunk of their long-lost popularity.

Renowned author J.R.R. Tolkien suggested that our ability to create and enjoy fantasy worlds reflects the very imprint of the ultimate Creator on our souls. All of us, Tolkien theorized, possess an innate desire to create, which to a limited measure reflects God's nature. According to Tolkien, this is why nearly everyone seems to have a natural attraction to fairy tales, fiction, and fantasy.


Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy

Unfortunately, not all fantasy is good fantasy, which brings us to Philip Pullman and his Dark Materials trilogy: The Golden Compass (1995), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). These books are clearly anti-Christian. As The Times of London put it, "Religion is spared no indignity" in the series. Another British publication, The Mail On Sunday, said: "In [Pullman's] worlds, the Church is wicked, cruel, and child-hating; priests are sinister, murderous, or drunk."

The trilogy's plot, which begins in The Golden Compass, involves two children (Lyra and Will) who must save humanity. Their primary enemy is God's "Church" – a caricature of Roman Catholicism that rules society with an iron fist using intimidation and violence. The series tells us, "Every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling." Perhaps the best summation of the trilogy's theme can be found in the words of one of its characters who explains: "The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake, that's all."

As for God, he is pictured as an arrogant, selfish angel who instituted church-enforced rules to destroy human freedom, stifle creativity, advance ignorance, and foster a slave mentality. Pullman writes, "The Authority, god, the Creator, the Lord, Yahweh, El, Adonai, the King, The Father the Almighty – those were all names he gave himself. He was never the creator. He was an angel like ourselves [...]. He told those who came after him that he had created them, but it was a lie."

Lyra and Will are swept up in the politics of it all, traveling between worlds and having exhilarating adventures until they discover their purpose: They are the new Adam and Eve. It's basically a reworking of the Genesis story. But in this version, the innocent couple do not damage humanity, they deliver it – by killing the "Authority." This in turn releases everyone from their spiritually darkened state, which Pullman labels "Kingdom of Heaven."


The Man Holding the Compass

Pullman – a self-professed atheist-agnostic – has never concealed his disdain for Christianity, saying that he sees religious persons as little more than dispensers of "lists of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don'ts." He has also declared: "If there is a God and he is as the Christians describe him, then he deserves to be put down and rebelled against." In another interview, he stated, "Wherever you see organized religion and priesthoods and power, you see cruelty and tyranny and repression."

Pullman's trilogy sends a clear message to children and teens (the ones to whom his work has been primarily marketed) – religion, faith, God, the church, and Christianity are evil. No reader will miss this lesson that Pullman wants to teach. As he himself said in a 1996 speech, "All stories teach, whether the storyteller intends then to or not. They teach the world we create. They teach the morality we live by. They teach it much more effectively than moral precepts and instructions."

Given his contempt for Christianity, it's no surprise that Pullman would also loathe one of its most illustrious literary figures: C.S. Lewis. In fact, he has made so many harsh attacks on Lewis that secular journalists have dubbed him "The Anti-Lewis." According to Pullman, the Christian author was a woman-hating racist whose beloved series, The Chronicles of Narnia, is "full of bullying and sneering, propaganda, basically, on behalf of a religion whose main creed seems to be to despise and hate people unlike yourself." He has also said: "I hate the Narnia books, and I hate them with a deep and bitter passion."


Illuminating the Darkness

Philip Pullman is a gifted writer who has been imbued with the ability to create sub-worlds and bring to life characters who would have no life were it not for him. Sadly, he has used his talents to spread darkness rather than light. Our response, as Christians, must be to shine Christ's light (Matt. 5:14-16; 1 Jn. 1:5). That, more than anything else, will dispel the darkness of Pullman's material.

Let us show forth the love of Christ (Matt. 5:43-48; Jn. 13:34-35; 1 Cor. 13:1-13), and the joyous freedom that comes from knowing him (Jn. 8:31-32; Rom. 8:1-2; Gal. 5:1, 13-14). In contrast to the way Pullman's characters speak of the lying and hypocritical "Church," let us demonstrate truthfulness and integrity in our public and private lives (Rom. 12:9; Col. 3:9-10; James 3:17).

Above all, let us not forget that Phillip Pullman isn't the enemy. Our foes reside in the spiritual realm (Eph. 6:12). Therefore, rather than reacting in the flesh (Lk. 6:27-36), we must respond in the spirit of love, gentleness, kindness, respect, tolerance, and patience (Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:16).

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5).

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