My Dark Materials

I can't help but laugh at the fit the RWers are throwing about the new Golden Compass movie, saying it's part of some atheist plot to get "good, Christian" parents to buy the books for their kids and infect them with the curse of atheism.

Curse of questioning religion, you mean.

Religion should be questioned. To paraphrase Thomas Paine, all revelation is personal. Or it's worthless. Second hand revelation is worthless. It either has to be experienced personally or it's taken on faith, on the basis of someone else's belief.

They complain that the premise of the books is that the heroes go on to "kill God."

I haven't read these books yet, but they're on my TBR list. I like that he questions the very premise of God and theology, and supposes a cruel and insane deity.

I didn't delve into theology myself, but my distaste for revealed religion comes through clearly enough that my mother-in-law won't let her friend and long-term-care patient/tenant read them for fear she'll lose her mind.

Did I mention that I don't like revealed religion?

In my books religion, particularly certain fundamentalist types of religion, are a tool of a voracious alien empire that consumes whole civilizations. It uses religion to divide humans, and to weaken their resolve to fight. To make it harder for them to understand who their true enemies are.

My heroes are often monsters, or what some people would call monsters. Vampires, werewolves, and others. Things that go bump in the night.

I like turning expectations on their heads. I like bending the rules. I like redefining the rules. That is, after all, what speculative fiction is all about. Asking "What if..."

I stand by the author of His Dark Materials all the way to the hilt. I don't necessarily agree with his atheist point of view--I'm not an atheist. A semi-agnostic pantheist with taoist leanings. Or, as I've pointed out before--someone who thinks the existence of God is a moot point. It has no bearing on my life.

The existence of religion--particularly fundamentalist religions like those of the assholes who flew into the WTC, or the assholes who blamed "pagans and gays" for it--certainly has an impact on my life. And it's those religions, and the jackasses who follow them, that become my targets. Religions that don't condemn others don't earn my enmity.

But few of my characters are religious. I'll admit that freely. But most immortals follow a somewhat deist point of view--those who don't believe in the female deity of the homeworld they lost, that is. Some believe in a creator, but don't attempt to identify him/her/it.

They usually curse or thank "Fate" for good or ill.

It's funny how much people here bash Orson Scott Card. My dad gave me one of his books the other day and I was checking out the author's note. I didn't realize he was a mormon. I should've really. :shrug: But I didn't.

Like I told my wife. That explains a lot. She was partially raised mormon. Was baptized in the main temple in Salt Lake, actually. She has her issues with the church. Now she's a witch. Go figure.

My father was raised Mormon too. Now he's not. A heretic by any measure. Kinda like his son.

The funny thing is that I don't have any issues with decent people who believe, those that accept that some of us may believe differently...and have the right to do so. It's the fundamentalists that make me sick.

The very people I enjoy pissing off. As much as possible. So maybe I'm not as well known as Phillip Pullman. Not yet, anyway. But I have a feeling we'd piss off many of the same people.

I consider that being in good company.

:evilgrin:

:hi:

And I have to admit: I bought the trilogy this afternoon for my niece, the daughter of my older brother and his very conservative Mormon wife. Oh, I am SO going to be dropped from their "Nice List" but it will be worth it. :evilgrin:

I was drawing a comparison between HIS books, and mine. An analogy of sorts.

wonderfully written, complex language and ideas, real character development. I bought the first one for my then young son when it came out, and we took turns reading it aloud. We couldn't wait for the second and third books to be published. I'm not a fantash fan, but these books are extraordinary- and challenging- in the best of ways.

Have a great time reading them.