The Sci Fi Catholic Yak Module
I personally like to kill gnomes...they bother me.. haha.
but some of those accusations are crazy, i agree.
Hey D.G.D.
One of your widgets has revealing pictures of women that you may want to remove. Just a heads up.
Also did you read "His Majesty's Dragons"? I saw it in the bookstore a while ago, but didn't buy it. Do you think it'd be okay?
Catholig
Visitors to the site have their own avatars, which appear in the widgets. I have no control over the images they choose.
I have read His Majesty's Dragon and quite enjoyed it. You can find my review here: http://www.scificatholic.com/200...tys-
dragon.html
The "daemons" of His Dark Materials are not morally problematic. As Philip Pullman has explained in interviews, the "daemons" are named after Socrates's daemon, his inner voice (presumably his conscience) that advised him what to do and say, and when to stop speaking.
Except that these are supposed to be written for kids. When kids (and most adults) read "daemon" they're not thinking "Oh, like Socrates had! This is just some kind of helper, no need to associate it with any evil beings."
The word "demon" has use in other cultural contexts. When I'm studying ancient Near Eastern culture, I have to be aware that a Babylonian demon is not the same thing as a Christian demon. Similarly, Snuffles has to have a similar understanding when he's reading all his Japanese comic books.
Pullman explains his concept of the "daemon" quite well as a projection of the human soul. There's no reason anyone needs to misunderstand it as a fallen angel, especially since fallen angels do in fact appear in the series in a separate role.
Another outstanding review mate.
I am always happy to see you give Sci-Fi to kind of scholarly attention it deserves.
Thanks, Peter. I don't know if "scholarly" is quite the term, though.
I'm thinking of surfing and compiling a big list of links with brief commentaries so readers can find a good sample of what Pullman, the filmmakers, and various bloggers have been saying on this topic. That would take me a while to compile, but since I'm stuck in a motel, I don't have a lot else to do....
I linked to Jeffrey Overstreet's article, too, D. G. (BTW, I hope you're reading his book for the Jan. CSFF Blog Tour--I'd love to know what you think.)
Great comments about Pullman's books. I haven't read them myself, but what you said is much like what other Christians have concluded.
One question. You said, Ultimately, the greatest problem with the novel series is an artistic one. Would you say that Truth is a necessary component for a work to be considered artistic?
If not, wouldn't the lack of Truth be a bigger issue than his lack of craft?
Becky
What I meant, Becky, is that being an atheist does not mean a person can't write fiction, even good fiction. I don't think only Christians can write good fiction. So the biggest problem is artistic, because Pullman preaches atheism in the novels when he should be telling a story.
I would agree, D.G. Certainly others besides Christians can write good fiction. Some of my favorite classical authors are not Christian.
I'm also glad you pointed out the craft flaws. Certainly enough has been said about the content (though I tend to think more will be said after Friday).
I guess I was remarking mostly on the wording and not your intent, because I tend to think that a beautifully crafted story that lies, and particularly lies about God, is ... well, nothing but a dressed up lie.
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