The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: A Roundup of Resources
[Note: This entry is subject to updating and revision. Current revision date 12/11/07.]Â
Philip Pullman’s trilogy, known as His Dark Materials, consists of three books: The Golden Compass (first published in 1995 in the United Kingdom as Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). By 2007 these three books had sold over 14 million copies. New Line Cinema is producing film versions of the three books, beginning with The Golden Compass, which premiered in most cities today. The film is clearly riding the wave of interest in movie versions of fantasy literature, especially the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter books and films, and the recent first film installment of C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. (One of the coming attractions trailers shown before The Golden Compass in my theater was for Prince Caspian, the second Narnia film, due out next summer.)
Pullman has described the trilogy as “Paradise Lost for teenagers.†Ironically, he considers the books to be works of “realism, not fantasy,†and rejects comparisons to the novels of Tolkien, Rowling, or other fantasy writers. The trilogy’s title, His Dark Materials, comes from a line in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in which the conflicting elements of nature are called God’s “dark materials†from which he may “create more worlds†(Book II, line 916).
His Dark Materials has attracted much attention due to the overtly anti-Christian perspective of the books, reflecting the fact that the author is a declared atheist. The story line focuses on a twelve-year-old girl named Lyra from a parallel universe in which the souls of human beings consist of “daemons†that take the form of animals that accompany their persons wherever they go. Lyra discovers that the Church, a totalitarian religious organization run by the Magisterium, which seeks to suppress free will and the quest for knowledge, is plotting to separate the daemons of children from their persons. Her adventures eventually lead to the discovery that the Church’s God, called the Authority, is not the Creator he claimed to be, and that Christianity is false.
Christian reactions to The Golden Compass film have ranged from efforts to find Christian values implicit in it, despite the author’s atheism, to efforts to boycott the film because of its anti-Christian (and arguably more overtly anti-Catholic) themes. Reviewers have also noted that the heroine of the books, Lyra, constantly engages in deception (her name even sounds like “liarâ€), though often for what seems to be a just cause.
Below I offer a partially annotated list of web and book resources from a variety of perspectives on His Dark Materials. I don’t claim this list is in any way exhaustive. I welcome suggestions or corrections.
Books about His Dark Materials
Beahm, George. Discovering the Golden Compass: A Guide to Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials. Art by Tim Kirk. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2007. A helpful guide to the author, literary background, cultural references, art, and media adaptations of Pullman’s trilogy.
Bruner, Kurt, and Jim Ware. Shedding Light on His Dark Materials: Exploring Hidden Spiritual Themes in Philip Pullman’s Popular Series. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House—SaltRiver, 2007. Attempts to mine the books for maximum insights compatible with the biblical Christian faith despite the author’s antipathy toward Christianity.
Freitas, Donna, and Jason King. Killing the Imposter God: Philip Pullman’s Spiritual Imagination in His Dark Materials. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Finds a positive spirituality in the trilogy compatible with liberation theology.
Lenz, Millicent, and Carole Scott, eds. His Dark Materials Illuminated: Critical Essays on Philip Pullman’s Trilogy. Landscapes of Childhood. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2005. Collection of academic essays that examine Pullman’s creation of fantasy worlds, the connections between his stories and other literature, and the religious and theological themes in the trilogy.
Watkins, Tony. Dark Matter: Shedding Light on Philip Pullman’s Trilogy His Dark Materials. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2004. An insightful Christian analysis of the trilogy, acknowledging their anti-Christian theme while also respecting their literary appeal.
General Web Resources on His Dark Materials
Annotations for Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials
Bridge to the Stars—fan site (probably the most important general site)
“His Dark Materials,†Wikipedia
Philip Pullman’s web site
Rosin, Hanna. “How Hollywood Saved God.” Atlantic Monthly, Dec. 2007. A controversial news article on the film version of The Golden Compass.
Scholastic’s web site for The Golden Compass (heavily promoting the film; curricula for teaching the books to children in schools)
SparkNotes: Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials (student’s guide: plot overview; character list; treatment of themes, motifs, and symbols; key facts; suggestions for further study; more)
Christian Responses to His Dark Materials
(Note: More in-depth and thorough resources are marked with an asterisk [*])
Chattaway, Peter T. “The Chronicles of Atheism,†Christianity Today, 11/27/2007
*Chattaway, Peter T. “Philip Pullman—The Extended E-mail Interview†(very helpful resource for those wishing to understand Pullman’s point of view)
Couchman, David. “A not-so-subtle knife: Philip Pullman and His Dark Materialsâ€
Earley, Mark. “It’s Not a Hoax†(BreakPoint commentary)
Gilson, Tom. “An Emboldened ‘Compass’†(BreakPoint commentary)
*Gilson, Tom. “The Golden Compass†(ThinkingChristian.net blog; over a dozen articles by Gilson on the Pullman books)
Heimbach, Daniel R. “The Sweet Deception of ‘Compass.’” Baptist Press, Dec. 6, 2007. By a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
*Horvath, Anthony. “Christian Response and Reaction to Pullman and His Dark Materials†(a lengthy apologetics critique; also a one-page “parent’s guide†or bulletin insert)
Mohler, Al. “The Golden Compass—A Briefing for Concerned Christiansâ€
Montenegro, Marcia. “The Golden Compass: A Hint of Evil†(concerns from a former occultist who is now an evangelical apologist)
*Newman, Marc T. “God-Killing Books and Movies for Kids: The Golden Compass” (11/13/07); “The Golden Compass Brings Nietzsche to Narnia: The Philosophical Underpinnings of His Dark Materials” (11/30/07); “The Golden Compass: Sexualizing Children in His Dark Materials” (12/5/07). The first three installments of what promises to be an excellent series of articles.
OnMission, “Forming a Christian Response to The Golden Compassâ€
*Overstreet, Jeffrey. “The Golden Compass—Questions I’ve been asked, answers I’ve given†(an exceptionally helpful treatment)
Pullman Watch—Christian response to His Dark Materials trilogy (perhaps the only web site devoted to a Christian response to Pullman)
Michael Spencer, “I’m Not Afraid of Atheists (or Their Movie)†(by the “Internet Monk)
Welborn, Amy. “His Dark Materials†(good, brief Christian review)
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harry potter » Blog Archive » The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: A Roundup of Resources on 08 Dec 2007 at 7:17 am #
[...] HP Fandom :: Where your Harry Potter Fan Fiction needs are met wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Philip Pullman’s trilogy, known as His Dark Materials, consists of three books: The Golden Compass (first published in 1995 in the United Kingdom as Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). By 2007 these three books had sold over 14 million copies. New Line Cinema is producing film versions of the three books, beginning with The Golden Compass, which premiered in most cities today. The film is clearly riding the wave of interest in movie versions of fantasy lite [...]
BBC’s The Big Read » Blog Archive » The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: A … on 08 Dec 2007 at 7:56 am #
[...] The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: A …By Rob BowmanPhilip Pullman’s trilogy, known as His Dark Materials, consists of three books: The Golden Compass (first published in 1995 in the United Kingdom as Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). …Parchment and Pen - http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog [...]
Essential Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels/Series » Blog Archive » The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: A … on 08 Dec 2007 at 8:46 am #
[...] The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: A …By Rob BowmanPhilip Pullman’s trilogy, known as His Dark Materials, consists of three books: The Golden Compass (first published in 1995 in the United Kingdom as Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). …Parchment and Pen - http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog [...]
Anthony Krupp on 08 Dec 2007 at 12:12 pm #
Please add the following to your section “Books about His Dark Materials”:
Lenz, Millicent, ed. His Dark Materials Illuminated. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2005. A collection of literary critical essays on fantasy, revamping traditions, theology and science fiction in Pullman’s trilogy.
Rob Bowman on 08 Dec 2007 at 1:44 pm #
Anthony,
Good suggestion; I have done so.
Ken McCormick on 08 Dec 2007 at 11:21 pm #
It’s amazing to me that so many people discuss Pullman’s trilogy with reference to atheism. The books are far too spiritual to be regarded as simple atheism. They are concerned, for instance, with the nature of sin. What is sin in an atheistic universe?
Pullman has created an anti-Narnia. In the same way that the Narnia books are constructed around a Christian world-view, Pullman’s anti-Narnia trilogy is constructed around a Satanist world-view. Please consider adding my paper below to your list of resources.
The Golden Compass: a Child’s Primer of Satanism
http://geocities.com/goldencompasssatanism
BBC’s The Big Read » Blog Archive » Comment on The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark … on 09 Dec 2007 at 12:49 am #
[...] Comment on The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark …By Essential Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels/Se…By Rob BowmanPhilip Pullman’s trilogy, known as His Dark Materials, consists of three books: The Golden Compass (first published in 1995 in the United Kingdom as Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). …Comments for Parchment and Pen - http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog [...]
Rob Bowman on 09 Dec 2007 at 1:04 am #
Ken,
Thanks for telling us about your paper. You bring up a number of interesting points in it, but I am not convinced that describing Pullman’s intentions or perspective in His Dark Materials as promoting Satanism is accurate. One of the problems here is that Satanism historically has taken multiple forms, some of which are almost indistinguishable from naturalistic atheism and some of which are occultic. The method you use in your paper is to classify Pullman’s worldview as Satanist but then draw varying parallels from Satanist sources, neo-pagan sources, and other occult sources. You do this as well in your web article arguing that the Harry Potter books are also propaganda for Satanism.
What I would say is that in Pullman’s case (as with many others) the boundary between atheist and occult worldviews is rather fuzzy. Pullman has acknowledged personally believing in panpsychism, for instance. We also need to consider Pullman’s explicit claim that at least some of the “spiritual” elements of the books are metaphors. Then again, at least on some occasions he has not been candid about his intentions. All of this will need to be taken into account.
Essential Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels/Series » Blog Archive » Comment on The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark … on 09 Dec 2007 at 3:43 am #
[...] Comment on The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman’s His Dark …By Essential Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels/Se…By Rob BowmanPhilip Pullman’s trilogy, known as His Dark Materials, consists of three books: The Golden Compass (first published in 1995 in the United Kingdom as Northern Lights), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). …Comments for Parchment and Pen - http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog [...]
Ken McCormick on 09 Dec 2007 at 10:42 am #
Rob:
The Harry Potter paper was not intended to argue that the HP novels are “propaganda for Satanism,” as you interpreted it. The title of the article to which you refer only discusses occult foundations, and the article itself uses various sources of occult literature including an example from the Church of Satan as comparisons to elements of the Harry Potter books. People were trying to say at the time that there was no true occultism in HP, but that it was all playful invention.
As to the Golden Compass paper, I’m sure you will agree that Satanism and various forms of Neopaganism share occult beliefs and practices such as divination, trafficking with spirits, etc. Just because Wiccans use an athame in their magical rituals doesn’t mean Satanists don’t also use an athame in their magical rituals. The similarity of the athame to Pullman’s “subtle knife” is simply too strong to ignore.
I am going to de-link the two articles now, since the Potter one may be taken as a reason to ignore the far stronger case of the Golden Compass paper.
I didn’t realize you had to agree with the arguments put forward in the sources you list in order to list them. Does this mean you’re in agreement with the argument put forward by Freitas and King?
Rob Bowman on 09 Dec 2007 at 1:09 pm #
Ken,
I listed Frietas and King’s book because it is a significant book on the subject published by a major publishing house. Obviously, I don’t agree with liberation theology, nor do I think that Pullman’s works are best interpreted through that particular grid. The selection of books in my list includes Christian and non-Christian books.
For my list of online Christian resources on His Dark Materials, I restricted myself to resources on established blogs and other web sites, generally by published authors or from leading ministry organizations. (The “Pullman Watch” site, admittedly, is arguably an exception, and I am contemplating dropping it from the list.) I also avoid resources that must be downloaded from unknown or non-established web sites (as in the case of your paper). For these reasons, I elected not to add your paper to my list.
If you wish to discuss this with me further, please write to me privately.
Miles on 09 Dec 2007 at 6:06 pm #
I saw the movie last night. I have to admit, I was intrigued by the spiritual themes abounding in the story. It seems to me, that believers should be prepared to embrace movies like this as a way to teach people the value of spiritual ideas, which in turn can develop into conversations about Jesus. It really didnt strike me as the work of an atheist as much as the work of a man who questions not just spirituality, but the place of the church within that quest. The enemy really seemed to be the notion of free thinking. Catholicism has not been very good at allowing reason and thought to be combined with faith; protestants, especially those who are evangelical seem to think everything either comes thru some divine osmosis, or thru traditional teachings that are as absolute and authoritative as scripture itself because it came from a well regarded source, or denominational traditon.
In the movie, all people had these animal companions called daemons. These animals seem to be a representative of the human soul. When humans dont have them, they are completely “lost”, worse than if one were somehow separated from their parents or close friends. The part about this idea that intrigued me the most is that these daemons have the ability to morph into different types of animals… depending on the situation, that is until the human companion becomes an adult… then the daemon cannot change. I think that sort of explains the value of having faith as a child, we can change….. its when we become grown up, that we fail to learn and evolve. God help our souls to be more like that of a child and teach us to be open to change… thru study and thoughtful consideration of Your Word.
By the way, one last point. We have to be very careful with our inconsistencies. I realize Mr. Pullmans not desiring to compare his story with other fantasy stories is a little disconcerting, and it has to make us wonder about his struggle with spiritual things… but at least he evidenty did struggle, which is a good thing. We should always be willing to struggle with ours. In fact, lets face it, if C.S. Lewis were not a Christian, I dont believe we would be so quick to embrace the Chronicles of Narnia. The stories would be torn apart by evangelicals the way Harry Potter was and is, and for that matter, the Teletubbies. Things that are different, and unique are not necessarily bad. We should use these types of stories to introduce people to the spiritual world, and in the saving faith of Jesus.
Rob Bowman on 09 Dec 2007 at 7:37 pm #
Miles,
Philip Pullman has stated many times that he is an atheist, and he has also stated more than once that the three books are intended to promote his anti-Christian perspective. We ought to take these candid statements at face value.
I don’t agree with your generalizations about Catholics and Protestants. Let me respond specifically to your comments about evangelicals, since I am one. At the core of evangelicalism is the conviction that Scripture takes precedence over merely human tradition. As an evangelical, my faith is in Christ and in his revelation in Scripture, not the teachings of any Magisterium.
If you think the only reason Christians love Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia is that he was a Christian, you haven’t grasped the real issues here. Pullman, to his credit, recognizes that Chronicles of Narnia reflects a different value system, a different view of the world and of life, than his own.
Miles on 10 Dec 2007 at 12:57 pm #
Rob,
Thank you for your reply. I understand that we should take Mr Pullmans statements about his atheism seriously. I do however think, most people who dont relate to his ideas will just base their assesment of the movie on their own experience…. which is where I would come from as well. So I think his atheism is only relevent within an evangelical, intellectual context- not specificly in dealing with how unbelievers will respond to the spiritual ideas presented in the story.
I am also a fringe evagelical who also embraces some elements of the emerging church. I agree with the idea that evangelicalism should be based on the authority of scripture alone, but the reality is, most of us also base our revelation of truth on certain traditions based within or denomination. A few days ago, for example I was looking at the website of a certain denomination, and they had seminars and classes geared around the traditions and values of this denomination… which wasnt just scripture based because included within this denominations tradition are certain racial prejudices. So I dont buy the argument that as evangelicals we hold to scripture alone to determine our theology… we also use experience. We just like to say we do because I think it makes us feel better about ourselves, and causes us to be less sensitive to our flaws.
Anyhow, maybe Im a bit jaded in my thinking, for which I apologize. I did enjoy the movie though and it really did on the surface make me question my own spiritual values as a believer. I think the Apostle Paul said it best ” the Law is spiritual, and I am carnal…..”. I think if the man who wrote a significant portion of the New Testament can bring is own spirituality into question, than so can we, even if it means an atheist has to bring it to our attention.
God Bless,
Miles
Rob Bowman on 10 Dec 2007 at 3:52 pm #
Miles,
Thanks for your comments. Since all human beings, including Christians, are imperfect and sinners, none of us is going to be absolutely free of influence from traditions or experiences that we understand in ways that go beyond or contradict the Bible. That’s true for emerging-church folks as well.
It’s off topic, but I’d be curious to know what denomination you have in mind that you say includes racial prejudices in its traditions.
NT Resources Blog » Blog Archive » The Golden Compass on 10 Dec 2007 at 6:47 pm #
[...] you want more info, the best list of resources that I’ve seen is on the Parchment and Pen [...]
Rob Bowman on 11 Dec 2007 at 12:48 am #
Please note the addition of Marc Newman’s series of articles to the list.