The Golden Compass, an adaptation of the first volume of Philip Pullman‘s His Dark Materials trilogy, opens in theaters today, which has a lot of Christians upset, given Pullman’s portrayals of organized religion and the fact that the plot boils down (very reductively, mind) to a murder attempt on God. Vulture has been playing with this issue like a kitten with a ball of yarn, discussing the shifting valence of Pullman’s atheism and a running tally of the film’s alleged anti-Christian sentiment. And in the past week alone, I’ve gotten emails from Christian publishers who wanted to remind me they had wholesome, theologically sound books, as well as from other protestors.
Fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson, a practicing Mormon, has gotten similar advance warnings, and while he agrees that Pullman’s books are anti-religious, the email still bothered him. “It didn’t seem informative—but COUNTER-informative,” he says. “It didn’t try to explain ideas, but instead tried to get people to avoid listening to those ideas. In short, it didn’t seek to promote understanding or learning, but instead promoted exclusivist and censorship.”
“If every book we read is about people exactly like ourselves—and who believe exactly like we do—then we’re missing out on one of the great humanizing powers of fiction,” he adds. And that’s why he argues that Pullman’s trilogy is worth reading: “I felt I came to understand what it was like to go through life believing as he does about religion… I believe that Truth is eternal, and that sincere arguments against that Truth from well-meaning people are not a threat to us… Are your beliefs so weak that they cannot stand to listen to someone offering a different opinion? Are you afraid they might be right? If not, why are you so afraid—or angry—about these books?”