Difference between revisions of "Philip Pullman"

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'''Philip Pullman''' is the atheist author of ''[[His Dark Materials]]'', a [[trilogy]] of [[fantasy]] novels for [[young adult]]s where the ultimate victory is killing the Judeo-Christian [[Yahweh|God]].  
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'''Sir Philip Pullman''' is an anti-[[Christian]] novelist. He has made public statements and written fictional works for children and young adults which were - admittedly - designed "to undermine the basis of Christian belief."
  
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Critics brand his books subversively anti-religious. Defenders point wisely to the facts that 1) they are well-written, 2) they are novels; how could anyone possibly have a faith weak enough to be damaged by them? 3) they have strong moral themes very much in tune with those of religious people.
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==Pullman's life==
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Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, [[England]], in 1946, to Audrey and Alfred Pullman. The early years of Pullman's life were spent travelling because his father was a member of [[United Kingdom|Britain]]'s [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF). His father died when he was age 7, and his family then travelled to [[London]] to find work. A year later, Pullman's mother remarried to another man working for the RAF. His family lived in [[Australia]] for much of those next two years. When Pullman was ten years old, his stepfather quit his job at the RAF to help his growing family. In 1965, Pullman won a scholarship to attend [[Exeter College]] in [[Oxford]]. He did so for four years.<ref>http://www.hisdarkmaterials.org/information/philip-pullman/biography</ref> At the age of 25, Pullman became a teacher at a middle school also in Oxford. From 1986 to 1994, he taught at Westminster College. Pullman wrote his first book ''[[Count Karlstein]]'' in 1982.<ref>http://www.philip-pullman.com</ref> Today, Pullman lives in Oxford with his wife Jude. Pullman is a father to two grown children and has two grandchildren.<ref>http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/author/author.html</ref>
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==Pullman's works==
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===Books===
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Novels aimed at children and young adults include the [[atheist]]ic ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' and ''Sally Lockhart'' series. His works have come under criticism for their subversively anti-religious nature. His books portray God as an evil being who ruled the world through the [[Magisterium]], an [[Inquisition]]-like institution which commits various heinous acts.
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Philip Pullman has written almost 20 books. These include:
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*''Count Karlstein''
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*''I Was a Rat!''
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*''The Scarecrow and His Servant''
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*''The Firework-Maker's Daughter''
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*''Clockwork/All Wound Up''
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*The ''Sally Lockhart'' series
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**''The Ruby in the Smoke''
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**''The Shadow in the North''
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**''The Tiger in the Well''
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**''The Tin Princess''
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*The ''His Dark Materials'' series
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**''The Golden Compass'' (''Northern Lights'' in the UK)
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**''The Subtle Knife''
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**''The Amber Spyglass''
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*''The Goodman Jesus and the scoundrel Christ''
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===Films===
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''The Golden Compass'' was made into a Hollywood movie.  See [[Hollywood values]].
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==Awards==
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Philip Pullman has been the recipient of many awards:<ref>http://www.philip-pullman.com/about_the_author.asp</ref>
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:The Carnegie Medal (for the ''The Golden Compass'', the first book of what became the ''His Dark Materials'' series)
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:The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (for ''The Golden Compass'', the first book of what became the ''His Dark Materials'' series)
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:*The sponsor of the award, ''[[The Guardian]]'', is a left-wing British journal.
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:*Pullman split the award with Alison Prince for her book ''The Sherwood Hero''.  This was ''not'' indicated on the biographal page of Pullman's website in 2008.
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:*If these books indeed became harsher toward Christian faith as the series continued, they stand notable for their gradually-deceptive approach.
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:The Whitbread Book of the Year Award (for the third book of the ''His Dark Materials'' series, the first time it was ever awarded to a children's book)
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:The Eleanor Farjeon Award for children's literature
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==Criticism of Pullman==
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Frank Furedi wrote:
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<blockquote>
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[H]e is...adept at public moralising. He has denounced Narnia [''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]''] as "morally loathsome," describing [[C.S. Lewis]]’s series of books as amongst the "most ugly and poisonous things" he has read. Indeed, Pullman directly counterpoises his "non-Christian" trilogy to the "Christian" Narnia.<ref group="note">Phillip Pullman said this to the ''Washington Post'' in 2001, in an interview about his trilogy, ''His Dark Materials''. Furedi, Frank (December 10, 2007). [https://www.spiked-online.com/2007/12/10/golden-compass-the-god-wars-as-childs-play/ "''Golden Compass'': the 'God Wars' as child's play".] ''sp!ked'' website.</ref>
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</blockquote>
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Blogger Joe Levi charged:
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<blockquote>
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Pullman is a [[militant]] [[atheist]] and [[secular humanist]] (who describes himself as both an [[agnostic]] and an atheist)[. He] has said, "I don’t profess any [[religion]]; I don’t thi[nk] it’s possible that there is a [[God]]; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words 'spiritual' or '[[spirituality]]'" and despises C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia.  His motivation for writing this trilogy was specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of [[Christ]] that are portrayed in the Narnia series.<ref>Levi, Joe (December 4, 2007). [http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2007/12/04/the-golden-compass-an-attack-on-god/ "''The Golden Compass'': an attack on God?"] ''Joe Levi'' website blog.</ref>
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</blockquote>
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[[Peter Hitchens]] calls Pullman:
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<blockquote> The most dangerous author in Britain <ref>http://home.wlv.ac.uk/~bu1895/hitchens.htm</ref></blockquote>
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Most of criticism of Pullman is based solely on the controversial ''His Dark Materials'' series, for which he became famous, in particular the killing of [[Yahweh]], the Judeo-Christian God as the climax of the novels.
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==Pullman's motives==
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Pullman is quoted as saying:
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* "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief."<ref>https://www.thinkingchristian.net/C1983916159/E20071118075122/index.html</ref>
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==Odd quote about ''The Chronicles of Narnia''==
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"The highest virtue, we have on the authority of the New Testament itself, is love, and yet you find not a trace of that in the books," he said.
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Considering the entire set of books is an allegory of Jesus' love, this statement is especially odd.  There is a great deal of love among family members, love of country, and sacrificing to do the right thing.  Indeed, it would be hard to read more than a few pages without coming across a strong concept of love.  The comment has little to do with the works he is discussing.
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==External links==
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* [http://www.philip-pullman.com/|Philip Pullman's home page.]
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* [http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/author/author.html|A website about Philip Pullman and his writing.]
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* [http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1359866 http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1359866|A negative review of the author.]
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==Note==
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{{reflist1904|group=note}}
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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Unfortunately, the people who wrote this at first had no real resources for their nasty tearing down of a respected, talented author.
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<References/>
 
<References/>
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==Links==
 
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pullman, Philip}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pullman, Philip}}
  
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[[Category:Authors]]
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[[Category:British Authors]]
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[[Category:Atheist Authors]]
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[[Category:Liberal Authors]]

Latest revision as of 03:28, September 17, 2020

Sir Philip Pullman is an anti-Christian novelist. He has made public statements and written fictional works for children and young adults which were - admittedly - designed "to undermine the basis of Christian belief."

Pullman's life

Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England, in 1946, to Audrey and Alfred Pullman. The early years of Pullman's life were spent travelling because his father was a member of Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF). His father died when he was age 7, and his family then travelled to London to find work. A year later, Pullman's mother remarried to another man working for the RAF. His family lived in Australia for much of those next two years. When Pullman was ten years old, his stepfather quit his job at the RAF to help his growing family. In 1965, Pullman won a scholarship to attend Exeter College in Oxford. He did so for four years.[1] At the age of 25, Pullman became a teacher at a middle school also in Oxford. From 1986 to 1994, he taught at Westminster College. Pullman wrote his first book Count Karlstein in 1982.[2] Today, Pullman lives in Oxford with his wife Jude. Pullman is a father to two grown children and has two grandchildren.[3]

Pullman's works

Books

Novels aimed at children and young adults include the atheistic His Dark Materials and Sally Lockhart series. His works have come under criticism for their subversively anti-religious nature. His books portray God as an evil being who ruled the world through the Magisterium, an Inquisition-like institution which commits various heinous acts.

Philip Pullman has written almost 20 books. These include:

  • Count Karlstein
  • I Was a Rat!
  • The Scarecrow and His Servant
  • The Firework-Maker's Daughter
  • Clockwork/All Wound Up
  • The Sally Lockhart series
    • The Ruby in the Smoke
    • The Shadow in the North
    • The Tiger in the Well
    • The Tin Princess
  • The His Dark Materials series
    • The Golden Compass (Northern Lights in the UK)
    • The Subtle Knife
    • The Amber Spyglass
  • The Goodman Jesus and the scoundrel Christ

Films

The Golden Compass was made into a Hollywood movie. See Hollywood values.

Awards

Philip Pullman has been the recipient of many awards:[4]

The Carnegie Medal (for the The Golden Compass, the first book of what became the His Dark Materials series)
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (for The Golden Compass, the first book of what became the His Dark Materials series)
  • The sponsor of the award, The Guardian, is a left-wing British journal.
  • Pullman split the award with Alison Prince for her book The Sherwood Hero. This was not indicated on the biographal page of Pullman's website in 2008.
  • If these books indeed became harsher toward Christian faith as the series continued, they stand notable for their gradually-deceptive approach.
The Whitbread Book of the Year Award (for the third book of the His Dark Materials series, the first time it was ever awarded to a children's book)
The Eleanor Farjeon Award for children's literature

Criticism of Pullman

Frank Furedi wrote:

[H]e is...adept at public moralising. He has denounced Narnia [The Chronicles of Narnia] as "morally loathsome," describing C.S. Lewis’s series of books as amongst the "most ugly and poisonous things" he has read. Indeed, Pullman directly counterpoises his "non-Christian" trilogy to the "Christian" Narnia.[note 1]

Blogger Joe Levi charged:

Pullman is a militant atheist and secular humanist (who describes himself as both an agnostic and an atheist)[. He] has said, "I don’t profess any religion; I don’t thi[nk] it’s possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words 'spiritual' or 'spirituality'" and despises C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. His motivation for writing this trilogy was specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Christ that are portrayed in the Narnia series.[5]

Peter Hitchens calls Pullman:

The most dangerous author in Britain [6]

Most of criticism of Pullman is based solely on the controversial His Dark Materials series, for which he became famous, in particular the killing of Yahweh, the Judeo-Christian God as the climax of the novels.

Pullman's motives

Pullman is quoted as saying:

  • "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief."[7]

Odd quote about The Chronicles of Narnia

"The highest virtue, we have on the authority of the New Testament itself, is love, and yet you find not a trace of that in the books," he said.

Considering the entire set of books is an allegory of Jesus' love, this statement is especially odd. There is a great deal of love among family members, love of country, and sacrificing to do the right thing. Indeed, it would be hard to read more than a few pages without coming across a strong concept of love. The comment has little to do with the works he is discussing.

External links

Note

  1. ↑ Phillip Pullman said this to the Washington Post in 2001, in an interview about his trilogy, His Dark Materials. Furedi, Frank (December 10, 2007). "Golden Compass: the 'God Wars' as child's play". sp!ked website.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hisdarkmaterials.org/information/philip-pullman/biography
  2. ↑ http://www.philip-pullman.com
  3. ↑ http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/author/author.html
  4. ↑ http://www.philip-pullman.com/about_the_author.asp
  5. ↑ Levi, Joe (December 4, 2007). "The Golden Compass: an attack on God?" Joe Levi website blog.
  6. ↑ http://home.wlv.ac.uk/~bu1895/hitchens.htm
  7. ↑ https://www.thinkingchristian.net/C1983916159/E20071118075122/index.html
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