School Board Reviewing Pullman Fantasy
Submitted by mwilliams on Thu, 2007-11-22 21:32.A Catholic school board has pulled from its library the children's fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials because the author Philip Pullman is an atheist and the novels are alleged to be anti-religious. Though the auther did apparently say his books were about killing God, I wonder if pulling them won’t just make them more appealing.
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Initially I thought that the cold must be affecting cerebral function here in Canada, but now I'm wondering...if the the author's remarked aren't somehow being taken out of context here, that is. But even so, should we protect the Catholic children from knowing about the other beliefs in the world? Do they have any Muslim authors on their shelves, or other non-Christian authors?
There is no thief like a bad book
--Italian Proverb
Organized dogmatic religion really sucks! But it knows that already and it's slowly killing itself by hating homosexuals, pro-abortionists and everyone else who thinks personal choice and freedom of expression are good ideas.
Pullman is an atheist. It's not alleged. I'm a Christian, but I loved his books. He challenges organised religion and its claim to package God. That being said, his books are very spiritual and insightful, particularly his notion of a person's connection with their soul. I don't agree with him in all areas, but I appreicate his wriitng and many of his ideas. Mind you, his dogmatic religious atheism is no more tolerant than the so-called dogmatic Christian religion he purports to debunk. Strange that.
aka Fiona
www.thecraftywriter.com
I stand corrected...story reworded accordingly...a shoddy bit of writing, that. :)
There is no thief like a bad book
--Italian Proverb
I was also wondering Mary, whether or not Christian or Muslim texts would be allowed at the Pullman School of Atheism! I take your point about allowing children to be exposed to other world views, but surely it should work both ways? Pulman has been extremely vocal in his views about God in talks in schools in this country (UK), so I can understand, to a degree why the school might be nervous about prescribing his text.
aka Fiona
www.thecraftywriter.com
Yes, it absolutely should work both ways. Education enables our children to make informed choices, which they need to be able to do to run this crazy world once they hold the reins. Ignorance is the pestilence of mankind, but it is curable...I think.
So, they haven't taken anything out of context here then...he really is pushing his beliefs. While I agree with educating, I don't agree with pushing. To look at something objectively is not the same as imposing doctrine or trying to subvert.
But what's to be done here? On the one hand the Catholics are trying to seal off their beliefs by not letting outside influences in. That's not right. On the other hand the Atheist contingent is trying to foist beliefs on others...not right either. Both alternatives need to be offered, looked at, and either chosen or rejected on their own merit, not just because someone says so.
Hmm, maybe ignorance isn't curable after all. There seems to be enough of it on both sides of this issue.
There is no thief like a bad book
--Italian Proverb
Playing the Devil's advocate here, I think the atheist camp deserves some attention after all years of oppressive theism. That religion can be oppressive is evident. That non-theism is free isn't guaranteed, it can be just as oppressive as seen in the Soviet Union where churches were raized and priests persecuted.
I'm glad someone says no to the insanity of the assumed existence of god that so many theists try to shove down our throats along with their insane inventions like hatred for non-straight people and intelligent design. Hopefully this discussion will have some more people end up in the agnostic middle, realizing the world is way harder to pigeon-hole than they first thought. Perhaps the realization that so little is known is the most important lesson of all.
Also, to those of you who claim atheism is as dogmatic as organized religion, allow me to clarify what atheism is. Being an atheist doesn't mean you dogmatically claim there's no god and choose to be as blind. There are degrees of atheism, ranging from the "I don't know if god(s) exist(s)" (commonly known as agnosticism) which is reason-based to the extreme "god is dead" which can be considered a form of faith as it lacks evidence.
Personally, I think god (or gods) is/are irrelevant and its (or their) existence should have no consequence on society save on a personal level. You cannot question a person's personal experiences (metaphysical or spiritual) but when a person is trying to express his/her experiences as arguments, bring them into the wide stage of human beliefs, that is both irrational and irresponsible. Faith is personal and will, and cannot, apply to everyone. When it comes to pan-humanity, we must all embrace common values like humanism, democracy and freedom of speech and accept the personal faiths of others as we have the right to our own.