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Question: In the book His Dark Material ,is the Authority the same Christian God !?
Ok I'm an open mind person!. I watch the movie and got interested in the book and so I bought it!. I'm reading the third book now but havn't finish but as I kept reading I found it quite disturbing when they mention of killing of the Authority ,which is God, I search up a little about this and found out that the writer of the book is an agnostic!.And since I'm a Christian, I want to ask the person who finish reading ,christian or not ,that is this Authority the same as Christian God !? Because I felt kind of weird since so far I LOVED THE BOOK and the characters but feel kind of weird when the killing God part came in!.
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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I adore the books and am an agnostic!.
There are different 'levels' to read The Amber Spyglass on, really!. You can just think of it as a good story and not worry about the message or meaning of it!. If you look even slightly below the surface, though, you of course will find multitudinous meanings, layer upon layer really!.
The main way to look at it is this is a quest to kill God!. It is most strongly linked to the Christian God because of the numerous Biblical allusions (the angels, the name Asriel itself, etc)!. It could also be any God, however!. It's just being applied to a largely Western cultural background, hence he appears in this as the Christian God!.
However the most important way to look at it, in my opinion, is that 'the Authority', as he's called, is frankly that!. Authority!. It is the patriarchal, dominating, singular being that has for centuries been the way Western culture views how we should live!. It is authority that leaves no room for love or passion or self-discovery (e!.g!. the things Lyra - and Will - go through)!. The Authority is largely represented by the figures of the Magistereum, that is, the church and to be honest Pullman's main point is the corruption and stagnation of organised religion over the centuries!. Lyra's Oxford (and whole world) is essential what our world would be like if the Enlightenment had not occured (the age of reason, rationality, breakaway of church and state)!.
You might want to notice that Pullman's 'Authority' is in fact a shrivelled and already half dead entity!. He is not the overpowering figure that the church has presented him as because perhaps the world is moving on from him!.!.or perhaps because his original message has been so corrupted by the Magistereum, etc!.
Being a Christian (though I don't know what your specific views are) I suppose you won't necessarily agree with the idea that getting rid of many old religious ideas is a good thing!. The story of Lyra is in essence the story of Eve, only the discovery of experience (the forbidden fruit) is a good thing in Pullman's eyes!. Innocence is good too but experience (Dust) is necessary and to be embraced!. If you believe that all things God has created are good and that there are many wonderful experiences of knowledge and life that aren't 'evil' then maybe you will accept this view!.
But, yes, you may not agree with everything Pullman culminates HDM with!. The idea of a God, higher power, in itself is not really questioned or disparaged (he is agnostic)!. It is what he sees as the evils of organised religion that are questioned and often subverted!. So read it with an open mind, I suppose!. Get what you can and want to out of it and if that is to analyse and dis/agree with him then at least it got you thinking! Or just enjoy it on the most surface level as a good story and try not to think of the meanings!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I read the books and I loved them!. I've read about how the series is anti-God but I think the people who think that have too much time on their hands!. It's a story and a good one at that!. Don't think of the Authority as God and you'll enjoy it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I really like the movie and the books!.
Authority is the believers in God so sort if what you saidWww@QuestionHome@Com
i always assumed that the Authority was the Christian God!.
love the books :)Www@QuestionHome@Com