Golden compass....?

Question

Everyone says Philip Pullman (who wrote "The Golden Compass") is an aetheist.

My religious belief, or whether I have one or not, is irrelevant to this reasoning I have, that is, this following: it is a fact that Philip Pullman has said publicly that he hates God. That's true; I'm not making that up. It's well known that he hates God.

But how then can Mr. Pullman be an aetheist? How can you truly hate something or someone you don't believe exists? I can say all day long that I hate the polka dotted hippopotamus that lives in my closet, but if I'm a "polka dotted hippopotamus aetheist", I can't really hate it due to the fact that I don't believe it exists.

Now, if I were to actually believe in it, I could hate it. Of course, I would probably be insane as well.

So, is Philip Pullman an aetheist? I don't think so. I think he can either believe in God, and hate God at the same time, or else the man is insane....(not that I'm saying there's no God).

Mr. Eyeopener (boy, that name doesn't describe you well) I'm not worried about that movie. I'm not even talking about it. I'm talking about Philip Pullman.

11111111
Gelfling:
YOUR QUOTATIONS FROM LUKE WAS FROM A PARABLE (ONLY A STORY JESUS TOLD TO MAKE A POINT, AS HE DID MANY TIMES). IT'S NOT A COMMANDMENT.

AS FOR THE REST, THEY ARE OLD TESTAMENT, WHICH WERE JEWISH LAW. AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE WERE EITHER LAWS OF EXECUTION FOR CRIMES, OR LAWS OF WAR. READ THE VERSES AROUND THEM AND YOU'LL SEE.

Trouble, don't you mean he's "gnostic", not "agnostic"?

LOOK FOR MY CONTINUATION OF THIS QUESTION ENTITLED, "GOLDEN COMPASS CONTINUED..."

J.P., I don't understand your reasoning, most likely because you didn't give any.

MISTRESS K, YOU'RE AN IDIOT. AGNOSTIC AND GNOSTIC ARE TWO TOTALLY SEPARATE THINGS.
"WAY TO MAKE YOURSELF LOOK INTELLIGENT THERE BUDDY", AS YOU YOURSELF SO WORDED IT.

Answer 1

OKay, I agree because you have a good point.

Answer 2

I would say that an atheist who says he "hates God" means that he hates the idea of God, or the "fictional character" God, in much the same way some people claim to hate Dumbledore or Willie Wonka.

But I don't know anything about Philip Pullman. I have looked at the books in the bookstore, but I ordered them from Amazon on the Internet, and have not yet received them. I would never have heard of them if it weren't for the Christian controversy over them.

The main reason I want to read them is that I expect to buy the DVDs of the movies when they are released, and I always like to read the book before I see a movie. And the reason I want to have anything to do with them is that I am myself an atheist. I want to see if what the Christians have been saying is true.

Answer 3

If Mr Pullman is an atheist, then I seriously doubt that he ever said he "hates God".

Maybe he said he hates organized religion, the bible, the horrible things done in God's name, etc, but I doubt he actually said he "hates God".

Do you have a link to back this assertion. I want to know the EXACT quote and the context of when he said "I hate God".

Something other than World Net Daily would be nice.

Answer 4

Hmmmmmmm, I just finished watching a 5 minute video on "The Golden Compass" and read a related article on Philip Pullman.
In the 'article' he and it is stated he is NOT AN ATHIEST!
He is an 'AGNOSTIC'...................
ie: Main Entry: 1ag·nos·tic
Pronunciation: \ag-ˈnäs-tik, əg-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek agnōstos unknown, unknowable, from a- + gnōstos known, from gignōskein to know — more at know
Date: 1869
1: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god
2: a person unwilling to commit to an opinion about something
— ag·nos·ti·cism \-tə-ˌsi-zəm\ noun
GO FIGURE! ;)

Answer 5

He doesn't hate God, because he's an atheist. For us atheists, God just doesn't exist. From reading _His Dark Materials_ (I'm 2/3 of the way through), I can see that he hates organized religion, particularly the kind that burns books, boycotts things they haven't read or seen yet, and put Galileo on trial. It's a fair position, one that many strong Christians take.

God, to atheists, is a social construct, no more real than Baal or Osiris is to you. I can hate the idea of these gods, I can hate what they represent, but they don't exist to me. It's kind of like saying that you hate someone on a tv show; you don't, because they don't exist. But you can hate the personality and actions made up for this character, and you can hate what all that represents.

Answer 6

I think that Pullman's extreme statements come from the fact that he was raised in a religious family where dad was a vicar, and his main problem with the christian religion is that it removes us so much from our bodies, our sexuality and sensuality.
I have not read the comments you attribute to him, but i would imagine that he is talking about a very specific representation of the christian god as purported by certain types of christians. Or he could just be trying to annoy people!

Answer 7

Philip Pullman calls himself an atheist.

Answer 8

Some Christians are way too literal. Perhaps Pullman hates the concept of God. Of course you can say you hate something that doesn't exist. I hate Minnie Mouse. I hate Medusa. Neither of them exists...but I hate them anyway. Does that mean I'm insane???

Answer 9

I understand that the concept is hard for you to understand because you come at it from a religious mindset. They best way I can explain it to you, so you get it, is like this.

If you see something that people are doing, that you think is detrimental to them and other people, and can even go as far as to say that it is destroying lives... you can say that you hate that thing, without also believing in it as those people who do believe it do. To an atheist, God is a concept. Something created by man. It's the concept that fuels religion. THAT is what is hated..... by Pullman.

Hope that helps you come a little closer to understanding.

Answer 10

You can easily hate the idea of God. For instance, if pictures of leprechauns were posted everywhere, if leprechauns were brought up in every conversation, and nearly every other person actively tried to find leprechauns and talk with them, you could very will grow to hate the idea of leprechauns for their influence, whether or not they happen to be real...

Answer 11

I saw that issue in the end of Dawkings book. Sometimes it sounds like someone talking about an Ex..BUT..everyone is FREE to believe as they wish.