The Subtle Knife

The Subtle Knife
3/5

So I finished reading the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy. It was very well written, and I enjoyed it, but it raised a lot of questions. Unlike the first, the second book was a bit darker and touched on topics a little heavier than the first. If you have plans on reading the books you may want to stop reading this post now, there will be a few spoilers. Hopefully nothing too significant, but some of the story will be told.

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In The Subtle Knife we learn that Lord Asriel is planning a second heavenly war, or at least that is what the others characters in the story believe. He intends to destroy the Authority (god.) Asriel is gathering forces from all the different worlds, including fallen angels from the first war in Heaven. This theology of His Dark Materials was very difficult for me. I had a hard time separating myself from the story. I knew prior to starting the books that Philip Pullman (the author,) was an atheist and I think this had a profound affect on how I read the books.

I constantly sat wondering if these were Pullman's beliefs or just part of the story he cooked up. How much of the theology in the book is part of Pullman's atheism? Was this truly just part of the story? Did he have something sinister in mind when he set out to write the books? I really don't think he did, but again I sat wondering if these were his thoughts bleeding through the fantasy. It raised all kinds of other thoughts as well. One of the first was a question, who decides what should be considered a children's book?

Does an author get free reign to classify his work as he pleases? Or does someone else in the process classify it? The publisher maybe? I really do not know, and while it is an interesting question, there were more interesting questions that sprang to mind like how much do we challenge our children's minds? And should there be an invisible line that we do not cross in fantasy? As a Christian is there any room for fantasy at all?

I think one of the reasons that the catholic church and some Christians want to boycott His Dark Materials has nothing to do with the books and everything to do with ignorance. As parents we are not prepared to defend our faith, even against the simple questioning of a child. Books like His Dark Materials scare us because they may raise questions that we are not prepared to answer. We are so use to following, to blind obedience, to an empty faith, to surrounding ourselves with friends that think like we think. We wrap our spiritual life in bubble wrap afraid that it may crack or chip. This seems so alien when compared to scriptures like Philippians 2:12 (So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.)

So when and how deeply should we challenge our children? I have always said that I do not want my daughters to blindly accept my faith. My faith can not save my children. They have to come to terms on their own, I can introduce them to Jesus (my personal Lord and Savior,) but it is up to them to start the relationship. I can also do my best to raise them in a manner pleasing to God. But for me, I do not believe that manner is sheltering them from conflict. Balance. I think balance is the answer. There is a chapter in Rob Bell's new book called Angels and animals. The gist of it is balance. A struggle to avoid two extremes. I think there are two extremes to challenging our children. One extreme is to spoon feed and shelter, the other is to push them forward with no support or guidance. I think my struggle is to set an example for my children, to challenge my children when they are prepared to be challenged, to not over-shelter. Like so many other aspects of life, I need to ensure I approach my children with balance.

Another thought that came to mind during this second book in the trilogy was the extreme nature of our shallowness. Not any particular group, but all of us. I think there are several broad generalizations about Christians made in Pullman's books, and I found myself making my own generalizations about atheists while reading. We like to think ourselves civilized, but we still look at people imperfectly. Normally we pick a single side of someone or a group of people and judge them based on that one side. We have no desire to pick up the cube and examine each and every side. Instead we pick the side that most resembles our preconceptions and ignore the rest.

I enjoy thinking through things, so I freely welcomed all these questions. The Subtle Knife was very enjoyable from both a story perspective and from all the 'fallout' it spurred. I honestly still can not decide whether or not to consider this a children's book. I think there is a line that I need to define for my children, and I have not done so yet.