Comments on: Anyone Have a Citation for This?

By: Jenna

Jenna — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:11:19 +0000

This is awesome. I found this site in my search for some answers on the seemingly ridiculousness hatred for the Author. A few of my Christian friends refused to watch it with me. As usual and my interprutation of the movie. Regardless of religion the fanatics always want to repress new thoughts and ideas. Different is evil. I haven’t been able to find the interview either but every Christian site quotes it. SHOCKER!!!

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:49:48 +0000

I think Siamang has it as the source – the quoting of emails on Snopes.com as what Philip Pullman said. I wrote several Catholic churches that used the quotes in their bulletins to suggest people stay away. One person has written back so far referring me to that Snopes page.

By: miller

miller — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:22:00 +0000

They don’t even really kill God in the books. There’s just some character that claims to be God, and he dies on his own. By my interpretation, the real God is elsewhere in the stories…

And though Pullman does reject the “Kingdom of Heaven”, the alternative he suggests is the “Republic of Heaven”.

By: Simon Owens

Simon Owens — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:08:00 +0000

“This doesn’t even sound like something an atheist would say. Curiously, it sounds exactly like something a fundie would say an atheist has said, if that makes any sense at all.”

That’s a great point, I didn’t even think of that. An atheist would never refer to it as the “Kingdom of Heaven”

By: Adrian

Adrian — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:57:55 +0000

“…decide against God and the Kingdom of Heaven”?

This doesn’t even sound like something an atheist would say. Curiously, it sounds exactly like something a fundie would say an atheist has said, if that makes any sense at all.

By: Mriana

Mriana — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:51:39 +0000

“I want to kill God in the minds of Children…. I want them to decide against God and the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Eh, it’s no worse than, “You know how to kill a god? Stop believing in the god.” Regardless of whether or not he did say it, it’s the same idea.

By: Sarx » Pull(man) My Leg

Sarx » Pull(man) My Leg — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:48:54 +0000

[...] Does Pullman want to “kill god” or is that an urban legend circulated by Rabid Theists? the Friendly Atheist asks, “Does anyone have a citation for this? [...]

By: Huw

Huw — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:43:39 +0000

Thanks for “snoping” this out! And it will be promptly blogged: I’ve had the “kill God” quote offered to me in comments on my blog as I recently wrote a review of the book.

But it is a common problem: it’s one the Internet! It must be True! I’ve often had to point out to someone that LarkNews or Landover Baptist are not valid sources of Christian view points, any more than the Onion or The Onion Dome (Eastern Orthodox Humour site). Humans seem to like to proof text, even when we don’t know what we’re citing.

By: Richard Wade

Richard Wade — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:36:41 +0000

Well, even if Pullman didn’t say this, and even if he publicly denies having said it, and even if no citation is ever found, and even if the original authors of the statement publicly confess that they made it up, if indeed someone did, this allegation will never, ever, ever go away, because the people who will keep repeating it for the next several decades have been trained all their lives to believe whatever they are told.

By: Siamang

Siamang — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:34:45 +0000

I think this is the "source" of the quote. Snopes has this as part of a forwarded email:

They are hoping that unsuspecting parents will take their children to See the movie, that they will enjoy the movie and then the children will want the books for Christmas. That's the hook. Pullman says he wants the children to read the books and decide against God and the kingdom of heaven.

These are the words of the EMAIL writer, not Pullman. I think what happened next is that someone put quotes around that last sentence and put those words in Pullman's mouth. As I've said before, honest quoting of your adversaries isn't something vociferous Christians are intellectually rigorous about.