Well, I may be wrong, and you may be right, I am not so arrogant as to claim that what I know is true. I just don't like being pushed aside and called ridiculous --- because as far as I can tell, my argument is just as good as yours.
I'm not going to say that my interpretation of HDM is gospel truth, but so far I've found your argument to be weak, imo. That's if I'm understanding it correctly. *is beginning to get unsure*
However, the interpretation of the Prophecy in HDM is not correct if you will insist it is the same as "our" Bible. That's what I wanted to point out.
I said earlier that Pullman's interpretation turns the Biblical story on its head. That's the point. It's not intended to be "correct" in the sense that Christians would prefer. But the symbolism that the prophecy draws from, about the Fall happening all over again - clearly, that IS from the Bible. The Bible in L-world, the Bible in our world... the Genesis story in both of them is practically the same, so why say it shouldn't be compared to our Bible?
It may be correct in Will's Bible, but Will's world, though it is supposed to be our universe, does not exist. Therefore, the Bible interpretation, in Will's world is not accurate and should not be compared to OUR Bible, and our world. That had always been MY point.
Will's world is our world. A fictional version of our world, then. What do you mean by the Bible interpretation in Will's world? There are a number of interpretations in Will's world, because his world is supposed to be ours. Catholics, Protestants, Methodists etc... they all disagree on various aspects of the Bible. If you mean Pullman's interpretation of the Bible, then please refer to what I said above.
Symbolism does not always equivalent fact. And perhaps, Pullman's use of recognizable symbols does not apply as simply to us as you, and many others, imply. Perhaps, it's not just about religion -- organized or not -- or even about God. Perhaps he is trying to explain our existence and purpose in this world, which is quite a feat, since Science never made any claim, nor pretentious intent to explain both.
Do you want to elaborate on this? Yeah, we could talk about Dust and how Pullman gives life and meaning to his fictional multiverse, but I was trying to keep the topic on the Fall and what it symbolises.
For one thing, Pullman did not intend to indoctrinate anyone with his books. These are works of fiction, as you clearly stated, written for his own enjoyment. Pullman, like any other writer, does not write for anyone but himself. I should know, I'm writer. I couldn't care less who reads my work -- that is the job of the publisher. You're concept that he wrote this with a specific readership in mind is just incorrect. He wrote it because he wanted to tell the story in his head.
He may not have had a specific readership in mind, but I think it's true to say that when a writer uses any kind of symbolism, he uses symbolism that he understands, and it's therefore likely that most of his readers will understand it too, being from the same world and all.
Why didn't Pullman use Islam as his main focus, since religion is such a strong theme in the books? Because Christianity is the religion he's most familiar with, and it would also be true to say that the majority of readers, at least in the UK, would also be most familiar with Christianity.
Naturally, readers will be comparing the way Christianity is portrayed in HDM, especially in L-world, with the real world. And it is perfectly reasonable to do so.
But there is only one "true" interpretation of the Bible, in my opinion, and it is not the one that is described and used in HDM.
I'm not sure I agree with this. There are so many interpretations of the Bible, how do we know which is the right one?
*Regards latest posts*
And I don't have the stamina...
Come on, Moony, don't you enjoy a bit of debate? Get those neurons firing.