(no subject)
Nov. 26th, 2007 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
majutsukaiSo, Gaia Online has been tracking the development of its new evolving items through site-wide announcements of late. I was traipsing through the forums, when I come across a topic complaining about them, and I noticed that, in doing so, the person in question had made a not-so-subtle jab at one of my favorite book series, which Gaia has recently held a promotional event for.
"Way to be neutral, Gaia.
First its a movie/book quest in which the author subtly shoves his atheistic views in (yeah, in the end, he basically writes that his characters kill God. GG, Gaia. :| ), and now its evolution." [cut for length and being on-topic.]
"Normally, I wouldn't say anything, but I have to step up in defense of the books here. His Dark Materials does not "push Pullman's Atheist views". (I have yet to see any convincing evidence that he's an Atheist at all, but that's a discussion for another time.) I'm perfectly aware of the propaganda, but I have the advantage of having actually read the books. I'm an Atheist myself, and I had heard the rumors when I began reading the books; I was looking for Atheist themes as I was reading. In fact, I'm not going to mince words about this: I was hoping for them. But they're not there. What IS there is a message about thinking for yourself, being a good person, and bettering the world. Not a single shred of argument is added for believing or disbelieving in God, nor are any direct attacks made on those who do. (This is why calling the series "the Atheist Narnia" seems incomprehensible to me; Narnia actually actively promoted a particular set of religious views.) At worst, you could call HDM against organized religion, and the corruption therein. If you were attacking it for that, I wouldn't be able to form a defense. Not that it would be much of an attack.
Oh, and before you link or quote the Snopes article that has made its rounds across the length and breadth of the internet at this point, let me just say this. There is what Snopes says, and there is what is objectively true. Maybe sometimes these two are one and the same; maybe most of the time. I don't know, because I don't go to that site. What I do know is that this is a case where what Snopes says and what is objectively true directly contradict one another. I can lay claim to knowing what is objectively true in this case because I have read the books, from beginning to end; neither Snopes, nor anyone promoting this anti-HDM propaganda make any such claim, nor give any reason for me to believe that any such claims, if made, would be true."
I forgot to add that I think it's a bit presumptuous to assume that the Authority (the God that died in the events of the story) was supposed to be specifically the Christian God, in a literal or even metaphorical sense. "Snopes-said-it-so-it-must-be-true" fever strikes again. :/
"Way to be neutral, Gaia.
First its a movie/book quest in which the author subtly shoves his atheistic views in (yeah, in the end, he basically writes that his characters kill God. GG, Gaia. :| ), and now its evolution." [cut for length and being on-topic.]
"Normally, I wouldn't say anything, but I have to step up in defense of the books here. His Dark Materials does not "push Pullman's Atheist views". (I have yet to see any convincing evidence that he's an Atheist at all, but that's a discussion for another time.) I'm perfectly aware of the propaganda, but I have the advantage of having actually read the books. I'm an Atheist myself, and I had heard the rumors when I began reading the books; I was looking for Atheist themes as I was reading. In fact, I'm not going to mince words about this: I was hoping for them. But they're not there. What IS there is a message about thinking for yourself, being a good person, and bettering the world. Not a single shred of argument is added for believing or disbelieving in God, nor are any direct attacks made on those who do. (This is why calling the series "the Atheist Narnia" seems incomprehensible to me; Narnia actually actively promoted a particular set of religious views.) At worst, you could call HDM against organized religion, and the corruption therein. If you were attacking it for that, I wouldn't be able to form a defense. Not that it would be much of an attack.
Oh, and before you link or quote the Snopes article that has made its rounds across the length and breadth of the internet at this point, let me just say this. There is what Snopes says, and there is what is objectively true. Maybe sometimes these two are one and the same; maybe most of the time. I don't know, because I don't go to that site. What I do know is that this is a case where what Snopes says and what is objectively true directly contradict one another. I can lay claim to knowing what is objectively true in this case because I have read the books, from beginning to end; neither Snopes, nor anyone promoting this anti-HDM propaganda make any such claim, nor give any reason for me to believe that any such claims, if made, would be true."
I forgot to add that I think it's a bit presumptuous to assume that the Authority (the God that died in the events of the story) was supposed to be specifically the Christian God, in a literal or even metaphorical sense. "Snopes-said-it-so-it-must-be-true" fever strikes again. :/
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 06:19 am (UTC)People on Gaia are stupid. Although I do love flaming at them.
Mostly because they subsequently ask me to define words like, oh, "subsequently."
no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 06:22 am (UTC)Gaia has stupid people, yes, but it also has smart people. Just like real life. :3
no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 06:25 am (UTC):/
I had a Yu-Gi-Oh player call me a Nazi and a KKK supporter because I pointed out why I didn't like YGO, why I played Magic and corrected her history.
XP
no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 06:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 06:28 am (UTC)XP
no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 06:41 am (UTC)Anyways, this wasn't about just Gaia, because sentiments like this regarding the Golden Compass have made their way across the entire interwebs. Idiocy on Gaia is just a symptom of that.
(Also, it hasn't been definitively established that the person in question was not in fact a troll. It's sad how you usually can't tell. Poe's Law is so cruel.)
no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 07:09 am (UTC)Yeah, well, it's things like this that make me want to publish something where the protagonist is quite clearly a devil sprshipper and uses black magic, and ends up killing god just to see what people say about it.
(Sad. It's so much more fun when they're trolls. ToT)
(PS- I hate hotmail. It didn't freaking send me an alert for the reply. -___-;; )
no subject
Date: 2007-11-27 07:44 am (UTC)