Okay! Well, I finished reading, "The Golden Compass", "The Subtley Knife" and "The Amber Spy Glass". "Jesus, what did you find out?", you ask. Well, I realized a lot about good Phil. For one, all Christians and Catholics have the book wrong (Now remember, I'm a non-practicing Roman Catholic so I'm allowed to speak of them in the second or third person). I think the reason they hated the book is because it's anti-institutionalized religion. The book isn't after God, as the debate said it was. It's more about being after the coruption of faith(The conception of fear and hate as God).

There are a couple of things that are revealed in the final book. There is a creator, but he's not the one who took control. Remember, we as humans have free will and it's up to us to find ourselves in God through love. Or, so I've heard. Anyway, the first angel who was concieved took power and submitted those that followed him to his will. Everything was already created before the first angel (The Authority). Anyway, as this angel grew older, he handed the reins over to another angel (The Regent). Now remember what I said before: The Creator has created already, way before these two came into the picture.

The Amber Spy Glass
So, there's a fight going on between those that would prefer to fear and hate, and those that would rather have the opposite of fear and hate (for those that do not know the opposite of fear and hate, it's safety and love). It brings me to the point of the book: God equals love. Love was the creator, Fear was the Authority. Where you believe that God was the target, he was actually the hostage, being held at bay by fear and hate. It took two adolescents to figure this out. Their love for each other, Lyra's love for her soul (aka Pan) and her friends and Will's love for his mother (Which broke what was unbreakable in The Subtle Knife).

So, what's more powerful: man's ability to hate or man's ability to love? And it's the quest to answer this question that makes life important. It's the knowledge that we aquire in the journey to understanding our place in the universe that we open ourselves to love.

I don't know, maybe that sounds stupid or something. Maybe I missread what it was trying to say. Hell, maybe the freaking book is all about "Down with God" and all that. All I know is that what I got out of the three books was that God was not the target as fascist organizations understood it to say.

"To fear something is to question your faith, for in your faith fear does not exist." JG Vergara
8/22/2008

Seven years and these apartments have gotten on my nerves, to the extreme. It seems someone here has it out for me. I came home today to find that the electricity was off. I assumed my bedroom light had gone out, but I noticed that a lot of things were off. Well, I assumed that the breaker had tripped-off during the day. No biggie! Or, so I thought. Anyway, I walked to the back of the apartment building and LORD AND BEHOLD, the breaker box was open and the switches were all open. Almost says, "Look, I made your lights go out!" Anyway, it sucks here. That's the reason I decided not to associate with these people. Anyway, I'd been looking at townhouses out in Katy. It's closer to work and I really don't have much keeping me in the city. At times, I feel it's not working out. So that's the plan. Anyway, I have to go and do...well...nothing. I'll watch some television or something.

So, I had to write about The Golden Compass. I know...I know...It HAS been a long time, but I've been busy and unable to do the things I used to do. Anyway, getting back to the subject at hand, so, I read The Golden Compass and found it to be a better read than the movie made it out to be. It seems that Hollywood made too much of an effort to break the true meaning behind the book. It left out all the religious innuendos and decided to add in action and intrigue. When I first saw the movie, I actually liked the movie. It wasn't till later that I was informed that it was a book (the first book of a trilogy), and that Christians and Catholics alike disliked the meaning of the last book in the series. Well, this tells me one thing: The Christians and the Catholics haven't read the freaking books! It turns out that after reading The Golden Compass, you get a feel of what direction the books are going in. You don't have to wait for the last book. In fact, I would prefer you read from beginning to end. It's more exciting than the movie and you get all the juicy stuff mixed in with a great and inventive theme. The plot and scenes are awesome, even though you are seeing it in your own mind. So far, the books are great and I recommend you read them.

Being a non-practicing Catholic, I can understand the enthusiasm of religious dominance over the public mentality. But I also come from a philosophically based education, and all I see in the books is an attempt to enlighten the public to a world of imagination. If you fear this book because of some intolerance, then your religious affirmation is skin deep. If anything, I would recommend this trilogy for your enlightenment of those that would be your enemies:)

Cheers!!!