The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

Philip Pullman exchanges one set of myths for another. Bifurcating the Christian messiah, he creates two people driven by different and equally flawed plans for bringing about salvation. Miraculous elements inconsistent with Pullman’s universe are removed, replaced by those that align more closely with his vision. The cold, sophisticated “stranger” who visits the worried and dithery “Christ” could easily be an agent of the “Authority” and would fit right into Lyra’s world, which is so vividly described in His Dark Materials.

Pullman says his books are about killing God, yet the stories are full of realities and complexities that transcend the natural world. But there is no supreme being, only lesser deities who behave in proto-human ways. Can there really be angels and demons if there is no God? I hope not.