Lord Acton, a British historian, once said: “All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Throughout human history, the Church has been at the center of numerous criticisms, including, but not limited to, its relationship with the state, the persecution of heretics, the Crusades, the Inquisition, and homophobic beliefs. In Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, the author tries to convey the true nature of the Church and its effects on the world of men. It is influenced by John Milton's Paradise Lost, particularly the Fall of Lucifer and the Fall of Man. The fall of Lucifer freed Satan and his fellow angels from the will of God. The fall of man granted men free will. Pullman advocates another "fall" against the Church, or rather against men who oppress other men by using religion as a cover to further their own corrupt motives and carry out evil deeds. Furthermore, Pullman believes in the power of analogies. In a rare interview, Pullman commented that “If you want your kids to be smart, read them fairy tales. It's about thinking by analogy. And analogy is an enormously powerful tool in science” (Jukes). Pullman uses this power of analogy to convey his views on the Church while advocating for men to think for themselves through science, or rather evidence. And although Pullman criticizes the Church and its dictatorial power over the world, he is not necessarily criticizing religion itself, but rather the way religion is used to hide the immoral motivations of men. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The first in His Dark Materials series, The Golden Compass chronicles a world under the international theocracy of the Magisterium, also known as the Church. Pullman writes that “Since Pope John Calvin had moved the seat of the papacy to Geneva… the power of the Church over every aspect of life had been absolute” (The Golden Compass 16). The Church tries to suppress every kind of heresy and dominate the lives of men. As seen with the Master who poisons the wine intended for Lord Asriel, who tries to research the "Dust", a mysterious particle attracted to adults, the Church is willing to act illegally and without limits to protect its interests and eliminate anyone in his own way. However, we see that it is the members who make up the Church, and not religion itself, that threaten the free will of men. A similar desire for total domination is seen with God in Paradise Lost. God does not give angels free will, believing that angels are his servants. Milton writes that “Of Providence, Preknowledge, Will, and Fate,/ Fixt Fate, free will, preknowledge Absolute” (Milton 559-560). Presumably, God did not intend for humans to have free will, preventing them from eating from the Tree. of Knowledge. Satan, the most beautiful of all angels, desires this free will for himself and his fellow angels. Milton writes that “at what hour had his pride/ driven him from heaven, with all his host / of rebellious angels, by whose aid he aspired / to set himself in glory above his equals” (Milton 36-39) . Satan also desires to rule like God, unwilling to bend to God's will and claiming that his father is a tyrant. This desire ultimately leads to the fall of Lucifer, in which Satan is exiled to Hell after waging a failed war for control of Heaven. Satan is best described by his own quote: “Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heaven” (Milton 263). After failing to conquer heaven, Satan sets out to corrupthumanity. Ironically, his action to convince Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge leads to humans gaining free will, which Satan so desired for himself and his fellow angels. Comparing his novel to Milton's, Pullman does not question the existence of God or the viability of religion, but criticizes the Church for its corrupt desires and the actions taken to pursue those desires. Similarly, Milton portrays Satan as a tragic hero, seeking the freedom to choose his own life, while he portrays God as an overbearing lord, seeking to control the lives of his angels and his new creation, humans. To better understand the Church, we must further analyze its actions. The Golden Compass also explains that human souls exist outside the corporeal body as demons who accompany and aid their humans. Interestingly, child demons move freely and have the ability to change their appearance into any creature, becoming a permanent form once their humans reach puberty. The main plot concerns the Church secretly separating demons from abducted children through a process called intercision, breaking the bond between the demon and the human. Pullman explains that “it was all he had, a piece of dried fish; for he had no demon… that was the intercision, and this was a severed child” (The Golden Compass 107). The Church believes that this process frees the subject from “Dust,” which is thought to be the physical manifestation of sin. However, “freed” children are lifeless, appear to lack free will, and are therefore easier to control by the Church. Once again, the Church is compared to the God of Paradise Lost. Both the Church and God seek to dictate the future of all sentient beings. In much the same way, to seek out and destroy the source of the “Dust,” Lord Asriel, a scholar, severs the demon of Roger, a friend of Lyra, to release enough energy to rip a hole into a parallel universe. Apparently, the Church and Lord Asriel are sacrificing children for their own reasons. However, the Church seeks to imprison all humans to its will by “liberating” them from their demons. In contrast, Lord Asriel seeks knowledge and wishes to save all humans; he is not driven by corrupt desires. In this context, Lord Asriel is a tragic hero like Satan, who acts immorally to do good in general. Pullman uses the power of analogies to compare the objects and characters in his novels to those in Paradise Lost. However, in doing so, it is almost as if Pullman is acknowledging the existence of God; Pullman disagrees with the tyrannical presence of the Church but understands that God may be real. Pullman continues the next novel, The Subtle Knife, in a parallel universe, introducing the concept of parallel universes and dark matter. These notions are controversial as both lack concrete supporting evidence. In fact, they're like religion, requiring people to believe in them more than having facts to back them up. Pullman may have included these arguments to demonstrate that religion should not be followed blindly, but rather should be approached with resistance and questioning. It should be noted that Pullman does not denigrate religion but seeks to promote healthy, reasonable doubt instead of blind faith. However, the most important facts we learn from this novel are that Lord Asriel is raising an army to fight the forces of the Chantry and that Lyra is prophesied to bring about the second Fall of Man. Furthermore, the Church is also “assembling the greatest army ever known” to silence Lord Asriel and assert its rule (The Subtle Blade 26). In ParadiseLost, Satan fails to win the war against God, who has also gathered a large, strong army and is unable to free himself and his fellow angels from God's dominion. Eve brings about the first Fall of man by disobeying the established rule from God and eating from the Tree of Knowledge. This choice leads humans to acquire free will to choose their own life. Pullman attributes Lord Asriel to Satan and Lyra to Eve. If Lord Asriel had failed in his rebellion against the Church and the Authority, he would have failed his fellow men in allowing the Authority to tyrannically rule over all the universes. Her failure would also undo the effects of the first Fall of man, as the Church would separate demons from all humans and leave them without free will. If Lyra succeeds, then she brings about the second Fall of man, which frees humans by the dictatorial presence of the Magisterium and the Authority. Mrs. Coulter, an agent of the Church, comments that "I will have to destroy her [Lyra] to prevent another fall" (The Subtle Knife 189). Additionally, Mary Malone, a physicist who studies dark matter, or “Dust,” is assigned to find Lyra and “play the serpent,” or the role of Satan (The Subtle Knife 150). This revelation further supports Lyra's role as the second Eve. The Amber Spyglass further exposes the corruption of the Church and narrates its fall. The novel begins with Mrs. Coulter, Lyra's mother, keeping a drugged Lyra in a remote cave hidden from the Church. Pullman writes “Drugged and deceptive sleep! Ama saw a white stripe materialize on the girl's throat while her daemon laboriously transformed into a long, sinuous, white-furred creature” (The Amber Spyglass 50). Mrs. Coulter tries to keep Lyra safe from the Magisterium and from causing the man's second fall. In a way, Mrs. Coulter is compared to God, as she hopes to keep her son safe from outside forces. Furthermore, he is depriving Lyra of her free will, just as God deprives the free will of his creations. Just as Satan visits Eve in a dream, Lyra is visited in a dream by Roger, who promises to help him. Meanwhile, as Lord Asriel is gathering forces to fight the Authority and the Church, he "opened the worlds wide, all the Arctic ice began to melt," causing the armored bears to migrate south (The Amber Spyglass 100). it means that the impending war affects all sentient beings, not just humans; even the armored bears could be subdued if the Authority won the war. Interestingly, the Authority is an angel who thinks he is God. This revelation conveys Pullman's view that, even though God is real, he is not as great as the Church portrays him. Balthamos explains that “The Authority… was never the creator. He was an angel like us: the first angel, it is true, the most powerful, but he was made of Dust like us (The Amber Spyglass 33). The Authority is fragile and easily killed, betrayed by his own servant, Metatron. This betrayal further describes the corruption within the Church, as all Church leaders have corrupt personal motivations. After defeating the Authority and the Church, Lyra sets out to build the Republic of Heaven. This ending suggests that Pullman does not believe religion is evil. Religion is an ideology and is defined by those who believe in it. The Republic of Heaven is the new moral interpretation of God and his teachings. However, there is always the risk that this new interpretation will also become corrupted, as seen in His Dark Materials' consistent theme of "Dust" being attracted to adults (age being associated with sin). Please note: this is just a sample...