Philip Pullman "His Dark Materials" Documentary Part 6 of 7

i think nearly all of what he's saying is correct, except the "good people only do bad things because of religion" There are quite a few exceptions to this im sure eg vigilantes? Melvyn Bragg mentioned the 1st leaders of the US keeping slaves

yes america had slave system it is true, but since it was not religiously mandated, andthey realized the hypocrisy and the evil of keeping slaves, they eventually abolished the system (albeit via a war) -- however, if they had thought that God had mandated certain people to be slaves, they woudl not have seen recognized the evil of slavery.

Um, the bible was used to justify slavery in the U.S.

It's also true that bits of the bible were used by abolitionists.

This just goes to show that one can justify just about anything with the bible.

If god did not like philip pullman's stories they would not have been published

i could listen to him all day long. so much fucking wisdom

although its true that good people have done evil because of religion, i think that you shouldn't make generalisations about religious people as a whole. although things like the inquisition are horrible, you have to remember that they happened hundreds of years ago. hes being an atheist to the roman catholic church of the late medieval period. i think most modern catholics look on that period of history in shame, and have already been picked on enough by the protestants as a result.

He never made generalizations about religious people. He said that he was only condemning religious hierarchy.

Yes, but in that hes generalizing about religious people, and he speaks of how people should have listened to jesus rather then those in authority. I think thats true, but i still think that he shouldnt hugely base it on the actions of people hundreds of years ago... because i think many religious people of the first world are quite free thinking. Although there are cults, fundamentalists, and those who come from less privaleged parts of the world,

, i still think that he is making enormous generalizations that don't encompass a huge part of the religious population.

(i ran out of room :P)

Yes, but in that hes generalizing about religious people, and he speaks of how people should have listened to jesus rather then those in authority. I think thats true, but i still think that he shouldnt hugely base it on the actions of people hundreds of years ago... because i think many religious people of the first world are quite free thinking. Although there are cults, fundamentalists, and those who come from less privaleged parts of the world...