I disagree with those who argue that evolutionary biology and the existence of God are incompatible.
Just finished 'Secrecy' - truly enthralling both as a love story and as a tale of suspense - but much more than both.
Literary modernism kind of grew out of a sense that, “Oh my god! I’m telling a story! Oh, that can’t be the case, because I’m a clever person. I’m a literary person! What am I going to do to distinguish myself? I know! I’ll write Ulysses. ”
But suppose your dæmon settles in a shape you don't like? Well, then, you're discontented, en't you? There's plenty of folk as'd like to have a lion as a dæmon and they end up with a poodle. And till they learn to be satisfied with what they are, they're going to be fretful about it. Waste of feeling, that is. But it didn't seem to Lyra that she would ever grow up.
Lyra learns to her great cost that fantasy isn’t enough. She has been lying all her life, telling stories to people, making up fantasies, and suddenly she comes to a point where that’s not enough. All she can do is tell the truth. She tells the truth about her childhood, about the experiences she had in Oxford, and that is what saves her. True experience, not fantasy - reality, not lies - is what saves us in the end.
And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?
Disney is a huge presence when it comes to fairy tales because he’s made of them such brilliant artifacts in terms of movie-making. But it’s very hard to ignore what he’s done to them. I'm not interested in denigrating Disney or even commenting on him very much. I'm more interested in seeing what I can do with the stories myself.
The most successful people are those who take pride in their work, pride in their family It is great to attain wealth, but money is really just one way - and hardly the best way - to keep score.
Time is inelastic and inflexible. Time is indispensable. No achievement is possible without time.
Anything you love more, fear more, serve more, or value more than God is your idol.
I have always considered myself, when I learned what the word meant, I've always considered myself a Pagan.