Aspects of sin: a comparison between the classical definition of sin and sin as portrayed in His Dark Materials

Abstract: This essay sets out to compare the classical definition of sin to the view
of sin as presented by Philip Pullman in the trilogy His Dark Materials.
The trilogy conveys a story about Lyra and Will, two children who end up
being in the center of a battle between reason and oblivion. The classical
definition of sin is found in the original meaning of the word, and in the
traditions handed down through the years by the Bible, important
theologians, and the Church. Pullman’s view is found in the clever way he
presents the characters of the books and places them in situations riddled
with ethical questions and spiritual pondering. The main difference between
the perspectives is that the classical definition considers sin as
something inherently bad, while Pullman considers sin as capable of both
being good and bad, but mostly good. This difference originates in the
fundamentally different assumptions the two perspectives have made on the
goodness of God.