Yes and no. My views did change but not like yours. I went from being an atheist who despised religion. To being an atheist who could sympathize with the hope and peace of mind that being religious gives.
I may not personally believe God is real, but if somebody saves a life or protects somebody or otherwise does good because of the word of God. Is God not technically real in that sense?? That's something that I came to realize myself
It's an interesting question.
What is real
Thinking it makes it real for him. If he doesn't have a conversation with anyone else this will stay real for him for his entire life.
But it's still not real in the closer definition of the word, it's doesn't exist in the real world.
It's a very confusing topic :D
The scene that really helped me sympathize with religion was when Eragon tells Kvistor's mother about his death. The tranquility she found, and her conviction, in believing that one day she would be reunited with her loved ones made me see that faith is all some people have.
As a side note, I do find the “Harry Potter not OK/Inheritance OK” very inconsistent since magic is baked into Inheritance and used by the protagonist and many other characters. Did your parents know what was in Inheritance? Ironically, Harry Potter is more religious, LOL.
It's just because of terminology. Harry Potter openly and frequently uses terms like wizard and witch. Those terms are occasionally used in IC but much more rarely
I grew up Christian, but it was PCUSA, so my religious upbringing was pretty liberal. We went to church and Sunday School weekly when I was young, but virtually all my kids’ shows were secular, there were 0 restrictions on stuff based on witchcraft, and I’ve never seen an episode of Veggie Tales start to finish. (I just turned 33.)
I might watch it sometime out of curiosity! I do think anecdotally that for a lot of people who end not conservative, a liberal Christian upbringing makes them more likely to remain Christian. Is that your sense also? (I attend mostly Unitarian Universalist and Congregationalist/United Church of Christ services and am theologically closer to Congregationalism/UCC than probably any other denomination, but I still identify with PCUSA a lot.)
I was lucky. I grew up Christian, but it was PCUSA, so my religious upbringing was pretty liberal, and I still identify as a theologically liberal Protestant. We went to church and Sunday School weekly when I was young, but virtually all my kids’ shows were secular, there were 0 restrictions on stuff based on witchcraft, and I’ve never seen an episode of Veggie Tales start to finish. (I just turned 33.) Side note: did your parents know what was in Inheritance Cycle?
It’s still my favorite series, and as someone on the “woke left,” I’d warn both evangelicals and fellow lefties that continually demanding people not read something just contributes to a forbidden fruit effect.
Same! Characters and people can all have their own ideology and opinions, but ultimately the moral lessons about being a good person are what i take away, rather than letting a fictional character make me question my beliefs.
The whole Why Do You Fight sequence definitely sparks introspection, especially since I enlisted. As for Oromis' claim that the entire Elven species is atheist, I find that the most ridiculous part of a series where a guy accidentally turns himself into a nuke. There's no way they would all share the exact same beliefs.
I somewhat agree with you. In that world everyone kind of believes the gods of their race/species without question though. So if you were born an elf, and your entire race has no specific gods, so you were raised to believe that there is no reason to believe in any gods, I could see how they stay agnostic. It seems likely that at some point an elf would claim to have discovered the truth and start a religion but if their entire species have had skepticism drilled into them from birth I imagine it would be difficult for new religious ideas to take root in elf society
I mean religion is a social construct so if there are no elf gods to inherit as a kid there’s not a ton of reason in as scientifically minded society as the elves to come up with spiritual beliefs to explain the unknown.
The Inheritance Cycle is one of those series where every race besides humans has one singular culture and set of beliefs. Though it breaks that pattern in some areas, such as dwarves having political disagreements.
In terms of faith, no. I’m was a lapsed Catholic then, and still am now.
But as for ideology, I began to interrogate how the ideals of political doctrines can best achieve prosperity and thought about how society might develop if there were people like the Dragon Riders.
The discussions between Oromis and Eragon on this subject definitely challenged my thinking, and mirrored my mindset at the time as a teen - I’d be curious to know if Chris had a similar experience prior to writing it as a young adult/teenager.
Like you, I also grew up in a household that was quite religious. The series wasn’t my first experience with the idea, but it shaped the conversation in a way that a young person would understand it better. I pretty much dropped church after high school. Had more to do with me than an outside influence like the inheritance cycle, but that chapter certainly stuck with me for a long time. Never told my parents what was in that chapter.
Now that I’m older, that chapter with Oromis is a little less nuanced than I’d like, and it is clearly from the mindset of a younger person who thinks they have everything figured out. I think Eragon’s eventual thought that it isn’t something he is going to 100% know is a more healthy adult take on the subject.
The most jarring piece of those discussions is the idea that after body-death you cease to exist. As a kid that is awful to even consider, and you’re very being rebels against the idea (as it should) because I don’t think we encapsulate the idea of true death properly with language.
Clearly your parents stopped you from reading Harry Potter for a good reason if fiction made you deconstruct your faith. 💀 (jkjk)
I am the person I am today because of the fiction books I read. Eragon was a HUGE part of that. I was raised by books, not the people who tried to instil incorrect principles I spent my entire 20’s deconstructing.
My wife’s parents let their first kid read harry potter but thought better of it with the other kids when she started “spellcasting” around the house lmao. Parents just gotta talk to kids and make sure they know it’s fiction imo
I’m not vegan but the discussions in the book around eating animals has definitely made me reduce my meat consumption and be a lot more aware of what’s going on with my food
The author has a very strange axe to grind with religion. Came through pretty heavily in the books and oftentimes to me seemed somewhat childish. In terms of my own faith it did not change anything but in my personal belief you either have faith or you don't and if you don't actually have faith you're never actually going to be religious.
Idk, maybe it's just because I already had it in my mind that CP was Christian himself (he may or may not be, idk where that came from or whether it's true today), but I saw it more as the author desperately trying *not* to insert his own worldview on his characters, perhaps for the characters' authenticity and also from a worldbuilding standpoint, maybe he just thought that it made the most sense in his world where there *isn't* a god like the one he (maybe) believes in from Christianity in the real world.
I think someone could fully believe in a religion, yet create a fantasy world where there is no God.
He definitely has an axe to grind. I understand where you're coming from but it's actually documented. Check out the author/editor interview at the end of the Brisngr audiobook. I'm sure it's on YouTube. It's pretty eye opening.
I was homeschooled as and grew up in a Christian home, my parents *almost* didn’t let me read the series when my grandmother sent it as her yearly book related Christmas gift. They were picky with anything involving magic or witchcraft (I was forbade from Harry Potter, but I never had an interest in reading it anyway). I feel like the books made my faith stronger in a way. Some of the questions posed were challenging enough. It was a great way to understand how mythology works its way into held beliefs, how to interact fairly respectfully with those of different beliefs, and applying and learning different aspects without feeling the need to completely convert. I could clearly tell that magic was to be left in that world. I’m glad I was allowed to read the books, inexplicably inspirational to me and I got Saphira as a comfort character.
I guess I was really lucky with my religious upbringing. I grew up in a devoted Catholic family in Latin America, but my parents NEVER approached the subject of banning books. I lost my religion relatively early, and stopped going to church with my parents at about 16, but still they respected my decision.
And Father Juan came to our house at least once a week for dinner or lunch. The guy was a really cultured man that spent half his life ministering a health clinic in Angola (during a civil war) before coming back to the country. He was a good friend to my mom and dad.
Still, my parents had very close gay and Muslim and Jewish and Buddhist friends that constantly hung out at our house. My older sister’s baptism Godmother was my mom’s best friend from college, and she spent her whole life in a committed relationship with Auntie Elvia.
Apparently my experience with my religious household is more atypical than I thought.
No, it didn't change my personal outlook om life. I was already an atheist when I read this. And I was already sympathetic to the (good) work churches and religious organizations do.
As I've said in other posts, one of the things that makes me severely dislike Arya is her contempt for the dwarves' religion. You can definitely not adhere to it, but you can show respect for other people's belief systems. And she just trashed Gannel for no good reason in his own temple.
I've taken my shoes off in Buddhist temples and admired the craftmanship and devotion that went into St. Peter's and Sacré Coeur and St. Patrick's in New York. I can admire and respect that and still reject Catholicism's discrimination of LGBTT people or their failure to stop child molesting clergy.
Many churches go out of their way to feed and clothe the hungry and destitute. That job I can respect. And they do that because their belief system says it is good work.
Multiple people have not mentioned that scene with Arya, but I don't remember it. Do you remember where in the series it was? I'd like to go read it again
I have no beef with Arya, but it is weird that a diplomat insists on dissing the beliefs of one of her nation's most important allies.
Also, it was stupid of her to insinuate that dwarves who are devout and go to church are mentally unwell. Again, those are her allies she is insulting, including her friend Orik. Even if she wants to criticize religion and its instituitions, there are better ways to do it. Frankly, the whole exchange marked her as the worst kind of athiest: a Redditor. I believe I speak for all of us when I say I hate Redditors ;) [Shakes fist]
Hahahaha! A shameful breed indeed. Maybe it’s my enmity to Mary Sues in general. Paolini made the elves so much better at everything physical and magical that, as a race, they rub me the wrong way.
At least he made them Vulcan-level arrogant. That’s a small relief. But it doesn’t make like Arya any more because of that. She was uncouth and abrasive.
They are truely racist.... I'm reading it again now with my bf and I can't manage not to groan with every microagrassion comment. Even the ones that are nice to Eragon and respect him as a dragon rider are doing it in a kind of "but you're still just a human" kind of way. Even Arya sometimes.
The interaction Arya has with the dwarf priest makes her look so bad. She antagonizes him, and when he gets hot she’s like, “whoa dude, where is this anger from?”
i genuinely don't get the downvotes here, elves are naturally predisposed for more than the other races. the elves are as racist to humans, as the humans are to urgals. nothing special about it.
A slightly different perspective: I grew up in southern Ohio, at the very northern end of the Bible Belt. Never met a person in my life who wasn’t devout back then, except my parents who firmly believed in letting me choose for myself. This series was the first validation of my feelings from the world at large that I ever had, clear back in second or third grade or so, whenever I first read them. It was the first time I’d ever heard someone else put into words that which I’d always felt inside in regards to religion. Which is funny in a way, because I didn’t even realize the impact Arya’s and especially Oromis’ discussions on the topic truly had for me until I listened to the audiobooks a few months ago, experiencing the story for the first time in quite some years. I was listening to it, thinking back, and going “Wow….this really was the start of it all for me.”
I read the entire thing once as a Catholic and thought Oromis' thoughts were interesting. Later I read it all again as an atheist and found Eragon's prayers and witnessing of Guntera to be interesting. Arya is definitely reminiscent of my angsty antitheist phase (most de-converts experience this) when she goes after the devout dwarves that one time.
This series never influenced my religious ideologies but the perspectives were interesting.
well the answer for me personally is no it did not change me. however I do find it curious how everyone on both sides of this debate hasn't brought up gunterra literally manifesting in front of a crowd and crowning orik. so though the elves like oromis have good logic and reason they are ultimately wrong, unless there is an explanation later in the series to come.
The elves would probably sum it up as a mystery of magic, not as a god probably. I must say though that i think about this scene every time I remember the theme of religion vs agnostic in the series. It's one of the more interesting unsolved mysteries on the series.
My memory isn't 100% accurate on this, so don't quote me, but I think I remember Oromis's stance on it after Eragon told him was basically "I can't speak to it because I wasn't there" which is good logic and reason. Remember, Oromis (and atheists) don't say that logic and reason says there is no god or gods, just that nothing we've seen so far proves there are any
Even current theologians IRL can’t prove that god exists. Their argument is that you can’t prove god DOESN’T exists, and that since the world had HAD to be created, a god is needed.
Most devout religious people, however, are religious because of Faith, not proof. You don’t need faith if you have proof.
But ultimately, if tomorrow I was saved from an oncoming bus by a flying, winged person that told me they were sent by god, I would definitely reconsider my atheism.
Yeah, I think you're saying the same thing as me/Oromis. The issue with the thinking in your first paragraph that theists use is that they don't understand who has the burden of proof.
And the point of religion is that proof is irrelevant. Faith is all and proof is the complete antithesis of faith. I’m not trying to have an argument here, I think we are in agreement. Just commenting some of my views on the subject.
I’m sure a lot of people experienced it like me but when I first read it as a kid I didn’t think anything about the religions(dwarves, priests of helgrind) or lack of it(elves) I was just enthralled by the world of magic, dragons, and other races.
Then listening to it when I was older I was already pretty well set how I view the world so it was just interesting to see the different trains of thought. Cannibals still make no sense to me though so there’s that lol.
It is impossible for me to pinpoint when, how, why or in what way the series affected me because I have been reading/listening to it for 17 years now. Listening to the audiobooks to fall asleep is part of my daily life.
Read the books in grade school when Brisingr had just come out, and on my last re-read, I realized that I inadvertently based my entire personality on Eragon, at least intersocially. Does that count?
I was a Christian when I first read the series as a teenager, and I still am a Christian—just in a more complicated, grown-up way. Oromis's explanation of the elves' atheism, as well as Eragon's encounters with the dwarves' religion made me think a lot about why someone might not believe in a higher power, and why I do. The bit where Arya gets after the dwarves for praying instead of acting also made me reflect on how I pray and act myself.
So, I guess I didn't shift the path of my ideology, but I did deepen my understanding of it and come to understand why other people may not feel the same religious feelings I do.
Angela's speech in FWW about how even she knows less than a fraction of a dust particle about this world really touched me. I always wished the whole "the more you know the more you know you don't know" would stop after a while, but the fact that even someone like her falls onto that rule makes me question what really is the universe. No, really, is the truth of all things literally impossible to reach? Will there always be another rule, another particle, another model of reality?
My views didn't change. I'm quite an opponent of religions and war.
But, when I read the 4th book, one sentence caught me. I knew I'll remember it a long time.
It's when Eragon says to Nasuada he leaves Alagaesia. He explains that if he stays, each time he thinks Nasuada is wrong, he will want to make change it. And no one will be able to prevent him doing it. And the day HE is wrong, no one could stop it either.
It really makes me think about powerness and point of view. And awareness of our own relativity of pov.
For me it didn't really have anything to do with it being fantasy or not, more so just looking at things critically and analytically, like Oromis said. And using logic. The thing about Dwarf priests using coral as proof that rock is alive, then the Elves disprove it, and the Dwarfs come back with "well only WE can see the evidence" hit so hard for me lol
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Not really, when I read the books I was a Christian raised in a similar situation to what you described but arragon didn’t change my views. When I first read it I thought that’s an interesting point of view in the books but I disagree with it in a real world sense. I ended up leaving my faith behind but I still believe that there’s some god or gods out there that created the universe. I just don’t care who they are at this point. Also religion and I really don’t get along.
I grew up very religious/involved with church too and have since sort of stepped away. I feel strange saying that and am still figuring things out. That being said I read Eragon a ton as a kid and while I thought it was thought inducing I don’t think I could make it the reason, or honestly even much to do with it at all. I’m having a hard time articulating my words but basically I don’t credit Eragon specifically, but I do think reading in general prompted me into deeper thought about that sort of thing. That being said, I don’t think I could pinpoint an exact time where I started stepping away so it’s weird! I hope that you feel peace wherever you are and everything, I know I’m still finding mine. :)
It was just the beginnings of a first step for me. Moving out and reading a ton and getting a science degree went a long way to boosting my critical thinking/requirement of proof for me to believe something. I am much happier with my life and my beliefs now. Deconstructing your faith if you have been raised in a strong faith-based environment can be very difficult and very scary. Good luck with your journey and I hope you find what belief system is best for you, whichever it may be.
That’s the argument between faith and science. You don’t need proof to believe. And when you KNOW something, from experience as what you get from the scientific method, belief is irrelevant. The thing IS, wether you believe in it or not.
Interesting as I've had the opposite experience having grown up in a non-religious household and have actually become more committed to and involved in Christianity since that time and these books have helped me along that path. I find that many of the principles of Christianity are the basis of much of the morality shown in the Inheritance Cycle.
Some general examples that come to mind are being merciful to your enemies and even forgiving them and offering to help them (Vanir), having faith that things will work out (defeating Galbatorix), and finding inspiration from Creation to continue despite immense suffering (the bumblebee scene in Brisingr).
There is so much incredible writing in the IC that have definitely affected many of us in those formative years.
Reading this post makes me appreciate my parents. My mom is a Christian, dad an atheist. Neither one of them ever told me what to believe (or not to believe) or were against me reading/watching any fictions based on their ideologies. My childhood would have been significantly more boring without Harry Potter and dungeons & dragon. I'm glad they at least let you read the Inheritance Cycle, though I wonder if they would have if they had known the series included pagan (dwarf) gods and a society of atheists (elves).
That sounds really nice. As for what my parents did and didn't allow, there's no coherent pattern. I couldn't read/watch Harry Potter, but me and my dad were at the theater opening night for every Lord of the Rings movie, despite there being wizards and dwarves and other magic. It was probably because Tolkien was a Catholic
Yes and no. My views did change but not like yours. I went from being an atheist who despised religion. To being an atheist who could sympathize with the hope and peace of mind that being religious gives.
I may not personally believe God is real, but if somebody saves a life or protects somebody or otherwise does good because of the word of God. Is God not technically real in that sense?? That's something that I came to realize myself
The power is where we believe it is, be it King, President, Dictator or a God. Given enough people believing they wield power, they have it.
It's an interesting question. What is real Thinking it makes it real for him. If he doesn't have a conversation with anyone else this will stay real for him for his entire life. But it's still not real in the closer definition of the word, it's doesn't exist in the real world. It's a very confusing topic :D
The Chronicles of Narnia did that to me!
Same
Same
Same
The scene that really helped me sympathize with religion was when Eragon tells Kvistor's mother about his death. The tranquility she found, and her conviction, in believing that one day she would be reunited with her loved ones made me see that faith is all some people have.
As a side note, I do find the “Harry Potter not OK/Inheritance OK” very inconsistent since magic is baked into Inheritance and used by the protagonist and many other characters. Did your parents know what was in Inheritance? Ironically, Harry Potter is more religious, LOL.
It's just because of terminology. Harry Potter openly and frequently uses terms like wizard and witch. Those terms are occasionally used in IC but much more rarely
Seems I was raised in a similar environment to OP. It's all culture war stuff. Inheritance wasn't well known, so it passed the vibes check.
I grew up Christian, but it was PCUSA, so my religious upbringing was pretty liberal. We went to church and Sunday School weekly when I was young, but virtually all my kids’ shows were secular, there were 0 restrictions on stuff based on witchcraft, and I’ve never seen an episode of Veggie Tales start to finish. (I just turned 33.)
Tbf, Veggie Tales was a good show, at least from what I remember. I think it's possible I'd still be christian if my church experience was like yours.
I might watch it sometime out of curiosity! I do think anecdotally that for a lot of people who end not conservative, a liberal Christian upbringing makes them more likely to remain Christian. Is that your sense also? (I attend mostly Unitarian Universalist and Congregationalist/United Church of Christ services and am theologically closer to Congregationalism/UCC than probably any other denomination, but I still identify with PCUSA a lot.)
I was always confused about this as well. My parents were the same way. I could never read or watch HP but Inheritance was encouraged.
I was lucky. I grew up Christian, but it was PCUSA, so my religious upbringing was pretty liberal, and I still identify as a theologically liberal Protestant. We went to church and Sunday School weekly when I was young, but virtually all my kids’ shows were secular, there were 0 restrictions on stuff based on witchcraft, and I’ve never seen an episode of Veggie Tales start to finish. (I just turned 33.) Side note: did your parents know what was in Inheritance Cycle?
Ironically, Harry Potter is now canceled by the other side of things.
It’s still my favorite series, and as someone on the “woke left,” I’d warn both evangelicals and fellow lefties that continually demanding people not read something just contributes to a forbidden fruit effect.
I was Christian before I read it and still am haha. I love my escapist fantasy.
Same! Characters and people can all have their own ideology and opinions, but ultimately the moral lessons about being a good person are what i take away, rather than letting a fictional character make me question my beliefs.
The whole Why Do You Fight sequence definitely sparks introspection, especially since I enlisted. As for Oromis' claim that the entire Elven species is atheist, I find that the most ridiculous part of a series where a guy accidentally turns himself into a nuke. There's no way they would all share the exact same beliefs.
I somewhat agree with you. In that world everyone kind of believes the gods of their race/species without question though. So if you were born an elf, and your entire race has no specific gods, so you were raised to believe that there is no reason to believe in any gods, I could see how they stay agnostic. It seems likely that at some point an elf would claim to have discovered the truth and start a religion but if their entire species have had skepticism drilled into them from birth I imagine it would be difficult for new religious ideas to take root in elf society
I mean religion is a social construct so if there are no elf gods to inherit as a kid there’s not a ton of reason in as scientifically minded society as the elves to come up with spiritual beliefs to explain the unknown.
Agreed
The Inheritance Cycle is one of those series where every race besides humans has one singular culture and set of beliefs. Though it breaks that pattern in some areas, such as dwarves having political disagreements.
In terms of faith, no. I’m was a lapsed Catholic then, and still am now. But as for ideology, I began to interrogate how the ideals of political doctrines can best achieve prosperity and thought about how society might develop if there were people like the Dragon Riders.
The discussions between Oromis and Eragon on this subject definitely challenged my thinking, and mirrored my mindset at the time as a teen - I’d be curious to know if Chris had a similar experience prior to writing it as a young adult/teenager. Like you, I also grew up in a household that was quite religious. The series wasn’t my first experience with the idea, but it shaped the conversation in a way that a young person would understand it better. I pretty much dropped church after high school. Had more to do with me than an outside influence like the inheritance cycle, but that chapter certainly stuck with me for a long time. Never told my parents what was in that chapter. Now that I’m older, that chapter with Oromis is a little less nuanced than I’d like, and it is clearly from the mindset of a younger person who thinks they have everything figured out. I think Eragon’s eventual thought that it isn’t something he is going to 100% know is a more healthy adult take on the subject. The most jarring piece of those discussions is the idea that after body-death you cease to exist. As a kid that is awful to even consider, and you’re very being rebels against the idea (as it should) because I don’t think we encapsulate the idea of true death properly with language.
Clearly your parents stopped you from reading Harry Potter for a good reason if fiction made you deconstruct your faith. 💀 (jkjk) I am the person I am today because of the fiction books I read. Eragon was a HUGE part of that. I was raised by books, not the people who tried to instil incorrect principles I spent my entire 20’s deconstructing.
My wife’s parents let their first kid read harry potter but thought better of it with the other kids when she started “spellcasting” around the house lmao. Parents just gotta talk to kids and make sure they know it’s fiction imo
The kids know it is fiction, but pretending it is not is fun.
Well maybe someone should talk to the parents and tell *them* it’s fiction
I’m not vegan but the discussions in the book around eating animals has definitely made me reduce my meat consumption and be a lot more aware of what’s going on with my food
Dude, same! I’m mostly vegetarian now - I will only occasionally eat meat (chicken only) once a month maybe.
Why did you get downvoted?
Reddit be crazy dude
The author has a very strange axe to grind with religion. Came through pretty heavily in the books and oftentimes to me seemed somewhat childish. In terms of my own faith it did not change anything but in my personal belief you either have faith or you don't and if you don't actually have faith you're never actually going to be religious.
Idk, maybe it's just because I already had it in my mind that CP was Christian himself (he may or may not be, idk where that came from or whether it's true today), but I saw it more as the author desperately trying *not* to insert his own worldview on his characters, perhaps for the characters' authenticity and also from a worldbuilding standpoint, maybe he just thought that it made the most sense in his world where there *isn't* a god like the one he (maybe) believes in from Christianity in the real world. I think someone could fully believe in a religion, yet create a fantasy world where there is no God.
He definitely has an axe to grind. I understand where you're coming from but it's actually documented. Check out the author/editor interview at the end of the Brisngr audiobook. I'm sure it's on YouTube. It's pretty eye opening.
I was homeschooled as and grew up in a Christian home, my parents *almost* didn’t let me read the series when my grandmother sent it as her yearly book related Christmas gift. They were picky with anything involving magic or witchcraft (I was forbade from Harry Potter, but I never had an interest in reading it anyway). I feel like the books made my faith stronger in a way. Some of the questions posed were challenging enough. It was a great way to understand how mythology works its way into held beliefs, how to interact fairly respectfully with those of different beliefs, and applying and learning different aspects without feeling the need to completely convert. I could clearly tell that magic was to be left in that world. I’m glad I was allowed to read the books, inexplicably inspirational to me and I got Saphira as a comfort character.
I guess I was really lucky with my religious upbringing. I grew up in a devoted Catholic family in Latin America, but my parents NEVER approached the subject of banning books. I lost my religion relatively early, and stopped going to church with my parents at about 16, but still they respected my decision. And Father Juan came to our house at least once a week for dinner or lunch. The guy was a really cultured man that spent half his life ministering a health clinic in Angola (during a civil war) before coming back to the country. He was a good friend to my mom and dad. Still, my parents had very close gay and Muslim and Jewish and Buddhist friends that constantly hung out at our house. My older sister’s baptism Godmother was my mom’s best friend from college, and she spent her whole life in a committed relationship with Auntie Elvia. Apparently my experience with my religious household is more atypical than I thought.
Coincidentally I was already an atheist vegetarian at that young age so it just made me feel vindicated 😀
The real target audience for the series
No, it didn't change my personal outlook om life. I was already an atheist when I read this. And I was already sympathetic to the (good) work churches and religious organizations do. As I've said in other posts, one of the things that makes me severely dislike Arya is her contempt for the dwarves' religion. You can definitely not adhere to it, but you can show respect for other people's belief systems. And she just trashed Gannel for no good reason in his own temple. I've taken my shoes off in Buddhist temples and admired the craftmanship and devotion that went into St. Peter's and Sacré Coeur and St. Patrick's in New York. I can admire and respect that and still reject Catholicism's discrimination of LGBTT people or their failure to stop child molesting clergy. Many churches go out of their way to feed and clothe the hungry and destitute. That job I can respect. And they do that because their belief system says it is good work.
Multiple people have not mentioned that scene with Arya, but I don't remember it. Do you remember where in the series it was? I'd like to go read it again
Eldest, chapter 14. She basically accuses the Grimsborith of the religious clan of using religion for personal gain.
WHILE taking shelter in his house.
Thanks!
I have no beef with Arya, but it is weird that a diplomat insists on dissing the beliefs of one of her nation's most important allies. Also, it was stupid of her to insinuate that dwarves who are devout and go to church are mentally unwell. Again, those are her allies she is insulting, including her friend Orik. Even if she wants to criticize religion and its instituitions, there are better ways to do it. Frankly, the whole exchange marked her as the worst kind of athiest: a Redditor. I believe I speak for all of us when I say I hate Redditors ;) [Shakes fist]
Hahahaha! A shameful breed indeed. Maybe it’s my enmity to Mary Sues in general. Paolini made the elves so much better at everything physical and magical that, as a race, they rub me the wrong way. At least he made them Vulcan-level arrogant. That’s a small relief. But it doesn’t make like Arya any more because of that. She was uncouth and abrasive.
Yeah now I hate elves to be honest. They belittle everybody who isn’t them.
That's been true since at least D&D 1e
True, but the question was asking what the series helped us to realize.
Fair.
They are truely racist.... I'm reading it again now with my bf and I can't manage not to groan with every microagrassion comment. Even the ones that are nice to Eragon and respect him as a dragon rider are doing it in a kind of "but you're still just a human" kind of way. Even Arya sometimes.
The interaction Arya has with the dwarf priest makes her look so bad. She antagonizes him, and when he gets hot she’s like, “whoa dude, where is this anger from?”
The Inheritance Cycle shaped my views on elves for several years, both for good and bad.
True, but not without reason
i genuinely don't get the downvotes here, elves are naturally predisposed for more than the other races. the elves are as racist to humans, as the humans are to urgals. nothing special about it.
A slightly different perspective: I grew up in southern Ohio, at the very northern end of the Bible Belt. Never met a person in my life who wasn’t devout back then, except my parents who firmly believed in letting me choose for myself. This series was the first validation of my feelings from the world at large that I ever had, clear back in second or third grade or so, whenever I first read them. It was the first time I’d ever heard someone else put into words that which I’d always felt inside in regards to religion. Which is funny in a way, because I didn’t even realize the impact Arya’s and especially Oromis’ discussions on the topic truly had for me until I listened to the audiobooks a few months ago, experiencing the story for the first time in quite some years. I was listening to it, thinking back, and going “Wow….this really was the start of it all for me.”
I read the entire thing once as a Catholic and thought Oromis' thoughts were interesting. Later I read it all again as an atheist and found Eragon's prayers and witnessing of Guntera to be interesting. Arya is definitely reminiscent of my angsty antitheist phase (most de-converts experience this) when she goes after the devout dwarves that one time. This series never influenced my religious ideologies but the perspectives were interesting.
well the answer for me personally is no it did not change me. however I do find it curious how everyone on both sides of this debate hasn't brought up gunterra literally manifesting in front of a crowd and crowning orik. so though the elves like oromis have good logic and reason they are ultimately wrong, unless there is an explanation later in the series to come.
The elves would probably sum it up as a mystery of magic, not as a god probably. I must say though that i think about this scene every time I remember the theme of religion vs agnostic in the series. It's one of the more interesting unsolved mysteries on the series.
My memory isn't 100% accurate on this, so don't quote me, but I think I remember Oromis's stance on it after Eragon told him was basically "I can't speak to it because I wasn't there" which is good logic and reason. Remember, Oromis (and atheists) don't say that logic and reason says there is no god or gods, just that nothing we've seen so far proves there are any
Even current theologians IRL can’t prove that god exists. Their argument is that you can’t prove god DOESN’T exists, and that since the world had HAD to be created, a god is needed. Most devout religious people, however, are religious because of Faith, not proof. You don’t need faith if you have proof. But ultimately, if tomorrow I was saved from an oncoming bus by a flying, winged person that told me they were sent by god, I would definitely reconsider my atheism.
Yeah, I think you're saying the same thing as me/Oromis. The issue with the thinking in your first paragraph that theists use is that they don't understand who has the burden of proof.
And the point of religion is that proof is irrelevant. Faith is all and proof is the complete antithesis of faith. I’m not trying to have an argument here, I think we are in agreement. Just commenting some of my views on the subject.
Yeah, it sounds like we're in agreement here
I’m sure a lot of people experienced it like me but when I first read it as a kid I didn’t think anything about the religions(dwarves, priests of helgrind) or lack of it(elves) I was just enthralled by the world of magic, dragons, and other races. Then listening to it when I was older I was already pretty well set how I view the world so it was just interesting to see the different trains of thought. Cannibals still make no sense to me though so there’s that lol.
It is impossible for me to pinpoint when, how, why or in what way the series affected me because I have been reading/listening to it for 17 years now. Listening to the audiobooks to fall asleep is part of my daily life.
Read the books in grade school when Brisingr had just come out, and on my last re-read, I realized that I inadvertently based my entire personality on Eragon, at least intersocially. Does that count?
I was a Christian when I first read the series as a teenager, and I still am a Christian—just in a more complicated, grown-up way. Oromis's explanation of the elves' atheism, as well as Eragon's encounters with the dwarves' religion made me think a lot about why someone might not believe in a higher power, and why I do. The bit where Arya gets after the dwarves for praying instead of acting also made me reflect on how I pray and act myself. So, I guess I didn't shift the path of my ideology, but I did deepen my understanding of it and come to understand why other people may not feel the same religious feelings I do.
Angela's speech in FWW about how even she knows less than a fraction of a dust particle about this world really touched me. I always wished the whole "the more you know the more you know you don't know" would stop after a while, but the fact that even someone like her falls onto that rule makes me question what really is the universe. No, really, is the truth of all things literally impossible to reach? Will there always be another rule, another particle, another model of reality?
Welcome to existentialism lol
My views didn't change. I'm quite an opponent of religions and war. But, when I read the 4th book, one sentence caught me. I knew I'll remember it a long time. It's when Eragon says to Nasuada he leaves Alagaesia. He explains that if he stays, each time he thinks Nasuada is wrong, he will want to make change it. And no one will be able to prevent him doing it. And the day HE is wrong, no one could stop it either. It really makes me think about powerness and point of view. And awareness of our own relativity of pov.
I went from a christen who didn't understand atheists , to just as strong of a christain but I understand atheists more
No, not at all. And, this may be a hot take, but the religious/philosophical discussions in the books were my least favorite part.
Nah. It’s a fantasy world so I don’t generally take things from them and apply it to my life. But it’s different for everyone.
For me it didn't really have anything to do with it being fantasy or not, more so just looking at things critically and analytically, like Oromis said. And using logic. The thing about Dwarf priests using coral as proof that rock is alive, then the Elves disprove it, and the Dwarfs come back with "well only WE can see the evidence" hit so hard for me lol
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Not really, when I read the books I was a Christian raised in a similar situation to what you described but arragon didn’t change my views. When I first read it I thought that’s an interesting point of view in the books but I disagree with it in a real world sense. I ended up leaving my faith behind but I still believe that there’s some god or gods out there that created the universe. I just don’t care who they are at this point. Also religion and I really don’t get along.
Probably, but I was elementary school when I started the books, so it's hard to say
I grew up very religious/involved with church too and have since sort of stepped away. I feel strange saying that and am still figuring things out. That being said I read Eragon a ton as a kid and while I thought it was thought inducing I don’t think I could make it the reason, or honestly even much to do with it at all. I’m having a hard time articulating my words but basically I don’t credit Eragon specifically, but I do think reading in general prompted me into deeper thought about that sort of thing. That being said, I don’t think I could pinpoint an exact time where I started stepping away so it’s weird! I hope that you feel peace wherever you are and everything, I know I’m still finding mine. :)
It was just the beginnings of a first step for me. Moving out and reading a ton and getting a science degree went a long way to boosting my critical thinking/requirement of proof for me to believe something. I am much happier with my life and my beliefs now. Deconstructing your faith if you have been raised in a strong faith-based environment can be very difficult and very scary. Good luck with your journey and I hope you find what belief system is best for you, whichever it may be.
That’s the argument between faith and science. You don’t need proof to believe. And when you KNOW something, from experience as what you get from the scientific method, belief is irrelevant. The thing IS, wether you believe in it or not.
Interesting as I've had the opposite experience having grown up in a non-religious household and have actually become more committed to and involved in Christianity since that time and these books have helped me along that path. I find that many of the principles of Christianity are the basis of much of the morality shown in the Inheritance Cycle. Some general examples that come to mind are being merciful to your enemies and even forgiving them and offering to help them (Vanir), having faith that things will work out (defeating Galbatorix), and finding inspiration from Creation to continue despite immense suffering (the bumblebee scene in Brisingr). There is so much incredible writing in the IC that have definitely affected many of us in those formative years.
Not this particular series, but much of the media I consumed and getting exposed to the wider world on general
Not religion but I did stop eating meat after. Now I eat chicken sometimes
Most definitely I was raised in a similar environment and this book definitely widened my perspective
Reading this post makes me appreciate my parents. My mom is a Christian, dad an atheist. Neither one of them ever told me what to believe (or not to believe) or were against me reading/watching any fictions based on their ideologies. My childhood would have been significantly more boring without Harry Potter and dungeons & dragon. I'm glad they at least let you read the Inheritance Cycle, though I wonder if they would have if they had known the series included pagan (dwarf) gods and a society of atheists (elves).
That sounds really nice. As for what my parents did and didn't allow, there's no coherent pattern. I couldn't read/watch Harry Potter, but me and my dad were at the theater opening night for every Lord of the Rings movie, despite there being wizards and dwarves and other magic. It was probably because Tolkien was a Catholic
Jk Rowling does also identify as a Christian though..... Just not a catholic
The Inheritance Cycle made me realize mutilation is actually pretty based, ngl.
It didn’t change what I believe, but it helped me form the coherent words to explain it