I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief... I'm not in the business of offending people. I find the books upholding certain values that I think are important, such as life is immensely valuable and this world is an extraordinarily beautiful place. We should do what we can to increase the amount of wisdom in the world. [Washington Post interview, 19 February 2001]

In this remark Pullman distinguishes between polemical intent and ethical purpose. While he acknowledges that his fiction (notably the cosmology and theology of His Dark Materials) challenges core Christian doctrines, he rejects the idea that the work is motivated by a desire to insult believers. Instead, he frames his project as affirming secular-sacramental values: the preciousness of embodied life, the beauty of the material world, and the moral imperative to cultivate wisdom. The quote encapsulates Pullman’s recurring theme that meaning and goodness arise from human responsibility and experience rather than from obedience to religious authority.