The Golden Compass: What's the Deal?
I will have to say that it was not until recently that I became aware of The Golden Compass, Phillip Pullman or the His Dark Materials trilogy. But after reading several articles online and several interviews with Pullman it is very clear that his agenda in these books is to destroy the Christian church and to debunk the idea of God. Just think of this trilogy as the polar opposite of Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. In fact Pullman described Lewis's work as "one of the most ugly and poisonous things I ever read."
So what's the deal? Should we protest, picket, hoot and holler, and raise a ruckus at the movie theater when The Golden Compass releases? Well, No....I don't think so...but I do believe that we should be informed. You should "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."(1Peter 3.15) It is quite possible that within the next week at work, school, church or the grocery store that this movie will come up in conversation as well as the subversive themes it portrays. And if that is the case then we need not be ignorant, rather we should be informed and ready to talk about the issues that come up. I can see the biggest challenge coming from uninformed parents and family members who take their kids to see the movie...the kids love the movie and then for Christmas the parents buy them the entire trilogy all the while not realizing that the books are about killing God, the idea of the Christian church and original sin.
So, if you are a parent I hope that you especially will do some research and become informed on Pullman and the trilogy from which this movie is based upon. I also hope that you will do some thoughtful consideration when deciding if your child should be allowed to watch this movie and even more so when it comes to reading the books. On another note, the movie should actually be good and for that reason I am excited about watching it....not to mention it has the new James Bond actor as a character and he was awesome!
"Atheists express their rage against God although in their view He does not exist." --C. S. Lewis
"A great many of those who 'debunk' traditional...values have in the background values of their own which they believe to be immune from the debunking process." C.S. Lewis--The Abolition of Man
The Golden Compass--A Briefing for Concerned Christians -- Albert Mohler
'The Golden Compass'--Does Not Point to True North -- Ben Witherington III
Is 'Golden Compass' selling atheism to kids? -- CNN Article
Religion Row Hits Pullman Epic -- UK Observer
"The Golden Compass" Sparks Protest -- The Catholic League
6 comments:
I think Mohler gives a balanced view recognizing that Pullman is directly opposed to Biblical Christianity and that we need to be aware of that. He explains that Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials, presents a real challenge that Christians need to engage carefully and intellectually.
Speaking recklessly and unintelligently will more than likely do more harm than good, and a boycott is not likely to keep anyone from seeing the film.
This is not the first attack on biblical Christianity and it will not be the last. Christianity has nothing to hide or to hide from. An attack on the Christian worldview will give us the chance to present the flaws in the atheist worldview. Namely that the atheist worldview depends on the Christian worldview for is very existence. What standard does the atheist have to dismiss the Christian worldview as wrong or harmful? Logic, reason, morality, right and wrong are based in the character of the triune God as revealed in the Bible. Atheists have no way of determining that something is right or wrong, there is no fixed way of defining good or bad. How can Pullman say that Narnia “is one of the most ugly and poisonous things I ever read.” According to what standard is it ugly and poisonous? Under the atheist worldview everything is just the result of chemicals reactions and molecules interacting with one another.
It is probably a good thing most atheist don’t take their worldview to its full and logical extent. Almost all atheists presuppose the Christian worldview and borrow from it. To take a quote from C.S Lewis, “When you are arguing against Him (God) you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.”
I am actually looking forward to seeing the move. It looks like it is going to be a good.
A quote from the CNN article that I agree with:
"Sister Rose Paccate, director of the Pauline Center of Media Studies in Culver City, California, said the books portray benevolence toward children and a God figure -- just one that's much different than the one Christians know.
She sees irony in calls to shun the film, considering that one of Pullman's central themes is that people should not follow orders and forfeit critical thought."
I find that intriguing. If Pullman really is promoting the idea that people should think for themselves and not be controlled by an institution, I'm glad. However, I'm not certain that there aren't other themes throughout Pullman's work that could confuse children or mislead them. But I think there are still a couple things Christians are failing to realize.
I read an interview with Pullman where he made this statement:
"In the world of the story — Lyra’s world — there is a church that has acquired great political power, rather in the way that some religions in our world have done at various times, and still do (think of the Taliban in Afghanistan). My point is that religion is at its best — it does most good — when it is farthest away from political power..."
A lot of Christians even ascribe to the view that religion and politics should remain separate (take, for example, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in DC that advocates for the separation of church and state). Many people just don't realize that oppressive religious regimes are what Pullman is, in fact, attacking (as far as the church goes). Or at least that's what I gather.
Here is another quote from Pullman (MSNBC article) in regards to whether or not he is deliberately promoting atheism in his works:
"As for the atheism, it doesn’t matter to me whether people believe in God or not, so I’m not promoting anything of that sort. What I do care about is whether people are cruel or whether they’re kind, whether they act for democracy or for tyranny, whether they believe in open-minded enquiry or in shutting the freedom of thought and expression. Good things have been done in the name of religion, and so have bad things; and both good things and bad things have been done with no religion at all. What I care about is the good, wherever it comes from."
I don't really see the harm in that. But, as I said earlier, I'm not disagreeing with the fact that there may be many other underlying themes that could very well confuse children. I'll just have to see it for myself.
Here is the link to the MSNBC article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21595083/
I thought about taking some youth from my church to see this movie and use it as a lesson in worldviews.
I think that is the right approach to take when it comes to something like this.
I love it when the church get's their panties in a wad!! I was at school the other day talking to some high school students and for some reason we got off on the Golden Compass. One girl that was there said,
"Don't go see the Golden Compass!!" She was SEROIUS!! So I turned to her and asked her why.
"Well, umm, I don't know, its just evil." To which I replied,
"Really, what's evil about it?" Her great answer was, "I don't know, I just know we shouldn't go see it!!"
Sadly that seems to be the church's response to modern day culture, "I don't know, we just shoudln't go see it." They know nothing about it they just throw a label on it and say stay away.
Samantha has actually read all three books and says they are pretty bad. The first one is pretty much there to get you hooked. Nothing bad in the first one, just a great story. From there the progression goes down hill with ultimately in the third one they kill God.
Am I scared about the movie coming out? Come on, I love what Walk said, theis is not the first attack and this certainly will not be the last attack. I wish, I really wish instead of pulling out our picket signs and boycotting crap all the time, that we would use these chances that culture is giving to start conversations and point people to the truth. Let's not run from it, lets take it and use it to our advantage.
So, yes Samantha and I will be at the movies!
This reminds me of something a Jewish elder in the Sanhedrin said in Acts 5:35-39. Basically, things of human origin are destined to fail; but if it is of God it cannot fail.
This movie may cause a ruckus, but regardless of its original intention, it will ultimately fail. This is not a true threat against Christianity because that is of God and therefore cannot fail.
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