The Golden Compass
Doug
By now most of you have heard about the upcoming kids’ movie, The Golden Compass, which will be released December 7th in theaters nationwide. The movie has received much hype because it’s based on a book written by a committed athiest named Phillip Pullman. Supposedly Pullman wrote his book out of hate for the Christian faith and more specifically C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. He’s called Narnia “one of the most ugly and poisonous things” he has ever read. He hopes that with the help of this movie, his books will be flying off the shelf at Christmastime.
So what do we do with The Golden Compass? I’m not here to persuade you to boycott this movie. It’s your choice to watch it or not watch it. Nevertheless, all of us should be familiar with this movie and be able to communicate with our culture about it, just as some of us did with The Davinci Code. No doubt your kids may come to you with questions. What will you say? How you respond to these kinds of things will shape the way your kids respond as they learn from your example. By the way, I think there’s bigger issues to think about concerning our children today. I like what my friend Zach Nielsen has to say below:
Am I worried about this new book infiltrating the brains of my three little ones? Not really.
Here is what I am more concerned with:
1. I am more concerned with the subtle, soul crushing attacks of materialism in our culture that leads my kids at the ages of 5 and 3 to already tell me almost daily what possessions they want to acquire.
2. I am more concerned with the ease and comfort that we live in that may anesthetize them to a need for the gospel.
3. I am more concerned with the reality that they are daily exposed to a Dad that loves them desperately yet regularly falls short of perfection. I pray they will learn to look to Jesus when I fail them.
- Read the rest of Zach’s thoughts here
- Read Christianity Today’s take on the movie here
November 13th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
I love the thoughts you got there. I didn’t have a clue about what this movie was about until I read this. I wouldn’t be very concerned about kids leaving Christianity though. Thinking like that is not very mature and neither is getting upset by a book or movie. Every author has the right to express themselves in any way they feel appropriate.
Like you said, focusing on these trivial matters is not the way to go. There are lots of more urgent things that has to be done.
Without doubt we’ll see a discussion about this movie in the future but I hope it will be more mature than about the Da Vinci Code.
Great post!!
November 13th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Thanks for the link brutha!!!
November 14th, 2007 at 2:22 am
It is sad that books and movies are written in hatred of other books or movies. I hope to keep my children focused on love and not on hatred.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
This series by Phillip Pullman is highly imaginative but also seductive. It carries some really troubling themes (anti-authority, anti-Christian). In a Washington Post interview, Pullman has explicitly said, “I am trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.” Are we to support that explicit anti-Jesus agenda with our dollars?
As for the movie, I anticipate the anti-xn themes will be somewhat hushed. Thoughts?
Ken Meyers/Alan Jacobs covers The Golden Compass series in detail at Mars Hill Audio
November 14th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
I guess I’ll share my two cents on this movie. I think it’s good for us as parents to know what’s going on in the culture to be able to discern and communicate with our children when needed. A movie that is explicitly aimed at undermining Christianity is something that shouldn’t take us by surprise anymore. That’s the age we’re living in. But we don’t need to support the movie. And we don’t need to make it a bigger deal than it needs to be. Perhaps the greatest thing we can do is to pray. Pray for Phillip Pullman that his heart would change just like C.S. Lewis’ did by the miraculous power of the gospel. Then, his creative gifts could be used for the glory of God, not the destruction of God. We could also pray that parents would do more than just keep their children away from movies like this. We could pray that they (that’s me included) would pursue godliness and compassionate awareness of people who deny the gospel.
November 14th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Balanced, pastoral response, doug. thanks. It might be worth adding that going to the film isnt an issue of sin, nor reading the books.
November 16th, 2007 at 12:58 am
i think many people will see it just because they are curious. that is up to them. if it isn’t star wars, lord of the rings or one of the pirates movies or narnia my son (14 years old) isn’t interested. so i am sure we won’t be going. missy