The Golden Compass

What Is Wrong With This Movie?

 

The movie The Golden Compass is scheduled for theatrical release on December 7, 2007.  This is a "Big Budget" movie staring Nicole Kidman and other well known actors.  The movie is based upon the book of the same name, which is the first part of a trilogy of books titled His Dark Materials, followed by The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, all written by Philip Pullman.

 

His Dark Materials is a coming of age story about two children, Lyra and Will, who travel to various worlds and universes eventually journeying to the Land of the Dead to battle God.  At the end of the series the Authority (God) is shown as an old and frail being that has lost control of creation and eventually dies.

 

Author Philip Pullman's views on religion are clearly stated on his website.

 

I don't profess any religion; I don't think it's possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words ''spiritual'', or ''spirituality''; but I think I can say something about moral education, and I think it has something to do with the way we understand stories.[1]

 

Every week new movies are released, many marketed to children and this one in particular will likely be followed by toy merchandising, video games, a sudden growth in the popularity of the book series and eventually two sequels.  This movie has what most kids (and many adults) want - excellent special effects, adventure, devices with special powers, ray guns and talking creatures.  Star Wars, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean contain these things and have completely captured the imaginations (and cash) of children and adults around the world.  Although many find these stories and films questionable or offensive, there is one key difference.  This series blatantly challenges your Christian faith.

 

Here are some excerpts from the series:

 

"'The knife,' he went on after a minute, 'they never knew what they were making, those old philosophers. They invented a device that could split open the very smallest particles of matter, and they used it to steal candy. They had no idea that they'd made the one weapon in all the universes that could defeat the tyrant. The Authority. 'God.'"[2]

 

"The Authority, God, the Creator, the Lord, Yahweh, El, Adonai, the King, the Father, the Almighty - those were all names he gave himself. He was an angel like ourselves - the first angel, true, the most powerful, but he was formed of Dust as we are and Dust is only a name for what happens when matter begins to understand itself. Matter loves matter. It seeks to know more about itself, and Dust is formed. The first angels condensed out of Dust, and the Authority was the first of all. He told those who came after him that he had created them, but it was a lie."[3]

 

"...we have to build the Republic of Heaven where we are, because for us there is no elsewhere."[4]

 

"The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake, that's all."[5]

 

The purpose of this essay is not to start an argument about what movies Christians should or should not see or to tell you what to do.  However, as a believer in Christ, please think about if you should see a movie that is based on a blatantly anti-Christian story written by an author that is hostile to the Faith.  Could exposing yourself or children to this type of material eventually harm faith by planting a seed of doubt?  Do you want to pay Philip Pullman money to write these types of stories?  Do you want your child pretending to be the characters that kill God at the end of the story?  Your response to this essay might be "so what?  The Golden Compass is just a movie."  If that is so, then we do not judge.  Instead:

 

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Romans 14:19

 

This essay was approved for distribution by the Session of Wabash Church on November 13, 2007
 

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