PSA: The Truth About “The Golden Compass”
I am a Catholic Christian, but I try not to force my beliefs on others as I am still resolving truths for myself. However, I don’t like devious marketing schemes meant for ill intent. I want to inform my readers that a new movie, based on a very popular book series, is now being marketed for its upcoming release. The movie is The Golden Compass.
The author, Phillip Pullman, has stated very clearly that his “books are about killing God”. Snopes.com, a myth-busting website that I often consult, has researched this issue and assures us that the rumors are true. You can see the Snopes article here.
A church associate wrote up this synopsis of the issue:
There will be a new children’s movie out in December called “The Golden Compass”. The movie has been described as “atheism for kids” and is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled “His Dark Materials” written by Phillip Pullman, a militant atheist and secular humanist who despises C. S. Lewis and the “Chronicles of Narnia”. His motivation for writing this trilogy was specifically to counteract Lewis’ symbolisms of Christ that are portrayed in the Narnia series.
Clearly, Pullman’s main objective is to bash Christianity and promote atheism. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that “my books are about killing God.” He has even stated that he wants to “kill God in the minds of children”. It has been said of Pullman that he is “the writer the atheists would be praying for, if atheists prayed.”
In the trilogy, a young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of asenile God. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as “a very powerful and convincing mistake.” In the final book, characters representing Adam and Eve eventually kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH.
“The Golden Compass” is set to premier on December 7, during the Christmas season, and will probably be heavily advertised.
The movie stars a famous Catholic actress, Nicole Kidman. It is planned as a three part series. The first installment is very tame. It is planned to allow the series to become more overtly anti-Christian as it plays out. Then, unwitting parents, may buy the entire three-set installment for their family only to inadvertently plant the seed of doubt. It is a really devious marketing technique…
I understand that “The Chronicles of Narnia” could be portrayed as the same devious method of implanting the idea of God in the minds of children, but as a Christian, I accept that method. I have an open mind to all ideas of faith, but as a Christian, I disagree with the methods of presenting these alternative ideas to children being raised as Christians (or Muslim, Hindu, or any other God-oriented faith). I invite all people to research your faith (or lack of) further and make your own conclusions, but be aware of how it is presented.
I’m going to put this comment first, although I’m leaving it after many of you have commented.
I love the debate, but will only defend myself on a few points. I am in fact reading the book, and most likely I will watch the movie. I have considered switching to Buddhism, Hinduism, and a few other religions in the past, but decided “why bother”. Although I don’t believe in all of the Catholic (or even Christian) teachings, that’s my own problem or issue.
Also, I don’t mind a good, healthy debate about anything, but just like I make assumptions about the full intentions of the movie based on words by the author, it seems some of you are making assumptions about my own intentions with my faith based on a few of my own words.
I get fired up about stuff when it doesn’t make sense to me. However, when someone can logically explain it to me, then I understand (even though I don’t always accept). I UNDERSTAND why atheists think there’s no God, but I FEEL like there’s something more powerful. Whether the god/God is acting in our lives or not is what I can’t make out, and never will until MAYBE when I die. Until then, I’m just feeling my way along blindly like every one of you. No one can say why we’re here and what comes after death. Period.
But I don’t discount many of your arguments, as long as they’re placed in a non-bashing way to myself, my family, my faith (however little or misunderstood), or other readers.
Thanks.
If it is true, I don’t have a problem with it one way or another – that’s the advantage of a free society. There are plenty of movies promoting god, so I don’t have a problem with one of the opposite. I am not a religious person at all, but I was raised Catholic. I guess it is only fair for movies to be made and shown on both sides, and parents can decide to take their kids or not. Your quote “implanting the idea of God in the minds of children, but as a Christian, I accept that method” is why some people would approve of this movie, which does the opposite. Who knows – Snopes is wrong a lot, and it would not surprise me if they were off on this one. After all, I believe Kidman is a Christian, as she would not go along with Cruise in the Scientology cult.
c’mon – “I have an open mind to all ideas of faith, but as a Christian, I disagree with the methods of presenting these alternative ideas to children being raised as Christians (or Muslim, Hindu, or any other God-oriented faith).”
So, you’re open minded to questions of faith as long as faith is not questioned?
Would you allow your children to watch movies that depicted Muslim or Jewish beliefs? Would you use that as a topic of conversation? – “Yes, different religions have different beliefs. But since I am your parent and my parents were born in a time and nation that espouses Christianity, those other people are wrong.”
But allowing your children to ask, “Why should I believe in God?” is too damaging? Why shouldn’t they be able to ask that? Do you have an answer? Does your church have an answer?
Your God can’t take an attack from one author of children’s books? Are you afraid that your faith would be swayed by a single rational idea? That your children would smoke pot if they don’t believe in god?
If you’re “strong” in your delusional faith then watching a movie that questions your faith in a delusion will only strengthen it. (A test of faith.)
If you’re weak, then just maybe, you will be able to tell the difference between the real world (of credit card debt) and imaginary all powerful beings. If so, I would be glad to welcome you to the world of rational thought.
That’s the real problem that I see. You give all of this rational advice about making smart financial decisions. You have graphs and make analyses on your blog on the internet, but you insist that there’s an all powerful being that could change anything he wants at anytime. Do you pray before you post a story? “God, let these bits get through to the server unchanged.” No? But you do pray, “God, change something intangible in my brain to make me want to do the right things.”
Also, a Catholic God doesn’t want you to wear a condom. What’s up with that? What’s the rational financial advice to a Catholic family in debt with a mortgage they cannot afford? Stop having children! No, that will offend the invisible all powerful person who told me to act irrationally!
Please. Please. Stop.
I am not the most eloquent atheist out here. Please read the God Delusion. I read it and said, “Duh. What self-aware animal cannot understand the follies of faith.” Maybe you haven’t asked yourself these questions. Please do. I cannot promise 72 virgins or infinite harp music, but I can promise you intellectual honesty. It’s gotta be worth something…
^ The opposite of what he/she said 😛
I think it’s a terrible idea to put such things in children’s books/movies. Even though it is the responsibility of the parent to screen what your children do, you’re not going to be able to limit everything they do. In those cases, it is the author/writer who is leaving impressions on your child, whether they be good or bad.
All of us have a biased opinion coming in on this. Just look at the comment above mine. You should obviously discuss this with family/kids/friends/whatever, but you shouldn’t outright condemn someone for thinking or believing differently than yourself (I’m looking at you “rational being”).
Tim- Just curious – would you think it is bad to make movies promoting god? I really don’t care either way, but I am genuinely curious what people think…
And as for R/B – while you make valid points, attacking Clever Dude for his opinion does not make yours more valid…
Lol, rational being is kind of angry. You were questioning his/her faith. 😉 You see, he/she believes something and can’t prove it but thinks it’s the best answer, so s/he must feel threatened. It’s hard to feel threatened. I guess s/he was trying to make you feel threatened too….
As regards the movie, I’ve heard that some people are angry that it’s less about “deicide” and more about questioning societal belief structures (including but not limited to God). They feel his point has been watered down. I haven’t seen it myself, I’m just reporting what I’ve heard online.
1. “Catholic Christian”
As opposed to being a Catholic Muslim or Catholic Hindu?
2. I thought you were too sensible to use the reasoning that it’s okay for Group A to use a method; but it’s wrong for Group B to use that method simply because you aren’t a member of Group B. Apparently I was wrong.
3. The director has repeatedly stated that many of the religious themes from the book have been watered down and even eliminated.
David – no I wouldn’t, but that’s also part of MY bias. At least the God I believe in promotes love above all else.
Have you read the book?
It is probably one of the greatest children stories written in the last 25 years. It evokes many different worlds and weaves magical spells of the imagination. It has brilliantly drawn characters and managers to cover aspects of quantum physics, morality, and philosophical questions about innocence and experience.
In the His Dark Materials universe, the Authority claims to be the creator of all things (or has it claimed on his behalf – the Authority is old), but he is not, merely being the first conscious being to arise.
It is true that the trilogy rails against the rigid enforcement of dogma, and declares that the most important things are being the best person that you can be.
The Catholic Church of Lyra’s world does not come across well – it does however bear little resemblance to the Catholic Church that I know. The Catholic Church of Will’s world (and by extension ours) comes across much better.
The books are suitable for the 10+ audience. I suggest that the film be viewed likewise. A faith unexamined is not a faith worth having – even for a pre-teen.
While everyone can have their opinion, I do have trouble with “promotes love above all else” – there have been more wars and death in the name of various gods than anything else. That’s not to say belief in a god is a bad thing or a good thing, it’s just that “man” makes it a bad thing sometimes, that’s all…
Well said plonkee – “A faith unexamined is not a faith worth having” – I could not agree more.
David – just because wars were fought in the name of some god doesn’t mean it was what said god would have wanted. 😉
But yes, I also agree on the “A faith unexamined is not a faith worth having”. It is a good thing to wrestle with your own faith to find out what you truly believe.
Very true Tim, that’s why I mentioned “man” – they always screw everything up 😉
Oh this is such rubbish, and I’m so disappointed to find yet another one of my favorite personal finance blogs has decided to bring religion into the mix. That article you quote makes it sound like this movie is a hushed plot by Hollywood to bring down the church. Are you really worried that your children are going to abandon Christianity because a CGI polar bear attacks an evil entity which happens to be a god? Religious followers are so quick to attack anything which in any way resembles a threat to their beliefs.
“Pullman has found support from other Christians, most notably Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. These groups and individuals contend that Pullman’s negative portrayal of the “Church” in His Dark Materials amounts to an attack on dogmatism and the use of religion to oppress, not on Christianity itself. Dr. Williams has gone so far as to propose that His Dark Materials be taught as part of religious education in schools. Moreover, authors of works dedicated to critical appraisals of religious themes in his writing have described Pullman as a friendly and generous debating partner.
Other Christian writers, such as Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware, while finding his anti-Christian position troubling, “also uncover spiritual themes within the books, which, like shafts of light, break through an otherwise gloomy universe—despite Pullman’s best efforts to keep them out. In the end, the authors argue that Pullman offers an unwitting tribute to the God he intended to discredit.” in their book Shedding Light on His Dark Materials.”
Sadly unsubscribed from your RSS feed.
Love the site normally, and will continue to read it but it is things like this that have driven me so wholeheartedly away from all things Christian.
“I understand that “The Chronicles of Narnia†could be portrayed as the same devious method of implanting the idea of God in the minds of children, but as a Christian, I accept that method.”
This sort of hypocrisy is just sad. You are aware of and fine with your double standard. Christians seem to sit around and spout how open-minded and how they respect faiths other than theirs.. and then attack anything besides their faith and when its the same faith, attacking different denominations.
I was raised Catholic and I find it difficult to imagine how people are still in the church when the hierarchy does so little about MASSIVE problems in the faith. I won’t bring them up here, as they are tired and caked in the mud they’ve been drug through, but any Catholic knows the myriad of issues the church has experienced in the last 5, 10, 20 years.
As for your ‘church associate’ that wrote up this issue.. this and snopes is the depth of the research you have put into this? Do you feel the type of people that pass out pamphlets and spend their time proselytizing at church functions are the rational, unbiased opinions you should be taking to heart so quickly?
I think you said it all in the quote above. If you don’t see anything wrong with that statement, there is little I or anyone else can say or do to make you see past your blinders. Hunker down, stick your head in the sand and keep repeating your empty platitudes and hopefully nothing else will come along to question your faith ever again.
Clever Dude,
“I understand that “The Chronicles of Narnia†could be portrayed as the same devious method of implanting the idea of God in the minds of children, but as a Christian, I accept that method.”
I’m sorry but I must respectfully disagree with that statement as it seems very hypocritical to critize The Golden Compass but accepting Narnia. Why is one OK, but not the other?
Additionally, I would reserve judgement on the movie until one actually sees it. My wife and I saw the Chronicles of Narnia and while the Christian undertones were there (i.e. Lewis’s Lord, Liar or Lunatic argument), it was still an enjoyable fantasy movie. Not great, but still enjoyable.
I’m hoping that this movie will be the same but it could very well suck. Plus, I don’t see how one could consider this a “devious marketing attempt”. Nothing you pointed to marks it as such. Yes, the author is an atheist, but that’s pretty much the only piece of evidence you give for your assertion.
Moreover, as we all know, a movie and a book can be strikingly different.
This is an interesting take on the Christian reaction to the release of the movie.
I agree with other posters that CD is hypocritical in that using movies to promote God is OK, but the inverse is not.
Blind faith may not be such a good thing. Retaining your faith in the face of those that wish to discredit you is the true test of faith.
Having an open dialog with your children about your beliefs involves showing both sides. Saying, “You’ll believe this because I believe this” just turns people away.
Your children are more likely to accept your faith when they see you embrace it when all others deride you for it.
well i must be a dumbass. i read the whole series and never really picked up on an anti-god theme. very enjoyable books. i’ll take my kids to it no problem.
I find it hypocritical that you can accept the Christian tones of “The Chronicles of Narnia” while unable to cannot accept the athiest tones of “The Golden Compass” & then comment that everyone should have an open mind. How Catholic of you. 😉
As plunkee said, A faith unexamined is not a faith worth having. Children should be encouraged to think for themselves & not indoctrinated per their parents wishes. We are their guardians not their masters.
I strongly agree with everything Jon wrote above. Having read the trilogy, I thought the first book in particular was one the best books I’ve read in a long time. The second and third were also good, but I thought weaker. And on the strength of the *story* — which I never perceived as preaching any kind of agenda — I plan to see the film.
I’m frankly disappointed that so many people have jumped on this bandwagon without having read the books in their entirety.
It’s a bummer to see you post this. A real PSA is telling my co-worker that “The Bridge to Terabithia” is about death in childhood and she probably shouldn’t take her boys that are 6 and 9 to see the film because the book was for slightly older kids. I asked her if she was really ready to talk about death with her kids. That’s a warning that is useful regarding content.
Why can’t you let people make their own decisions after seeing the film? I have a friend who adamantly refuse to hear anything whatsoever about a movie before he sees it. Nada. Zip. Being a tabula rasa lets him use his own judgement.
Did this really need a PSA or are you dumbing us down like the rest of the world does? I have parents and as a fully formed adult, I can usually make my own decisions on movies. If you are thinking you are doing a favor to other parents, you might want to say so at the outset. Seeing as you’re not a parent yourself, I can only think your interest in this PSA is purely from a theological angle.
Good for you that you are going to read the books. But you might want to stick to Orson Scott Card if you want religious allegories for entertainment.
People, how about this: Read what I wrote when you’re claiming that I’m saying something, not the excerpt I published from someone else. You’re all putting together thoughts that clearly state otherwise. I’m serious, read what I say closely before commenting.
Mapgirl: You think I’m “not letting people make their own decisions”? Am I stopping people from seeing the movie by going to their homes and tying them up?
Everyone: I think you’re all grown adults, so your idea that I’m somehow prohibiting you from free thought in any way by publishing this post makes you sound like defensive fools. What did I say that makes you so defensive? Seriously.
Everyone, you may like to see an article I just posted about what I actually believe. It should help calm many of your fears that I’m trying to tell you how to parent or what to believe 😛
Article: Faith & Hypocrisy
I read The Golden Compass (and the other two books in the series) a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed them (though the last book really bogs down). I know now that it is anti-religion and that Pullman is very open about his views. But I just thought The Golden Compass was well-written and a compelling story – I wanted to know what happened next, which is what I look for most in a novel. I didn’t even pick up on the anti-religion message but glossed right over it. I am very comfortable with my faith – so I don’t find this story threatening in any way. I’d have a problem if the message was intended to be concealed, but in this case it’s not. (And for what it’s worth, I didn’t feel you were being preachy, it just seemed like you thought the message is being hidden, which I don’t think it is.)
Only 2 points I have to make regarding this: 1) when I was a child, I read the Narnia series about a million times. I never, ever, ever saw a religious theme in it, and I was raised a conservative Christian. It was not until college that someone mentioned it and I was like, “oh…. yeah….I see it now.” I have kids and they aren’t terribly introspective. If they do go see the movie (as they probably did with the Narnia movie) they’ll take it at face value, I’m sure. It’s a movie, not a subliminal message or a mallet over the head.
2) I read the Pullman series a few years ago and found it deadly dull (I learned about the atheist principles of it later and couldn’t even remember what the books were even about). So I’d really rather not spend $20 on that drivel masquerading as children’s fiction. Of course I hated Lemony Snicket too, and Harry Potter, so there you are 😀