A Briefing, and a Sensible Response to The Golden Compass
"The Christian faith is not about to be toppled by a film, nor by a series of fantasy books. Pullman has an agenda that is clear, and Christians need to inform themselves of what this agenda is and what it means. At the same time, nothing would serve his agenda better than to have Christians speaking recklessly or unintelligently about the film or the books."
Minister, columnist and commentator; Dr. Albert Mohler, has posted a well-written opinion piece about the new movie "The Golden Compass," which is causing an uprising in the Believing community. The series of books on which the film is based, "His Dark Materials," written by self-proclaimed atheist, Phillip Pullman, is deemed to be largely anti-Christian.
Dr. Mohler explores the premise of the movie, and the books, pointing out why Christians do have cause for concern.
"…the movie is based in a story that is captivating, sophisticated, and truly interesting," says Mohler. "Philip Pullman is a skilled writer and teller of tales. His invented worlds of The Golden Compass and the entire His Dark Materials trilogy are about as good as the fantasy genre can offer. His characters are believable and the dialogue is constant—largely due to Pullman's brilliant invention of a companion for each character—a "daemon."
"Pullman's attack on Biblical Christianity is direct and undeniable. He once questioned why his books attracted little controversy, even as the Harry Potter books attracted so much. He told an Australian newspaper that he is ‘saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God.'"
But Dr. Mohler goes on to offer some wisdom in responding to this film, as a people informed and concerned, but not hysterical or fearful.
"A good first step would be to take a deep breath. The Christian faith is not about to be toppled by a film, nor by a series of fantasy books. Pullman has an agenda that is clear, and Christians need to inform themselves of what this agenda is and what it means. At the same time, nothing would serve his agenda better than to have Christians speaking recklessly or unintelligently about the film or the books.
"This is about the battle of ideas and worldviews. While Christians will not celebrate the release of this film, we should recognize the mixture of challenge and opportunity that comes with millions of persons watching this film and talking about the issues it raises. When the movie is mentioned in the workplace, in school, on the playground, or in the college campus, this is a great opportunity to show that Christians are not afraid of the battle of ideas.
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ has enemies; this we know. Christian parents must be informed about His Dark Materials and inform others. We must take the responsibility to use interest in this film to teach our own children to think Biblically and to be discerning in their engagement with the media in all forms. We should arm our children to be able to talk about this project with their classmates without fear or rancor.
"Philip Pullman has an agenda, but so do we. Our agenda is the Gospel of Christ—a message infinitely more powerful than that of The Golden Compass. So let's get our bearings straight as we think and talk about The Golden Compass. This movie does represent a great challenge, but a challenge that Christians should always be ready to meet."
To read the entire informative commentary by Dr. Mohler, follow the link provided.
