Atheist movie The Golden Compass
angers Church
BY A CORRESPONDENT
November 28, 2007:
A children’s
adventure movie, scheduled to be
released in theatres in December 2007
in the United States, has met with
opposition from various church groups.
he reason
cited: The mission of some of the main
characters in the movie, The Golden
Compass, is to kill God.
The movie
The Golden Compass is based on a
book written by Philip Pullman, who is
a sworn atheist. The book portrays
witches as good, the Church as bad.
And, in the end, God dies.
The movie,
starring Nicole Kidman, is being
released by New Line Cinema, of the
Time Warner Company.
Media quoted
Pastor Brad Bird, of Columbia
Crossroads Church, Columbia, South
Carolina, the United States, as
saying, “The Church has to stand for
something. We have to stand for
something. If someone has an agenda
that goes directly against what we
stand for, it’s a pretty easy decision
for us.”
And, Pastor
Brad Bird’s decision is obvious: not
to read the book or see the movie.
However,
Professor Donna Freitus, of Boston
University, and a Catholic, has
defended Philip Pullman’s book, saying
that “it is completely opposite of
what most think.” “It’s this story of
salvation and awakening to God not the
death of God. It’s not God at all
who’s dying. It’s the first angel – a
corrupt angel who has ruled with an
iron fist.”
But, Pastor
Brad Bird disagrees with Professor
Donna Freitus by arguing thus, “How
does one know the difference between
the fake god who is killed in the book
and the real one Christians are
supposed to believe in. How are
children supposed to decipher between
the two? My job is to guard my
children. Why would I expose them to
an environment that could potentially
confuse them and their understanding
with God?”
For several
weeks now, the internet has been abuzz
with the controversy over The
Golden Compass.
The website
Snopes.com has a public forum
warning parents about the potential
harm the movie poses to young
Christians minds.
The websites
that favor The Golden Compass
include Beliefnet, which tells parents
that there is no need to worry.
In a
statement, New Line Cinema said, “The
Golden Compass is an exciting,
entertaining fantasy adventure that we
believe audiences will enjoy. The film
is neither anti-Christian nor
anti-religion.”
On his
website, Philip Pullman, the author,
makes his stand clear, “I don’t know
whether there’s a God or not. There
may well be a God somewhere, hiding
away. Actually, if he is keeping out
of sight, it’s because he’s ashamed of
his followers and all the cruelty and
ignorance they’re responsible for
promoting in his name. If I were him,
I’d want nothing to do with them.”
Meanwhile,
the Halton Catholic District School
Board in Toronto, Canada, has
withdrawn the “anti-Catholic,
anti-religion book” The Golden
Compass from its library after
parents complained about them.
However,
according to the newspaper Toronto
Star, the book still remain in the
libraries of neighboring Catholic
school boards in Toronto and York
region.
The Golden
Compass is one among Phillip
Pullman’s trilogy, His Dark Materials,
which includes Northern Lights
(re-titled The Golden Compass),
The Subtle Knife, and The
Amber Spyglass.
In 2001,
Phillip Pullman had told the newspaper
The Washington Post that he was
“deliberately trying to undermine the
basis of Christian belief” and that he
wrote these books “with the intention
of indoctrinating children with
atheistic values.”
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