Recently I received the following alarmist chain e-mail from a friend:
“The Golden Compass (UNCLASSIFIED) – Please read the attached article about the new movie called the Golden Compass that will be released this December 7, 2007. It is a children’s movie that was written by an atheist. He is anti- C.S. Lewis. The message of the movie is basically to kill God! Please read this and pass it along to any unsuspecting parents. We definitely don’t want to purchase a ticket by mistake and subject our children to such a horrible movie.”
While we should be careful about what we allow children to read and watch, I am uncomfortable with the assumption that The Golden Compass movie (based on a trilogy of books by Philip Pullman) advocates “killing God” or that it’s message is “anti-C.S. Lewis.” In fact, Pullman does not like The Chronicles of Narnia because he views it as being “blatantly racist” and “monumentally disparaging of women.” Also, the inspiration behind the novels is, in part, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, a poem, though controversial in nature (it grapples with theological issues like fate, predestination, and the Trinity), is still considered to be one of the greatest works in the English language.
My casual research seems to indicate that the movie/book is merely anti-dogmatic which is certainly a valid complaint against many Christian-based religions (and for that matter, many modern non-Christian religions as well). Although I have not read these novels or seen the movie adaptation, I find no basis for taking such an alarmist position.
Here is a conversation between the author and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams regarding a UK theatre adaptation of the novels (“His Dark Materials”):
