Golden Compass

[Guest ~Victoria~]

The author Philip Pullman has created a book trilogy that has created some stir. The books are the counter part to C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia". Pullman, who is an atheist, has written these books in hopes of spreading atheism in the minds of children. The new movie coming out on December 7th, "Golden Compass" is based on these books. By the end of the third book the children's mission is to kill God. Pullman calls Christianity, "a very convincing mistake". Below is the website to an article about the movie and the real meaning behind the books. The movie is a mild representation of the books so that children will ask for the books as gifts. Please take a look and spread the word about this horrid movie. The author won't say any synopses of the books and just promotes reading them. Sneaky!!! This is an awful thing to put in the theaters the weeks before Christmas.


[url="http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp"]http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp[/url]

Check it out and let others know. Thanks. God bless.

V

[Carolyn]

My pastor actually wrote about this movie in today's church bulletin and encouraged us not to see it. I actually only saw a commercial for it today, too.

Thanks for pointing this out, V!

[Laudate_Dominum]

I watched an interview with the author of the book and he clearly hates the Catholic Church. He was comparing "organized religion" with totalitarian regimes (such as communist Russia) and it was pretty obvious which "organized religion" he had in mind since all his references related to the Catholic Church, for example, "any religion that tells us that we can't use the birth control pill", or "tells us that we have to speak Latin", et cetera. Gee, I wonder which "organized religion" he hates? Maybe the one with a "Magisterium", the name of the evil empire in his books.

Those books are anti-Catholic hate literature and the movie is a toned down version designed to get parents to buy the books for their kids so that they can be fully indoctrinated in anti-Christian, anti-God, and especially anti-Catholic propaganda. It is sad that many kids will probably find these books in their stalking or under the tree this year for the birthday of Christ.

[sarcasmguy126]

the USSCB (is that right?) was slammed by several other Christian groups for giving this movie a positive review, like they gave a positive one for Brokeback Mountain. The Bishops Conference claimed that "if you have no knowledge of the books you hardly notice the anti-religious material". They even encouraged reading this book with children to point out thorny theology.

Is this right?

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='sarcasmguy126' post='1428216' date='Dec 2 2007, 04:15 PM']the USSCB (is that right?) was slammed by several other Christian groups for giving this movie a positive review, like they gave a positive one for Brokeback Mountain. The Bishops Conference claimed that "if you have no knowledge of the books you hardly notice the anti-religious material". They even encouraged reading this book with children to point out thorny theology.

Is this right?[/quote]
That's lame. The book the movie is based upon is from a trilogy (called Dark Materials I believe) and as I understand it the explicit intention of the author was to produce popular literature geared toward youngsters that would serve to undermine the Christian worldview. My understanding is that the books get progressively worse to the point that the third installment is a pretty overt anti-Christian, anti-God diatribe (as if an evil totalitarian empire called "The Magisterium" is not overt enough). The author is yet another popular spokesman of contemporary militant atheism (along side figures such Richard Dawkins) and supporting this propaganda (geared toward children at that) is pretty despicable in my opinion. Considering that a USCCB committee bashed Mel Gibson's [i]The Passion[/i] by saying such things as, "The Gospels contain anti-Semitic content that the historical Jesus of Nazareth never would have approved of", leads me to approach their opinions with a good bit of skepticism. Seriously, their credibility is about zero in my eyes for giving faithful Catholic assessments of books and movies.

[sunnysideup]

I'm actually doing a project on this for my theology class, I'm really excited. Anyway I would greatly apperciate any and all articles and video clips that you find concerning this series.

I'm also considering reading the books in order to make a better argument agaist them.... how strong will my position seem if I'm basing it off of someonelses interpretation? What do you guys think? Is that a bad idea?

Thank You!!

[Laudate_Dominum]

That's a rather strange assignment for a theology class. Here is one video which shows some obvious anti-Catholicism and in my opinion sheds light on the "magisterium" as presented in the stories.

[url="http://www.stagework.org.uk/webdav/servlet/XRM?Page/@id=6009&Document/@id=792"]http://www.stagework.org.uk/webdav/servlet...ocument/@id=792[/url]

[MStar]

[quote]I'm actually doing a project on this for my theology class, I'm really excited. Anyway I would greatly apperciate any and all articles and video clips that you find concerning this series.

I'm also considering reading the books in order to make a better argument agaist them.... how strong will my position seem if I'm basing it off of someonelses interpretation? What do you guys think? Is that a bad idea?[/quote]

Personally, I don't think it's a bad idea - if you're going to be writing about the books, you should be able to take examples directly from them.
My agnostic friend and I were actually just talking about these books this morning, he said he was re-reading them in anticipation of the movie and that he would lend them to me when he was done. So then I told him how I felt about the author picking on the Magisterium and we discussed it for awhile. But I told him I would read them, cause I figure it will open the door to some interesting theological disscussion I'll definetly read it with a notebook and a critical eye, but I feel that I can't honestly take a stand for or against something unless I really know what it's about.
I don't know if I'll see the movie though, I don't want to give my money to something that's anti-Catholic.

[sunnysideup]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' post='1428248' date='Dec 2 2007, 04:33 PM']That's a rather strange assignment for a theology class. Here is one video which shows some obvious anti-Catholicism and in my opinion sheds light on the "magisterium" as presented in the stories.

[url="http://www.stagework.org.uk/webdav/servlet/XRM?Page/@id=6009&Document/@id=792"]http://www.stagework.org.uk/webdav/servlet...ocument/@id=792[/url][/quote]

The class is actually called Morality. We were supposed to pick a subject (abortion, pre-marital sex, etc.) and then present the secular views and the views of the Catholic Church. My partner and I origanally decided to do adult humor in childrens movies but when we heard about this we refocused our subject on the Golden Compass.

[jeffpugh]

Here is some interesting commentary on the subject:

[quote][size=3]Hi everyone,[/size] [size=3] I am dedicating this article to an area of pure faith from which I, personally, am excluded - that of atheism. In my opinion it takes far more faith to be an atheist, than it does to be a theist (that's what we are), and I simply do not possess that kind of faith. [/size] [size=3] Firstly, to be an atheist, you must, by necessity, close your mind to [i]all[/i] [i]possible[/i] explanations, and restrict yourself to the physical realm. If you are open to all possibilities, then you must be practising some level of agnosticism. (I believe an agnostic is a cowardly atheist, but I digress). So to be an atheist you need to limit yourself in your deliberations - always a worrying characteristic if you intend to [i]reason[/i] something out. For example, if you tell an evolutionist that your house just happened to come together by pure chance; bricks, mortar, wiring, plumbing, interior decorating and furnishings, he or she would think you are insane, yet that same evolutionist would have you believe that complex organic entities (including human beings) did just that. They see no logical contradiction in their thinking, because they have faith in evolution as fact.[/size] [size=3] To be honest, I have to say that in the field of apologetics, I enjoy those times when I can role-play an atheist to challenge Christians. Mind you, it is often easy to confuse the average atheist. I had one atheist tell me he wanted to play [i]the Devil's advocate, [/i]but I explained that he could not advocate for an entity that does not exist in his worldview, and he had to rethink his approach, much to his chagrin. The problem is that many of us know what we believe [i]in faith[/i] (the final product; Christianity, atheism, humanism, etc) but we have a difficult time explaining to others [i]why[/i] we believe. [/size][size=3]In terms of the atheistic worldview, however, there are many who would champion the cause. [/size] [size=3] At the present time, that hotbed of atheistic apologetics, the UK, is bombarding the best-seller charts with philosophically atheistic books, both fiction and non-fiction. The question is; how do we deal with them? It has been suggested to me in emails, that we "protect" our children from the books and movies that promote or rely on, a purely atheistic worldview. The book that appears in the subject line of this email, for example, has been made into a major motion picture that looks ready to take the ratings by storm this Christmas. The author, Philip Pullman, is a preacher of atheism, and his preaching is done through fiction. Worse than that is the fact that his primary audience is children and youth - yikes! How will we protect them from the big, bad atheist?[/size] [size=3]The Catholic School board has decided to "pull" the book from its libraries, while they have meetings to decide what to do about it. If I were a catholic student, I would swim oceans and climb mountains to read what [i]they[/i] did not want me to read (ostensibly for my own good). I remember in my early teens, passing around an illicit copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence, just to find out exactly what the rude bits were that [i]they[/i] did not want me to read. Had [i]they [/i]not made a fuss, I would not have had the slightest knowledge about the rude bits.[/size] [size=3]Now here's a crazy idea, how about raising our kids in an environment that teaches them to think critically about what they believe, and enables them to [i]"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." [/i][b]1 Peter 3:15[/b]? A well grounded Christian (young or old) does not waiver in their belief, simply because an alternative is offered or promoted. Immersing our children in scripture and teaching them to [i]think [/i]for themselves, rather than repeating by rote our own teachings, will equip them to face Satan in the real world. If we read the book or watch the movie, will we not be better equipped to discuss with our kids the counterarguments? Better still, why not watch it with them? I have this weird idea that anything that gives me an opportunity to share the gospel is a good thing. I'll take those opportunities any way they come.[/size] [size=3]Pullman, the atheist, has to invent a supernatural world in order to prove that his worldview of the purely physical is logical. That stretches logic to the snapping point, but he does, however, raise some interesting points of discussion for us believers. He writes of the oppression of the Magisterium (the Church) throughout the history of his fictional world. The parallels are clear with the history of Christendom. I use the word Christendom in order to differentiate the actions of the established "Church," from those of the Body of Christ. "The Church" has carried out atrocities in the name of our Lord, but that does not mean that our Lord condoned or commanded it. Pullman may have a valid point here, one made by Dawkins in The God Delusion, and Hitchens in God is Not Great; How Religion Ruins Everything. We believers need to draw attention to the difference between religious bodies that profess Christ, and behave otherwise, and the Body of Christ that has quietly served him in true love, and continues to do so to the present day.[/size] [size=3]What about Pullman's argument that God imposes rules upon us that stop us [i]enjoying [/i]life? He gives [i]seemingly[/i] clear examples in his novel. What would you tell your kids in counterpoint?[/size] [size=3]I also need to state that some of my favourite fiction authors are atheistic evolutionists. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child write intelligent, exciting novels, overflowing with fleshed out, believable characters. The science is definitely a promotion of the evolutionary viewpoint, but hey, it's very entertaining. So far they have not swayed me to their worldview - why? Because I am well grounded in my faith! James Rollins is another author who intelligently promotes evolution through his novels. He often causes me to reason out counterarguments, which I believe to be a good thing. And I really enjoy his novels![/size] [size=3]In the realm of novels and movies, I often like to check my brain at the door and slip into a world of someone's imagination. You see, I always come back to the real world after my excursion is over. If we parents and grandparents are strong in our faith and able to articulate why, our kids can also make forays into the world of make-believe and return home safely. Harry Potter only becomes a problem when we neglect our responsibility in Christ toward our children.[/size] [size=3]God bless,[/size] [size=3]P.[/size][/quote]

This guy is a Pentecostal Apologist. I got it in an email from a Catholic friend, but she must have got it from someone who goes to that eclesial community. I know someone else (Heshmafluff) who goes to the same "church" and he speaks fondly of this guy. I have to admit, he's pretty good. At first, I sorta thought the author was Catholic till I saw the name. It sorta made me go when I saw him sorta fall into the "bad majesterium" trap that the Pullman puts in his liturature.

[kafka]

[Psalm 13]
{13:1} Unto the end. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They were corrupted, and they have become abominable in their studies. There is no one who does good; there is not even one.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='sunnysideup' post='1428370' date='Dec 2 2007, 10:07 PM']The class is actually called Morality. We were supposed to pick a subject (abortion, pre-marital sex, etc.) and then present the secular views and the views of the Catholic Church. My partner and I origanally decided to do adult humor in childrens movies but when we heard about this we refocused our subject on the Golden Compass.[/quote]
Cool. Please post anything you learn in the process since I'm sure many people around here are curious.

[scardella]

The funny thing is that if it didn't call the enemies the MAGISTERIUM and there wasn't any publicity about it being anti-Catholic/Christian/theism, I would have totally gone to see it based on the trailers.

[Laudate_Dominum]

[quote name='scardella' post='1428721' date='Dec 3 2007, 05:41 PM']The funny thing is that if it didn't call the enemies the MAGISTERIUM and there wasn't any publicity about it being anti-Catholic/Christian/theism, I would have totally gone to see it based on the trailers.[/quote]
Yeah, it stinks cuz the trailer did look kind of cool.

[littleflower+JMJ]

[url="http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11159"]http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11159[/url]