Many of you may be aware of the movie released Friday,
December 7, 2007, “The Golden Compass.”
It’s based on the first book of a
trilogy of children’s books written by Philip Pullman, titled
His Dark Materials. Books from this
trilogy have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. While scenes from
the
movies in television commercials have shown what looks to be a visually
stunning sci-fi adventure, the basis of the books is more sinister.
This first
movie has been toned down to make it more palatable to the audience,
and even
Pullman himself, recently on a “Today” show
interview, remained vague about the
movie and books, claiming he hates that certain people have tried to
imply bias
in the literature, and that he prefers to view it as being open to a
variety of
interpretations.
Actually, we don’t have to wonder what the books are
about at all. Pullman
himself has been quite open as to his agenda in writing about them in
past
interviews. It’s only with the advent of the movies, and the
desire to make
money from them, that the producers have tried to get Pullman,
the actors, and everyone else
involved in it to hide what its theme is about. Pullman himself
stated in a 2001 interview
that he was “trying to undermine the basis of Christian
belief.” In 2003, he
noted, “My books are about killing God.” The last
book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass,
concludes with the
two child heroes participating in the dissolution of the
“Authority,” a senile,
pretender God who has passed himself off as the Creator of the universe.
Pullman
professes to be both an agnostic and an atheist, and has stated,
“I don’t
profess any religion; I don’t think it’s possible
that there is a God. I have
the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words
‘spiritual’
or ‘spirituality.’” These books seem to
be aimed at countering the strong
Christian theme of the children’s books written by C.S.
Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia. Pullman
has stated he
believes these books to be one of the ugliest and most poisonous things
he’s ever
read, due to its strong Christian influence. He has stated he hates the
Narnia books with a deep and bitter
passion, and “I wanted to reach everyone and the best way I
could do that was
to write for children.” He truly deserves the title
conservative British
columnist Peter Hitchens coined of him, “the most dangerous
author in Britain.”
While this first movie may not reveal the
anti-religious theme that is in the books, the movie’s
producer has said it
would be impossible to divorce them from the sequels, as it would
“destroy the
spirit of these books.” Viewing this movie will no doubt
create an interest in
the books, where Pullman’s
atheistic philosophy would be presented to unsuspecting young people.
Parents
should be aware of the greater dangers that lurk behind this movie.
This issue simply reminds us how powerful an adversary
Satan is, and how he takes advantage of every opportunity to destroy
us. He
truly is a roaring lion, seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8). We must
beware of
what we allow in our thoughts, because of how those thoughts become
part of our
conscience and lifestyle. As Paul said, we must be engaged in
“destroying
speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of
God, and
we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of
Christ” (2 Corinthians
10:5). Taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ means we must
choose
not to allow our minds to be sabotaged by those with sinful agendas,
eroding
our faith and destroying our souls. Fill your minds and hearts with
that which
is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, being that
which is
excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Scripture must be the
controlling directive for our lives, and everything else judged by its
perfect
and noble standard (Hebrews 4:12-13). There is no greater theme than
the love
of God for us in Jesus Christ, the salvation He offers through the
cross and
the hope it provides of eternal life. These are real, while the angst
of the
likes of Philip Pullman will come and go. As Scripture exhorts,
“Do not be
deceived, God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). “Set
your mind on the things
above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your
life is
hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed,
then you
also will be revealed with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:2-4).
