this is the first i've heard of this....but i wanted to share it in case you were interested...thoughts? insights??
check out this link:
http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
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11 comments:
I just heard about this myself and am shocked that such an evil man could want to destroy the lives of innocent children. He want children to not believe in God and wants them to "kill" God in their minds and hearts. He is definitely off my list of authors that I or my children will ever read! And I will never allow my children to see his movies, which are just giving him money to continue his plot to destroy faith.
OK, I know I will probably have the unpopular view but here it is. I think Phillip Pullman is an incredibly talented author. I have read all the books in His Dark Materials series, and thought they were fabulously written, as are many other books he has written. I personally don't think he is out to try to kill God and to get children to not believe in God. Honestly, I saw it more as a jab at conformity and blindly following the leader than anything else, and that is something that really speaks to me. It is fiction, and it is very well written. And for years and years, The Golden Compass was my absolute favorite book. I looked forward to the rest of the trilogy being published and even checked out The Subtle Knife from the Rick's College Library. The Amber Spyglass is the novel in which Lyra "kills" God. And it was very interesting, but admittedly that novel left me feeling a little empty inside. I will probably not read The Amber Spyglass again because of that. But even when I read it, I didn't think of that part as "killing God," it felt more like the killing of "bad" religion (hoping that makes sense to you guys!). It certainly didn't "kill" God in my eyes. I'm sure I'll be standing alone here, but I think another perspective is needed. Everyone seems to be condemning this author because of his religious (or lack thereof) views. I still think that Pullman is an incredible writer and would recommend his books still.
i saw the preview for this movie and had no idea it had those undertones, i guess i'll have to watch it and see what i think. honestly i thought it looked good, but that's just from the preview and the fact that i love nicole kidman. we'll see...
Carolyn, I was glad to read your insight. I haven't read The Golden Compass, but thought it looked good. I saw the thing on Snopes yesterday and, of course, it made me a little leary. There are many good books that some Christians feel are evil (Harry Potter). Anyway, of course if this series is anti-God I want nothing to do with it. However, I want to be sure I'm getting my info from a reliable source.
I guess what I'm saying, is I'm not educated enough to make a decision. But I realize there can be extremists on both sides...a lot of people think Mormons are evil.
Carolyn gives some good insight, she having read the books. I haven't even ever heard of them. The one thing I would say is...just because he is a genius at writing and it is easy to hang on his every word, doesn't mean it's something that is worth my while. I was caught in that trap with the Davinci Code. That book was so well written and I couldn't put it down. But by the time I was finished with the first chapter I had this feeling that I shouldn't continue. But I couldn't put it down. I hated that book, but it was so captivating that I read the whole thing and regret it.
My point is, just because the author knows how to captivate his audience, doesn't make the material worth our time.
I don't know anything about Pullman. I'm sure J.K. Rowling has a questionable lifestyle too, but I loved the Harry Potter series and don't think anything was wrong with those books.
Carolyn probably came away with the author killing bad religion as opposed to God because of who she is and where she is coming from. Where she is coming from is probably where most of us would be.
I guess we just have to read it if we care to find out!
I don't know why the last comment came up as my parents, but the person who wrote that comment is their daughter, Heather.
I was quite a bit apprehensive about commenting but thought hell why not. I too will probably have the unpopular view as usual but I decided to comment anyway.
I have never heard of the books but saw the trailer yesterday when I went to the cinema. I really doubt if you take your kids to it that they'll come away thinking, "Gosh mom did you catch that Anti-religion symbolism in the first half of the film?" Usually its the parents who only read into things way too much. (The controversy thinking sponge-bob squarepants was gay comes to mind). Its just a film, a piece of fiction. If the authors atheist then so what. I kind of doubt that he's out to destroy the world because of his atheist beliefs or because a 'gossip' website like snopes.com says so. If people are confident about their own spirituality then there's nothing to worry about even if you read a 'questionable book' like the golden compass or even the Da Vinci Code. There's a lot worse out there in the world in my opinion to protect from than a few 'fiction' books. Its important to remember that some of the greatest literature ever written was criticized or even banned at one point. Its because people felt threatened by what they didn't know or understand (i.e. their own ignorance).
I've never read the books and doubt I ever will and if you don't read them or choose to watch the movie then all power to ya. All I'm saying is before you decide to blow anything off you educate yourself enough to be in the position to make such judgements.
P.S. I also don't think its really fair to make judgements about people's lifestyle (i.e. J.K. Rowling or even Phillip Pullman) when we don't know them enough to do so.
I got one of those forward emails about this movie telling me not to watch it. Don't do that people, it makes me want to watch it!!!!!
My question is why are we freaking about an aetheist when if we really looked at all of the movies we watched, we'd find many anti-God themes and countless immoral teachings? (And I don't mean people on this blog, I mean the public in general)
Personally,it's just that, personal. It's good to educate ourselves on what we are spending our money not to mention our time on watching.
You know Pirates is pretty anti-religion, Lord of the Rings, not to mention our beloved Harry Potter. Not saying they're bad, just saying a good versus evil plot doesn't always include our creator.
BTW, I've seen most all of those. Couldn't watch LOTR though, too violent for me.
i'm really happy to see so many comments! i got the email too, which is why i posted the link to the snopes page. the reason for it all was to see what everyone thought. it's good to see so many different opinions:) there was quite a controversy between my two brothers about it and it caused a lot of grief that was truly unnecessary. i've listened to friends debate over the movie/books too, and after reading all of your comments as well, a very true point has emerged. how is it that we choose to pass our judgment? a friend of mine made the point last night that if we're going to be upset over the author's personal beliefs, then we should also investigate ALL authors/writers/directors to see what their motives are. intersting point. do we know who writes most of the movies we see? aside from the very obvious ones, i doubt it. the point is, we let ourselves watch shows, movies, read books that truly have either NO mention of God or have a different version of 'God' than we belive in. would it be bad to watch the movie? will we walk away from it suddenly converted to atheism?? would it be a bad thing to actually sit down and talk with our children about it?? it's not as if they won't be faced with others who do not believe the same things they do. i don't think by seeing the movie we're somehow betraying our beliefs or funding the overthrow of Christian religion, but everyone has to decide for themselves on that issue. i liked the comment by heather that some things are just not worth the time. if our leaders were to speak about these issues, what would they say? what spirit does it bring to you or into your home? again, it's a matter of individual belief/feelings. thanks again for all the great comments! it's good to really dive in and see how we feel about things, and remind ourselves that the line between black and white is becoming ever thinner...not so much room anymore to be in the gray middle. love you guys:)
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