Posted on 11/26/2007 8:46:29 PM PST by Mr. Silverback
Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.
All of you have probably received the e-mail by now. A lot of Christians have, including many of us here at BreakPoint. One of my colleagues received it from five different people no less!
I am referring to the e-mail that is circulating about the upcoming fantasy film The Golden Compass, based on the book by Philip Pullman. It says that Pullman’s fantasy trilogy is openly anti-Christian.
Unlike many other e-mails that get circulated, The Golden Compass e-mail is not a hoax, though, in fairness, there are some incorrect details. (For example, contrary to what the e-mail cites, Jesus is mentioned in the books, and the girl and the boy at the center of the story do not kill God, though they are present when a being calling himself God is killed. God is actually presented as completely unreal in The Golden Compass; there are only angelic beings who try to set themselves up as God and are defeated.)
But the part about Pullman hating the idea of God is completely accurate. He uses his stories to twist and distort familiar biblical accounts of creation, fall, and redemption, making heroes of those who rebel against religion, and having one of his “good” characters even say, “The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake.” It’s sort of a Da Vinci Code theme for kids.
But I suggest that we should do more than just read the e-mail and press “Forward.” If we really want to be able to speak out against Pullman’s ideas, we must know what we are talking about. That’s why I mentioned the story details that might seem a bit trifling. Because when Christians start warning the culture about something dangerous, we often get a backlash. And it is worse if we are not prepared. If we just go out there and tell people, “This movie is about kids who kill God!” we just get a reputation as ill-informed scolds. Already that is starting to happen.
There are several ways you can prepare yourself to talk about Pullman’s books and upcoming movies. You can pick the books up at the library and skim them. You can read a book called Dark Matter by Tony Watkins; although Watkins finds more to like in Pullman’s books than we do at BreakPoint, he still does a good job of explaining the problems. You can visit our website—BreakPoint.org—where we have a number of articles, blog posts, and commentaries pointing out Pullman’s spiritual and literary flaws.
I know of one school in Virginia, Immanuel Christian, that is considering having the older students discuss and evaluate the worldview of the books in their weekly book discussion group. This is a terrific idea. When the movie comes out and their friends head off to the theater with no clue about what kind of indoctrination they are going to undergo, kids who have discussed Pullman’s worldview with Christian parents and educators will know what’s going on. Then they can choose the good and reject the bad.
Of course, all of this takes time for parents and teachers who already have enough to do. There is no easy way around that. But it is worth the investment in the lives of our children. As parents, teachers, and leaders, we can and should do no less.
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BreakPoint/Chuck Colson Ping!
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This is from Focus on the Family about the movie
http://www.pluggedinonline.com/thisweekonly/a0003516.cfm
That has got rave reviews, hasn’t it? Pardon me, the plot sounds kind of boring, but many good movies seem boring until you watch them. The Pianist for example...
I believe it’s being made by Walden Media; who gave us Narnia. I have been hearing that Pullman’s anti-Christian themes have been totally bleached out. That it’s just a rousing fantasy flick.
There’s a couple of good articles on “The Golden Compass” in the latest issue of This Rock magazine (December, 2007), but unfortunately they don’t have it on-line yet.
It is deliberately designed to undermine Christianity. Even if the movie draws back from that, it will be dangerous if it sends kids to the books.
Also, the anti-Christian bias is not very evident in the first volume, but grows as the trilogy progresses. Also deliberate, so kids will be drawn in before they realize what they are getting into.
Yes, it did win in the Toronto Film Festival. It’s an incredibly moving and powerful film.
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/007/compass-pullman.htm
More here about the movie. This is a very good article at the link.
It comes from New Line Cinema. The “problem” with bleaching the elements comes when kids want to get the books, which are not bleached.
Nope, New Line. And a pig with a gold earring is still a pig.
Yep. It is a NO-GO in this household.
I noticed how they are even trying to play it up as a Narnia-type vehicle in the trailers with, “The last time a little girl wandered into a wardrobe...”
Nice try, but unlike Ms. Lewinsky, I say NO CIGAR.
It's a remake of The Omega Man with Charlton Heston. That was a good movie based on the Story "I am Legend" by Richard Mathieson. Every good horror film or movie seems like it was written by Richard Mathieson.
I don't know why they think they can improve on the original....
I was a kid, yes, saw Omega Man. Very good, but typical 70s “bad ending”. Think about it, all the movies back then, the good guy died at the end. I hated that...
“The only movie for the holidays that looks interesting, is that one called I am Legend.”
I just reread the short story and will be interested to see if they stayed at least partly true to the plot. It certainly could not be more of a stinker than The Omega Man was.
But the hero dying at the end, and so passing into Legend, was the point of Matheson’s story. I think the earlier version, “The Last Man On Earth,” starring Vincent Price, made that point more clearly than “Omega Man”.
Vietvet
This movie won't see a dime of my household's money, ever.
Actually, the first take on “I am Legend” was “The Last Man on Earth”, with Vincent Price (circa 1964).
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