The Golden Compass

Commenting on "The Chronicles of Narnia", Mr Pullman said: 'It's not the presence of Christian doctrine I object to so much as the absence of Christian virtue. The highest virtue, we have on the authority of the New Testament itself, is love, and yet you find not a trace of that in the books.'

The Narnia series, Pullman declared, contains 'a peevish blend of racism, mysogynistic and reactionary prejudice; but of love, of Christian charity [there is] not a trace.'

Mr. Pullman has a point, it's true that the church has an embarrassing history of displaying Christ's love, or lack thereof. However, the church is the bride of Christ, and it is still what he chooses and will always choose to display his love, however imperfect that display may be.

In reference to Pullman's direct attack on The Chronicles of Narnia, I don't think C.S. Lewis ever intended for his books to be a perfect Christian analogy.

So how are Christians to respond to The Golden Compass? I think Albert Molher has it right when he says, "A good first step would be to take a deep breath. The Christian faith is not about to be toppled by a film, nor by a series of fantasy books. Pullman has an agenda that is clear, and Christians need to inform themselves of what this agenda is and what it means. At the same time, nothing would serve his agenda better than to have Christians speaking recklessly or unintelligently about the film or the books. This is about the battle of ideas and worldviews. While Christians will not celebrate the release of this film, we should recognize the mixture of challenge and opportunity that comes with millions of persons watching this film and talking about the issues it raises. When the movie is mentioned in the workplace, in school, on the playground, or in the college campus, this is a great opportunity to show that Christians are not afraid of the battle of ideas."

Ultimately, boycotting or refusing to watch The Golden Compass only serves to further promote Pullman's stereotype of the uninformed Christian. It's important to know what other worldviews are and how they relate to Christianity. While I understand not wanting young children to see this movie, watching The Golden Compass isn't going to suddenly turn you into a God-hating militant atheist. As Molher said, "Philip Pullman has an agenda, but so do we. Our agenda is the Gospel of Christ -- a message infinitely more powerful than that of The Golden Compass. Pullman's worldview of unrestricted human autonomy would be nightmarish if ever achieved. His story promises liberation but would enslave human beings to themselves and destroy all transcendent value."

To read Molher's full article click here.