The Golden Compass

I have stated in the past that I have authority issues and hate jumping on most bandwagons. With all that in mind, I am aggravated when anyone passes around an e-mail to boycott something without doing the research. It makes them look dumb. Take the latest Christian outrage at "The Golden Compass".

I've gotten a couple of e-mails and talked to a couple of well-meaning women who are saying that all believers should avoid the movie because it's an atheist's manifesto against God. I won't deny that author Phillip Pullman is a staunch atheist who may have wanted to tear apart God...but I would argue that he didn't succeed in his trilogy "His Dark Materials". I read the series over the summer after learning it was going to be a movie. I was disappointed by his inability to finish any of the books well. I was also confused as to what point he was trying to make against God. He pokes fun at the formal church, but theres no serious discussion of atheism symbolized in these books.

All that being said, unless the people who made the movie can extract Pullman's point better than he could, I don't think there's any reason to get in a snit. Do you really think that it would be God's intention for EVERYONE to avoid this movie??? I guess it's possible...but I think it's more possible that some people may have some good questions raised by this movie that will cause them to seek God for the first time OR seek Him more deeply.

I would ask everyone, instead of blatantly boycotting this movie, to prayerfully consider what they ought to do with it. Maybe by reading the books or seeing the movie you will have a meaningful conversation with a nonbeliever. (BTW, I'm not saying your kids should read this series...I think we as parents ought to read them. I'm also not saying you should endorse OR lambast this film to your peers).

So here are some questions to consider:

-Have you read the books?

-Have you seen the movie?

-Do you know the author's story and why he wrote what he did?

Thoughts???