Me on Mission

The Golden Compass revisited

07 Feb 2008 11 Comments

by lmparks in Christian living, Lindsey, Religions Tags: books, boycott, entertainment, media, Pullman, The Golden Compass

I am the type of person that will trust what someone tells me, but will have to research it out for myself. I don’t like hearsay to be the final word on truth. That is why I (get ready to gasp in disbelief…) READ The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman. I had heard so many different things about what he included in the book that I had to read it for myself to see what was true or exaggerated.

Yes, I know I posted about this movie/book when word first started to spread. You can read that post HERE. I stand on what I previously said about being wise in the choices we make and only meditating on the things of God. However, I admit that I got caught in the boycott hype; since then I’ve thought a lot about this movie/book series since October when I first wrote about it, and I’ve come with some new thoughts.

There is a reason that so many non Christians view Christians as “out of touch” or “in their own little bubble”: many times we are. We completely separate ourselves from good art, literature, or other entertainment based on if it is “Christian-based.” To be honest, there is a lot of “Christian-based” forms of entertainment that are boring or poor in quality. I have tried to read Christian fiction many times and never make it through the book because of weak plots, shallow characters, and forced dialogue created by the author as a way to preach the Gospel message but instead makes sloppy writing.

If we base what we watch, read, or listen to on whether the author, actor, writer, or anyone involved is an atheist, then we will miss out on many wonderful experiences and art. Not only that, but if we completely boycott someone solely based on religious belief, we will be sending the message that we are judgmental & unloving towards anyone who thinks differently than we do; strengthening the atheist’s belief that God is not needed and that Christians are a joke. Of course, I’m not talking about “art” or “entertainment” that is completely dangerous to our spiritual lives (i.e. pornography). We must use wisdom in what we allow into our lives and the things we meditate upon.

And a question…if we boycott Philip Pullman’s novels/movie based upon his religious beliefs (or lack thereof), why are we not boycotting everyone else that is an atheist? What makes Pullman different than many of the actors you watch on TV, the director’s whose movies you pay big bucks to view, or the writer’s whose articles you read? The only difference is that Pullman is more vocally outspoken on his thoughts (much more than many Christians are about the Truth). If we were to boycott them, we would never watch television, go to the movies, read the newspaper or magazines, listen to the radio, etc. And, yes, even many Christian media outlets employ people who are atheists, so we’d have  to boycott those as well.  But, I digress…
I started reading The Golden Compass with a critical eye; looking intently for the anti-God messages. Quickly, I became engrossed in this wonderfully written, highly adventurous story. It is considered a Children’s book, but its complex sentences and advanced vocabulary easily make it more in the higher level high school/adult literature. With the exception of the last few chapters of the book, many of the metaphors and symbolisms would easily slip past a child’s mind, and they would not grasp any of the deeper comparisons with the church (the negative force in Pullman’s fictional world).

Here are a few negative things I found:

• Lyra (the main character, a young girl) sneaks into the wine cellar with a friend and gets drunk. She admits that she likes it.
• There is imagery of a beheaded man and description of grotesque killings.
• There is a small bit of uncomfortable intimate moments between Lyra’s parents; also a description of their past which includes adultery, revenge, and murder.
• An explanation of the church’s history of castrating boys so that they could keep their tenor voices for entertainment purposes.
• Pullman quotes the Bible…correction…he misquotes the Bible to fit into this imaginary world where people have daemons (physical representations of a person’s conscience and emotions).
• Sin is portrayed as something that makes people come alive, and that without it we would all be soulless and boring. It is something that the Church wants to destroy, but the good characters are fighting to keep it.

Are these reasons to not read the novel (and the other 2 books in the series)? I won’t say yes or no…that’s a choice that each person has to make on their own.  I will, however, end with this quote (emphasis is my own):

“These books are a gripping account of a story that is familiar in our culture: organized religion is bad and dangerous, self-reliance & heroic work are good and redemptive.  For many readers, this story will ring true.  Many others will realize that Pullman’s God is not the God of the Bible, who ‘abounds in steadfast love’ & insists on justice for the poor.  These are not reasons to censor or shun Pullman’s powerful, enjoyable & imaginatively rich series, but they are reasons to argue with it.”   (Higgins & Johnson.  “The Enemy Church: Pullman’s Agenda in ‘Compass’ & Beyond.”  The Christian Century.  28 – 31.)