Reading and Thinking about The Golden Compass: Some Reviews

I am asking questions and looking for answers about "The Golden Compass." How bad is it? Is there anything good about the story? What about the rest of Phillip Pullman’s "His Dark Materials" trilogy. I know in the end I should and will read the books and see the movie so that I can properly address the material.

The subject has come loudly to my attention due to several blog postings on Shuck and Jive, as well as, and undoubtedly of far more importance, several reviews in the Presbyterian publication Presbyterians Today.

John Shuck's thoughts can be found here: DO NOT GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!! DON'T SUPPORT ATHIESTS!!!! Have a blessed day. :) and here Vatican Condemns Golden Compass and here Meet My Daemon (If You Dare!) . Of course this is all a lot of nonsense and I am more concerned with the official publication Presbyterians Today.

The Presbyterian reviews are of the movie and a book recommendation which purports to address the Christian viewpoint concerning Pullman's books: The movie review is here http://www.pcusa.org/today/media/films.htm, and is mostly concerned with violence in the movie. However the reviewer's view of the movie fails to point out the anti-Christian views of the author, writing:

"Given the controversy over whether Philip Pullman’s novels — and this film — promote atheism, how should Christian viewers approach The Golden Compass? First, read the original novels, especially if you enjoy fantasy literature. You will discover that Pullman opposes what any thoughtful Christians would also oppose: abuse of power by the church, and a view of God as a tyrannical ruler. Pullman is very much like what theologian Robert McAfee Brown called "Assyrians in Disguise." Brown contended that authors such as J.D. Salinger and John Updike (and now Pullman) are like the ancient nation that Isaiah claimed was used by God to uproot or punish the corruption of ancient Israel so that the true faith could thrive unhampered. These authors may not have the truth (or gospel) themselves, but they do know what is false or life-killing in society"

The reviewer has failed to notice that the author of His Dark Materials has not only made a mockery out of truth; there is no true God at all in the book, only a caricature.

And the book recommendation, which is linked at the top of the movie review page is here: http://www.pcusa.org/today/media/books.htm#imposter.

The review of the book, Killing the Imposter God: Philip Pullman’s Spiritual Imagination in His Dark Materials, by Donna Freitas and Jason King shows how the two authors more or less side with Pullman in a kind of off-handed way. That is everything is, in reality, about "complex theological principles."

The reviewers of Killing the Imposter God write: "The authors are well aware of the intense controversy surrounding Pullman’s work. In the introduction to their book they delicately try to defuse some of the opposition by addressing some of Pullman’s public atheistic comments. But they also make this bold statement: 'We see Pullman’s trilogy as a powerful example of how a self-professed atheist has created what could be read as a contemporary Christian classic.' They then proceed to dissect the characters, plots and settings to support their views."

But I have found a far more complete and helpful review and that from a truly Christian view-point. It isn't nonsense and it isn't attempting to dis-regard the darkness of the atheist's viewpoint. It also doesn't ask Christians to hide in a corner but instead engage their culture with the truth of the gospel. “The Golden Compass” - Questions I’ve been asked, answers I’ve given. by Jeffrey Overstreet.

Overstreet writes: "I’ve been asked a long list of questions about The Golden Compass. As you probably know, the author has admitted that he wrote these stories because he wanted to give children a vision of a world without God, as an alternate fantasy to C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. His story about a little girl named Lyra ends up with her on the side of people who are trying to kill God… not just any God, but Yahweh himself, and Christianity as a religion… and they succeed.
Since folks have been asking where on my website they can find the things I’ve been saying on the radio, I decided to write some of them down.
Ready?"

This article is a long read but please if you want an intelligent review with practical ideas about how to explain this movie and the books to your children, take the time to read Overstreet's material. If you want to talk to a non believer about the differences between this movie and books and those of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R.Tolkien read Overstreet's questions and answers. Don't stand for nonsense or careless watered down approaches to Phillip Pullman's books or movie.