Has anyone read the book by Philip Pullman?
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I'm intrigued to know about his writing; “His Dark Materials” or the upcoming movie Golden Compass? I heard that it's anti-Christian and specifically anti-Catholic, is it true?
The trailer looks amazing.
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U mean this? http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/
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Yupe. What do you think about it?Originally posted by Honeybunz:U mean this? http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/ -
I urge you to read this.
Atheism for Christmas? by Dr. Jeff Mirus
http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/blog.cfm?id=184 -
Thanks for the article. Btw, is it wrong to watch the movie? A sin?
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Rec'd this email from a Catholic friend from overseas:
Dear All,
Please do take note and avoid this show and advise yr friends accordingly.
There will be a new children's movie out in December called "The Golden Compass". The movie has been described as "atheism for kids" and is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled "His Dark Materials" that was written by Phillip Pullman. Pullman is a militant atheist and secular humanist who despises C. S. Lewis and the "Chronicles of Narnia". His motivation for writing this trilogy was specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Christ that are portrayed in the Narnia series.
Clearly, Pullman's main objective is to bash Christianity and promote atheism. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that "my books are about killing God." He has even stated that he wants to "kill God in the minds of children ". It has been said of Pullman that he is "the writer the atheists would be praying for, if atheists prayed."
While "The Golden Compass" movie itself may seem mild and innocent, the books are a much different story. In the trilogy, a young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake." In the final book, characters representing Adam and Eve eventually kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH. Each book in the trilogy gets progressively worse regarding Pullman's hatred of Jesus Christ.
"The Golden Compass" is set to premier on December 7, during the Christmas season (and staring Nicole Kidman), and will probably be heavily advertised. Promoters hope t hat unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie, that they will enjoy the movie, and that the children will want the books for Christmas.
Please consider a boycott of the movie and the books. Also, pass this information along to everyone you know (including church leaders). This will help to educate parents, so that they will know the agenda of the movie. -
If you are a thinking person, you have to see the film to make a judgment for yourself... faith hiding behind ignorance is childish faith at best...
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Ok, I am thinking now and so I decide it's wise to ignore your words.Originally posted by AndrewPKYap:If you are a thinking person, you have to see the film to make a judgment for yourself... faith hiding behind ignorance is childish faith at best... -
No, it is not wrong to watch the movie. But of course, it is foolish to enrich those who are out to undermine the faith.Originally posted by ca2007:Thanks for the article. Btw, is it wrong to watch the movie? A sin? -
Not seeing the film before making a judgement is not an expression of childish faith nor does it make one unthinking. After all, we live in an age of specialisation where we rely on others in many different aspects of our lives. While moral/ethics issues can be assessible to the average person, it does not preclude the possibility that we can have recourse to specialists to help us form our opinions. After all, that's what teachers are for, isn't it?Originally posted by AndrewPKYap:If you are a thinking person, you have to see the film to make a judgment for yourself... faith hiding behind ignorance is childish faith at best...
Take your job as an IT consultant. Do you have to understand how to solve Schrodinger's equations before you can do you job? Surely not, although those equations form the basis of the microelectronics technology upon which all computer systems are built. What you have is an ability to rely on the fact that there are other experts who know their stuff well enough to make workable systems.
If that is applicable to many other aspects of life, why should it not be application to our moral and ethic formation? Why should people who may have no desire for philosophical thinking be made to build an ethical edifice from ground up and have to think everything for themselves from scratch? -
Vatican Newspaper: Golden Compass a Gnostic, Hopeless Story from the 70's
Vatican City, Dec 19, 2007 (CNA).- The daily edition of the official Vatican newspaper has come out with a harsh criticism of the movie "The Golden Compass, describing it as a hopeless story based on the ideology of the 70's.
In a long editorial article, Andrea Monda, a well known literary and movie critic who writes for several Italian newspapers, says "the Golden Compass of Chris Weisz, is as much of an anti-Christmas film as it can be."
The news that during its opening weekend, the Golden Compass made far less than what New Line expected, “can be consoling,” wrote Monda. In fact, the movie critic thinks that the sales were so bad that it will probably block immediate production of the second book of Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials'.
After describing the quest of the movieÂ’s heroine, Lyra, to liberate other children imprisoned by the "Magisterium," L'Osservatore Romano writes: "outside the metaphor of Pullman, it would be necessary to close Christian schools, [cease] the teaching of religion at school, not to speak of the violence that Baptism is to children."
"This is, in short, the 'meaning' of this first episode: a Gnostic fantasy saga bathed in a 70's sauce, in which happiness rest in independence, not in relationships."
No Similarity to Tolkien or Lewis
The L'Osservatore article also highlights that "in the name of his 'militant' atheism, Pullman has many times criticized and condemned the 'religious' fantasies of C. S. Lewis and J.R. R. Tolkien, and therefore it is surprising that those in charge of New Line have freely launched the film with the slogan "from the same producers of the Lord of the Rings": between the world of the Golden Compass, which is almost completely covered in ice and the Middle Earth of the Hobbits there is a insurmountable abyss."
The column's author recalls that also in Narnia the world lives under a permanent winter, "but all the creatures of the universe live in the hope of the return of Christmas."
"Instead, hope in Pullman's world simply does not exist; especially since there is no salvation but only personal capacity, individualism, aimed at controlling situations and dominating events."
"In a scene somehow dark and frightening Â… we see Lyra, the main character of the entire saga, repeating to herself as a commandment: 'dominate fear, I must dominate fear'", the critic writes.
"There is no salvation –he adds- because there is no Savior: each one is left alone with his or her own capacities and a goal to be reached, which for Pullman is to live free and independent, discovering the truth that the Authority hides from the people, it is a mere personal conquest, not a 'team effort,' much less a gift."
L'Osservatore's article says that it is not surprising then that Pullman, "in a long interview posted few years ago on the Guardian Online said that 'I am with Satan, certainly not with God,' or that he unleashed time and again against Narnia and its creator, Lewis, [who he claims is] guilty of trying to 'indoctrinate' his readers."
Cold and Hopeless
"Watching the film based on the first book, the viewer, if honest and mildly gifted with a critical mind, will have no particular emotions, but a great coldness, which is not a consequence only of the polar landscape. Pullman's world in fact is a world where there is no natural sun shining but everything seems to be mechanized, deprived of true life".
L'Osservatore's column also notes that "for Pullman the machine is central, it has triumphed: there are planes and vessels all highly mechanized, the bears are armored; and one of those, Iorek, will become Lyra's ally.” Yet, he too is devoid of emotion, he doesn’t say “'I have a covenant with you,' but 'I have a contract’ with you and when Lyra discovers the identity of her father, she doesn’t experience any other emotions than bringing him the object of power, because the main objective is to achieve the task: no filial love, just an ideological solidarity."
"All this coldness seems to confirm the theory, certainly not to the liking of Pullman, that when the human being leaves God out of his horizon, everything becomes reduced, sad, cold and inhuman." In short, for L'Osservatore Romano, The Golden Compass "is a film that leaves you cold, because it makes present the coldness and hopelessness of rebellion, loneliness and individualism." -
I've watched the movie before I read any of its review or the so called "anti-Catholics" review. Honestly, there's nothing there. I did not even think it's anti Catholics after I watched it. I don't really like the movie either, a bit dissapointing.
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That you did not see the anti-Christian elements in the movie does not mean it is not there. After all, the author himself said as much about his agenda.Originally posted by maryteresa:I've watched the movie before I read any of its review or the so called "anti-Catholics" review. Honestly, there's nothing there. I did not even think it's anti Catholics after I watched it. I don't really like the movie either, a bit dissapointing.
You remind me of an atheist who told me in a forum that he failed to see how the Lord of the Rings carried a Christian message, ignoring the fact that Tolkien himself said that it did.
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If I knew before that the movie is based on an anti-Christian book, sure I will not watch it. Anyway, I won't recommend the movie to anyone, even if suppose it doesn't carry anti-Christian message in it.Originally posted by ObiterDicta:That you did not see the anti-Christian elements in the movie does not mean it is not there. After all, the author himself said as much about his agenda.
You remind me of an atheist who told me in a forum that he failed to see how the Lord of the Rings carried a Christian message, ignoring the fact that Tolkien himself said that it did.
If any of you feel like watching it because of the excessive publicity, the amazing effects, etc, don't be fooled...Even in terms of entertainment, it's not good enough, it's boring and confusing. -
Watched it. It's just another Harry Potter kind of movie and yes there is some anti-Catholic msg there.
I'm quite disappointed in the movie industry nowadays. Don't they produce meaningful movies for Christmas anymore? I miss those days where they produce nice movies like Home Alone... Very Christmasy kind of theme... about love and family. Suitable for both Christians and non-Christians. -
Sympathy for the devil: Thoughts on "The Golden Compass"
Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Denver
http://www.archden.org/dcr//news.php?e=450&s=2&a=9476 -
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what enrich?Originally posted by ObiterDicta:No, it is not wrong to watch the movie. But of course, it is foolish to enrich those who are out to undermine the faith.
there's such a thing called download.