The Golden Compass

“The Golden Compass” movie is due to be released on or about December 7, 2007. This release is just in time for parents to take their kids to the movies to be inundated with yet another fantasy-adventure just before Christmas, which means book sales will skyrocket for that gift-giving time of year.



Look interesting?

Harry Potter is a nursery-school compared to this.

Folks, this movie is dangerous, as are the books associated therewith. The author is Phillip Pullman, a devout atheist, an unashamed outspoken hater of God. Through his writing, Pullman takes his punches out on C.S. Lewis and Christianity. Here are a few highlights of the story:

1) In Pullman’s world, people are accompanied by animal spirits, who he calls “daemons” and everyone becomes a ghost at death. No daemon = no soul.

2) The “alethiometer” (“alethia” in Greek means “truth”) is a Golden Compass with Ziodiac-type markings inside. “What is truth?” is the question at the heart of the story. Truth is measured by the operator going into trances to communicate with spirit beings and fortune-telling.

3) Animals are still in process of evolution (the polar bears have opposable thumbs).

4) Witches are people who are considered to be truly free and powerful;

5) The General Oblation Board (the “church” in this story) practices castration of young boys and female circumcision to repress sexuality and maturity. Read: the church is suppressive of true humanity, expressed in sexuality. So “The Magisterium” are the bad-guys.

6) “Dust” is sin. Children do not have it, but adults can accumulate it. “Dust is consciousness, or awareness of the world around you and all of its possibilities. Children do not attract Dust because they are still innocent and are thought to have trouble understanding the world. Adults, because of the knowledge they have gained through maturation, do attract Dust. Once you become an adult, a fully conscious being, you are capable of sinning, or doing bad things knowingly. The Church authorities in Lyra’s world equate Dust with original sin. They would like to eliminate Dust, thereby eliminating the human capacity to sin. But Pullman suggests that the capacity to sin (and the ability to choose not to sin) is essential to the very idea of humanity. Without that capacity, humans would be zombies.” (see SparkNotes link below)

After that, one may begin to realize that Pullman is no athiest, but a pagan, who knows just enough about God to throw his fist up in His face.

Here are two links you will find helpful:

1) Snopes.com discusses the urban legend behind the story.
2) SparkNotes has the fullest treatment yet of the books with insight on the author.

Avoid this movie at all costs.