A few months ago I received an E-mail (spam) stating that the movie, Golden Compass, was to be avoided at all costs. It was stated in this E-mail that the theme of the movie and books, centered around the killing of God. Of course this made me curious so, not being one to take things at face value I decided to find out for myself if the rumours were true.
Interestingly a few weeks before the E-mail I had purchased the book, Golden Compass, for my daughter who had started reading it but found out about the movie and decided to watch the movie first because she know's, like all of us, that reading the book and then watching the movie, many times, makes the movie less enjoyable when the screenwriter veers steadily away from the book.
This passt week my curiosity got the better of me and I began to read.
The story is about a girl who is growing up at Oxford University where she was left by her uncle as her parents had died and left her an orphan. We find out later the her "uncle" is really her father. The girl is very precocious and very intelligent although prone to telling tall tales. Along the way children start to disapear being taken by Gobblers to who knows where. The girl has a friend that is kidnapped so she sets off in search of him. Many thing s happen along her journey which finally leads her to a mountain top with her father and mother who are both abviously crazy with power. Another world opens up and at the end of the book she enters it in order to try to find the source of dust. What is dust? Read the book to find out.
Ok, so here is what I know. This book is one of fantasy, no differnt than Lord of the Rings or any other fantsy, Sci-fi book. It does have at it's core a struggle between good and evil. God's name is never mentioned. Nobody called God is killed nor is anyone killed who might be considered God. Is there a religious undertone, yes. This undertone is vague at best and I highly doubt that any child would even pick up on it.
In my opinion The Golden Compass is a decent read although it left me anxious to get on with the story at times. I doubt that most children will even finish the book as it is a bit wordy and at times drags. I did however read it in one sitting as there is enough adventure and mystery to keep the pages turning, plus with the aspect of killing God at the end , as the media has onformed us, you can't help but be curious.
Personally I think this book is about keeping an open mind and in the end you might find another entire world that you didn't know exsisted.
In my small community my daughter came home from school and informed me the librarian wants to burn all the books by this offer. When asked if she had read them she looked appalled and said she would never read anything anti-christian. To me this is repulsive. Who would burn a book that they hadn't read only becasue of a stupid E-mail. Wake up people! Open your minds and hearts to alternate possibilities.
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I received that same email and I do what I always do with controversial things, I researched it.
Phillip Pullman is a self professed atheist, which in itself doesn't bother me. Believe what you want to believe and let me do the same, but he doesn't have this attitude.
He is an atheist with an agenda. His agenda is to remove all mentions of God, except as an "interesting side note of history" and everyone's belief in God. He is very active in this pursuit and is a member of several organizations with the same agenda.
I will not support an agenda such as this, and by buying his books or watching his movie I am providing him the monetary means to pursue his war on God. In the same vein I don't purchase drugs or other commodities that support terrorism, crime, or violations of human rights. (Yes I know someone will nitpick, but don't you have better things to do?)
Having an open mind is like being a whore, you let anyone ride as long as they pay the price of admission. Having a filtered mind is best. You examine and sort the things you let in as being of good worth or being toxic waste.
I have read books and other writings that would make that librarian (and most people) run screaming madly with a jihadist bent on destroying books, but I know who I am, and that makes all the difference. That is why I recommend that unformed minds (a.k.a. young minds) wait until they have more experience and a better understanding of themselves before reading any book with an agenda.
While I have not yet read The Golden Compass, I have read about a hundred reviews on it, for, against, and indifferent. As with most things, I find that everyone has a different opinion. Young people find it boring, people with the same attitude find it great, others are totally against it, and moderates find it so-so.
One review was very informative, it was by a woman who has read all three books and is not particularly religious or anti religious. She said that the first book is more or less a standard fantasy book but by the third book, the propaganda becomes almost unbearable loosing the storyline for pages at a time.
If this is the case it sounds to me like Mr. Pullman is using drug dealer tactics. The first taste is free, and once you're hooked, you have to pay. I abhor sneaky tricks, and in this case it seems that he is using a whitewash of emotion to cloud people's thoughts about belief.
I will probably end up reading this book, (though my copy will come from a free lending library) but since I have about a thousand other books I would rather read first, it may be a while. I believe that like most controversies, this will blow over, and in less than a year it will be forgotten. (Unless they make a sequel.)
And remember this, proving a nullity is harder than proving a positive. There is zero proof that there isn't a God. I can even point to this book, or any book outright denouncing God, as proof.
Why aren't people protesting ZorkLocks? Because it/they doesn't exist. You only protest what you secretly believe and fear.
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