Don't Watch The Golden Compass!

Don't watch The Golden Compass because the author of the series, Philip Pullman is an atheist!

Don't watch The Golden Compass because a supreme being called "The Authority" -- who is evidently meant to be the Christian God -- is killed in a later volume of the series!

Don't watch The Golden Compass because Pullman has characterised our well-loved Christian author, C. S. Lewis' Christian-themed Chronicles of Narnia as 'detestable'!

Countless emails have been circulating in the cyberworld for some time now, urging Christians to boycott The Golden Compass. If this movie was screened few years back, I would certainly have joined the bandwagon of avoidance, banning myself and my youths from watching this movie. Embarrassedly, I did discourage my youths from watching Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter during those days.

Yet, that was me in the past. Now, I no longer rashly discourage my youths from watching movies that might have controversial elements. On the contrary, I would prefer to watch such movies together with them. Thus, I brought them to watch The Golden Compass last weekend and no, they did not become atheists after the movie.

Think for a moment. Why are we vigorously preventing our children from watching movies that might challenge our faith but yet do not prevent them from watching other movies that have sexual or violent elements (e.g. Hitman and Beowulf etc.)? Furthermore, why do we not prevent them from playing computer games that contain violence (e.g. Counterstrike) or magic (e.g. DoTA)? In my opinion, these kind of movies and computer games are more lethal than movies such as The Golden Compass, and hence, require more of our concern.

Just because Pullman is an atheist does not mean that we must avoid the movie at all cost. Just because what he writes might contain anti-Christian elements does not mean that we have absolutely nothing to learn from the movie.

For example, Pullman portrays the church as a sinister totalitarian bureaucracy called the Magisterium that perpetrates massive cruelties in the name of good. Absolutely no truth in it?

Other than that, according to Lev Grossman; it is not religion that Pullman has a problem with, exactly, or religious believers; it's what happens when religion mixes with politics. "Religion is at its best when it is furthest from political power...The power to send armies to war, to rule every aspect of our lives, to tell us what to wear, what to think, what to read - when religion gets hold of that, watch out! Because trouble will ensue." Absolutely no truth in it?

Don't be so quick to judge The Golden Compass. Watch it before you comment!

Quotes taken from Grossman, Lev. "Sympathy for the Devil" in TIME. December 10, 2007.