Christians are in a frenzy over The Golden Compass, apparently because the author of the books created the story intentionally as a sort of anti-Narnia series, expressing atheist sentiments rather than Christian ones. I’ve done some reading around about all of this, and the author of the books, Philip Pullman, is apparently out to “kill God in the hearts of children.” He did say in a 2003 interview that his books were about killing God, but that quote can easily be taken out of context. He means what he said, but I doubt he said it with a snarl and a vow. He also said in the same interview, “What I am against is organized religion of the sort which persecutes people who don’t believe. I’m against religious intolerance.”
He describes himself as someone who doesn’t believe in God, but he also argues that no one can prove God’s existence either way, and that he’s really an agnostic. If you visit his site, you’ll find that he’s more cynical than anything else.
It’s probably true that the books have a fairly overt anti-God agenda, and for that reason I understand that some Christian parents would keep their kids from watching the movies or reading the books. Young children are impressionable. But I’m also a bit worried about how excitable Christians are when it comes to movies with the least bit of magic or anti-God sentiment. Is it really that big a deal? Frankly, the kind of religion that Pullman wants to kill probably should be killed, at least to a degree. I think bad Christianity is more dangerous by far than a fantastical story promoting atheism. I don’t think kids’ faith will hinge on the watching or reading of one such story.
I’m not worried about the movie or the books, but I’m also sympathetic toward those who would say “watch out!” I just don’t think we should get our undies in a bunch over it.
