We finally got around to watching “The Golden Compass” tonight on DVD. Our local library has become our new best friend for movie-watching entertainment!
I got way into this movie. It was fascinating, easy-to-follow, and full of spiritual undertones – perhaps because I was looking for them.
I think someone could watch this movie and get 100% of its entertainment value (amazing plot, great acting, wonderful special effects) without having to get hung up on the fact that the author of the book its based on is an atheist – in fact, I don’t believe we should ever boycott something simply because the people behind it have a different belief-system than we do, and as witnessed in my own household, something like The Golden Compass can be a GREAT springboard for discussion about spiritual matters and how the author/director/producers/etc made their statements and how they line up with what we know from Scripture!
I loved ‘guessing’ what some of the links between the movie and the author’s real-life beliefs were. Without having read the books, my imagination is filling in many of the gaps and I do look forward to the next two chapters of this fantastic story.
Some of the things I’d like to know more about: (these may or may not make sense to someone who hasn’t yet seen the movie or read the book)
1. the fact that “dust” doesn’t settle on a child until “his/her soul settles down”
This sounds like the “age of accountability” question I grew up wondering about so often (my wonderment revolved around guessing whether I was still under that grace and could get away with doing something wrong or not!) I’m curious as to how an atheist author has such a notion – and how that idea from the movie interacts with his real-life beliefs…
2. why this “Magisterium” evokes such strong themes of brainwashing, institutionalism, and evil.
If the Magisterium truly is a direct-reflection on Pullman’s view of the church, it causes me to wonder what Pullman must have experienced. In some ways, I think Martin Luther would agree with some of Pullman’s views as expressed in The Golden Compass – that’s why I think we should discuss its themes, yes with caution, but dialogue is a key element in apologetics.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
Hollywood and the world views presented by it can and most certainly do influence our culture and people have taken movies as more true and more directive as ‘impressions’ to get than reading thier own Bibles and living by it. I respectfully disagree with your perspective of watching an athiests movie for the entertainment value. Couldn’t you justify pornography, graphic violence and occultic themes with that kind of logic?
Respectfully disagree.
Underneath all the arches of bible history throughout the whole grand temple of the scriptures, these two voices ever echo, man is ruined, man is redeemed. (Cyrus David Foss 1834-1910)