The Golden Compass

There has been a great deal of talk in the Christian circles lately about The Golden Compass. This is the movie version of Philip Pullman's book, Northern Lights which is the first book in a trilogy called His Dark Materials.

With all of the controversy swirling around about the movie and the books, I quickly decided that I was going to make a determination on my own rather than relying upon the words and thoughts of people that I don't know. (This is something I challenge everyone to do - to approach what they read, hear, see with a critical eye in an effort to determine for themselves what is true or false.) So I decided to go to the movies last night...

First of all, let me tell you this movie definitely earns its PG-13 rating. IT IS NOT A MOVIE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. There are several "dark" scenes where animals/people are treated cruelly, and there is one rather graphic scene during the polar bear fight that completely caught me by surprise with its ferocity.

Second, and I have to be honest here, I went into the movie looking for Pullman's attempt to "kill God" as one online article cited. Inasmuch, I cannot provide a completely unbiased perspective. What I mean by that is this - if I were not aware of the controversy surrounding the movie, would I have reacted as strongly about the movie as I did? Would I have made the connections that I did between his characters/storyline and the church? I honestly do not know.

With that said, the following are the connections that I observed between his characters and the church and/or Christianity.

Dual nature - The Bible teaches that we have an old self and a new self. In the movie, this is portrayed through animal counterparts for each human. These animal counterparts are called "demons" and can never be far from their human. In the movie, the demons are kind and friendly and the viewer quickly becomes emotionally attached to them - especially when they are tortured and killed. If either the human or their demon are injured, the other feels the pain.

Church - The church is called the Majesterium and its expressed goal is to eliminate "free will" by having everyone believe what they believe and not question their authority. As Nicole Kidman's character explains, "Not everyone knows what's best for them, so it is our job to tell them."

Sin - Sin is portrayed as "dust" which is channeled through an individual's demon and which allows the individual to discover new "worlds" (i.e. new perspectives, thoughts, philosophies, etc) which need to be explored. The Majesterium is attempting to eradicate all access to the dust - in fact, they cringe at the very mention of dust. Their method of accomplishing this is by kidnapping the children (the next generation of leaders and influencers), brainwashing them, and ridding them of their demon counterparts (since the dust is channeled through their demons, i.e. old self). This is done through a form of baptism...

Baptism - Baptism is illustrated through a process called "intercision" which is accomplished through a technologically-advanced torture device. The device severs the connection between the children and their demon which results in the death of the demon and the "freedom" of the child - although the technology is still flawed and many of the children die as a result of the procedure.

There are so many nuances and messages in this movie (the movie also touches - in a negative fashion - on the role of women in the church/leadership/society and the discipline of children). Obviously I was dialing in to catch them all, so, as I said before, I cannot honestly approach it unbiased. What I do know is that Pullman does a "masterful" job of twisting your perspective to view these things through a different lens. You will need to be prepared for this when you watch the movie or read the books.

As a pastor and an intellectual (that sounds conceited...) and as one who loves philosophy, I completely embrace becoming educated about viewpoints and perspectives that may not be in alignment with the Christian faith and beliefs. I have found that this awareness challenges me to know what I believe and why I believe it. The Golden Compass portrays the church as the exact opposite - having a narrow viewpoint and attempting to restrict all intellectual and philosophical pursuits.

I do not want to encourage or discourage you from watching this film or reading the books and making up your own mind about it. What I would say is that if you allow your children to watch the movie or read the books, do not be personally uneducated. Be intentional about watching/reading it with them. You will need to talk with them about it...

In the end, this movie and these books are simply an attempt to do what thousands of others have done throughout history. And yet Christ still remains standing when the dust settles. Are there problems within the religion of Christianity? Absolutely. Are there problems with Christ? No way.