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The Golden Compass controversy


Nina J wrote: I remember a post a couple of weeks ago about the Golden Compass and it's theme being about killing God. That got my curiosity up and I brought the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, Northern Lights (which was filmed as The Golden Compass).

It is a really excellent book, I can't stop reading it. And there has been nothing so far thats made me see sense in the controvery. When you read the book, you can tell it is fully fictional and a typical good versus evil, in the same way as Harry Potter is good versus evil.

I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed reading Harry Potter, and if your kids enjoyed Harry Potter I'd recommend it for them aswell or kids 12ish and over.

If you are aprehensive because of the controversy over the theme, I don't think there is anything to worry about. I am a religious person and I didn't know what to expect reading the book, especially considering the trilogy title His Dark Materials. But I've been really surprised, in a good way.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: thumb.gif Thank You for posting this! Emily goes to a Catholic School and in Southern Ontario the books are being banned. We're not sure if it has happened here yet. She really wants to see the movie, but a lot of her friends parents won't let there kids see it because of all the controversy. So we're going together to see what all the fuss is about. Also Emily needs another series of books to read, so I hope we can find them at Chapters!

redchief replied: Nina, first let me say I'm glad you're enjoying the book. I'm boycotting anything from Pullman, due to his outspoken anti-Catholic and openly atheistic views. Second, I have a question. Who are the villains in the series?

The villains in Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy are called "The Magisterium." There is only one other place that word is used in the English language. The magisterium is the teaching body of the Catholic Church. Far be it from me to say someone can't villainize my faith; it's been done for centuries. But I'm certainly not going to sit back and listen while it's done, especially in the name of children's entertainment. Nothing from Pullman is good for kids of faith.

5littleladies replied: I haven't read the books nor seen the movie, but I have heard from people that they get darker and more obviously anti-God as they go on. I would be sure to read the whole series before handing them over to a child. Just a thought .

jcc64 replied: My mom got my ds the book for Christmas. Apparently they're pretty popular over in the UK. I'm not one to buy into the anti-God hysteria surrounding children's literature. Kids are pretty literal and most don't delve beneath the storyline to unearth dark intentions or hidden agendas. Most of the time, they'll see it as a good vs evil thing, which is fine by me. I'm also a big proponent of presenting many different ways of approaching spirituality to my kids and letting them decide what does and doesn't make sense.

Nina J replied: There is mention of religion in the last few chapters but after reading such an obviously fiction book I wouldn't think anyone's kids would see it as anything more than make-believe for the book.



Actually, I got the impression Mrs. Coulter was the villian in this novel, and being a women, she couldn't gain entry in to the Church as a priest. She conducted experiments with funding from the Magisterium because they were fearful of Dust and didn't want anything to do with it. Mrs. Coulter was using the The Magisterium for there money, because she wants to use the Dust and its powers to enter into the other universes. The Magisterium didn't want anything to do with it or its powers, so to me, they weren't the villians.

I think you'd probably see that too if you read the books but I fully understand your decision not too, I just wanted to let people know it was a good book and the controversy wasn't all I thought it was, but I understand not wanting to support the author. Thats something that doesn't bother me personally but I can see how it does some people.

I haven't read the last 2 yet, but I'm going too. I have heard they get more darker too. But, the movie is only about the first book and the director removed a lot of stuff to do with the Church so I think after reading the book and not being shocked, the film should be okay. I am going to see it soon.

Crystalina replied: I didn't read everyones posts but what I heard is that the first book is fine and it's not until later in the second or the third book that has all the controversial material. Also (only what I heard) is that this was done to "get" the kids wrapped up in the book so they would want to buy the others and slowly weave whatever it is it's about into the later books.

Like I said, only what I heard a lady on t.v. saying. I have not, nor will I read any of the books to find out. smile.gif

Crystalina replied:
From what I've heard here and there, the hype is not really about the movie which is why the movie was toned down. The movie was apparently put out (according to some) to sell the books which is where the real "whatever" lies. The last two books. The movie is just an opening to the books.

luvmykids replied:
Right, the movie was made for the sole purpose of piquing interest in the books, according to the author himself wink.gif

Boo&BugsMom replied:
This is the reason I will not buy anything by this man. The man could write a cookbook and I wouldn't buy it. Buying anything of his, knowing full well his intentions and strong anti-Christian opinions, I would feel like I was supporting him. So, no matter what he writes or produces, he wont get my $$$. I'm sure the GC is a wonderful movie to watch, but regardless of many awards it wins, I would feel like I was supporting his views and intentions and denouncing my faith if I were to see/buy/rent it or anything of his. JMO though.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: thumb.gif Emily bought the book today and is really enjoying it. She plans to get the rest of the triology, when she can afford it. For some reason she always has to pick the most expensive version of whatever books she is buying! But that's Emily.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: putting faith aside, I'm always up to reading a good story. Nobody can tell me where to put my faith, nor do I have to believe anything that is written for \ against it... so I'll probably end up reading it.

Crystalina replied:
I'm with you Rocky. I'm strong enough in my faith not to be swayed but with that being said I would not put my money in his pocket. wink.gif

And with that being said, I also would not judge anyone else for buying it.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: i don't really care where my $$'s going... i'm paying for the enjoyment of the book, not paying to support his faith rolling_smile.gif

luvmykids replied:
wink.gif My thoughts exactly

Nina J replied: I went and saw the movie today with a friend, it was very good too but quite different from the book. A lot of things had been changed around for suspense reasons and to make it flow better, but the ending was completly different from in the book. If it had've ended the same way as the book, it would've left it open for a sequel. So I think maybe there isn't any plan to make another movie.

Although, it's not a movie for younger children. I hate how they can market a movie and it seems like it would be okay to take children below 10, then it isn't. I only went with a friend, and there were no children in the cinema, but there is a little bit of violence and it would be a difficult film for a child under 10 to follow. But, it was good, especially after reading the book. Nicole Kidman was perfect as Mrs. Coulter.

I did a bit of reading on the author of the book, and having read the book, I have to agree with what I read on Wikipedia:

However, Pullman has found support from other Christians, most notably Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. These groups and individuals contend that Pullman's negative portrayal of the "Church" in His Dark Materials amounts to an attack on dogmatism and the use of religion to oppress, not on Christianity itself.

redchief replied:
Want to bet?

If you buy the book, you pay him. If you go watch the movie, you pay him. If Pullman had no financial support, it wouldn't matter to the world what his views were, because no one would have ever heard of him. Unfortunately, he's a talented author (and weren't the biblical scribes as well?), and able to use his talent to evil ends. As stated before, the first book is a precursor to the rest of the trilogy, and the books do get more anti-Catholic as they go along.

Magisterium - The teaching arm of the Church
Church - Stated by the author as a "renegade Catholic Church in a parallel universe."
Coulter - One of the Goblins, who are an underground arm of the Church that make people disappear if they don't tow the party line
Dust - Duh! The anti-Catholic's version of truth

I could go on. There were also two things stated earlier that I have issue with. One is that kids won't read into the story to find the deeper meaning. That's why propagandists target children... They take everything at face value. But kids also revisit things that they learned in the past as they grow, and find the deeper meanings in things as life goes on. In this case, a child might later say, my parents saw no harm in me reading a satire about the evils of faith, so is there something to it? Christians in general, and Catholics in particular, should weigh this possible conclusion before allowing their children to read the series. My children are not permitted to bring anything from Pullman into the house, but they aren't forbidden reading it. I only ask that they share any thoughts they have with me before they make any determinations on faith (remember, my children are all adults except for Katie, and DO see the deeper meanings in fictional work).

Finally, I think it is our responsibility as parents to share our faith with our kids from an early age, regardless of what that faith is (or is not). Somewhere along the line, as adults, we were indoctrinated into whatever it is we believe. That experience, as with all, is important to share with our children. It is how they learn and how society as a whole progresses. Believe me, your kids will make their own decisions as adults regarding their faith (or lack thereof). For me, I hope that discussing and teaching them what I believe while they are young will give them pause to come and speak with me before allowing any deep changes in their belief system to take root. I truly believe that one of the biggest problems we face in the world today is the devaluation of human life. This is evil and comes from lack of spiritual growth. As parents, we are failing to instill in our children that every human life is sacred and worthy of living. Reverence for life and awe that we are but tiny specks in the cosmic bubble are spiritual truths that too many are missing. It's the parents' fault.

redchief replied:
Remember, the Church of London has a long running (centuries) feud with the Catholic Church. This is unlikely to change in the near future. It's no surprise that Pullman would find support there. Though his belief system is atheist, Pullman's main antagonist, as the head of Christianity in the world, is Roman Catholicism and it's teachings. It's also not news that the Church of London would lie down with strange bedfellows if in doing so it could make the pope squirm a little.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: oh i know "the $ is going to him"... but as far as I'm concerned..when I"m paying for the book, I'm paying because I want to read it, not because I want to suport his faith or lack of. My kids are too young to read it anyhow... i just like a good book.

Calimama replied:
Mine too. wink.gif

jcc64 replied:


I agree with you 1000%, Ed. Unfortunately, many people of faith feel it's not only acceptable but necessary to devalue any life that is following a different "god", or no god at all. It's why I'm hesitant to impose any one specific belief system upon my children. I want them to avoid seeing everyone else as "the other". I think it's possible to fortify a strong moral code in a child w/o nailing them down to a single religion.
I know next to nothing about the author of this series, or the story itself. But my orientation has always been to let my kids explore all kinds of theories, whether I support them or not, if for no other reason than to initiate a meaningful conversation.

A&A'smommy replied: just popping in....

my thoughts on this are that its not SO much that its going to sway me.. or spending my money and supporting him because it does NOT matter whether I support him or not he is already extremely wealthy at this point... i also don't read stuff like that anyway....

but my child is SO young and ANY child under the age of about 13 is easily swayed and need LOTS of things to point them in the right direction. He has written that stuff to lead children into believing what he believes.. and my child does NOT need anything else that is anti-christian.

Nina J replied:
Do you mean the Church of England?

redchief replied:
Yes.


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