Fun New Game
I've been playing a fun new game this past week. It starts whenever one of my Christian friends asks me what I am doing today. I pretend to ponder the question for just a brief moment, and then I casually announce that I'm taking some kids to see "The Golden Compass".
It is at this point in the conversation where my friends begin to aspirate. Pandemonium ensues. I jump in with a huge smile and a peppy "just kidding!!", right before anyone passes out and gets a nasty bump on the head.
I consider myself to be fairly well-read, so I am a little bit ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Phillip Pullman or "The Golden Compass" prior to last week. What an ignorant dolt I must be. I only mention it so that we are all clear that I'm forming all of my following opinions on second-hand knowledge.
My initiation into this fantastic public debate occurred in the friendly confines of Facebook. One of my friends joined a group entitled "Do NOT support 'The Golden Compass'". I clicked on the link to see what in tarnation was going on, to find that the group had over 120,000 members and that its homepage contained a link to a very fair and balanced story from Fox News.
What I can surmise from my fact-gathering mission is this: my fellow Evangelicals are mad that Hollywood has a pro-athiest agenda. They are calling for us to boycott TGC as a sign of solidarity that we will not support a trilogy of movies based on fictional books that culminate with kids killing god so that they can do whatever they want to do.
I agree that Hollywood has an agenda. It's called money. If bare breasts and swear words sell, they will release movies with bare breasts and swear words. If movies based on a series of books written by a well-known Christian author will sell a gaggle of tickets, they will release such a movie. If a movie will cause Christians to raise such a ruckus that the movie gets tons of free advertising in the form of newspaper stories and tv news debates, they will release such movies.
That's right, friends. You are once again masterfully filling your role as puppet.
It's like I always say...When Hollywood sends you limes, squeeze the juice into your rum and coke and relax.
The last time I checked, people really like to do whatever they want. Not only that, but there are 4 books in my bible dedicated to a story of how people wanted to kill god so that they could do whatever they wanted. And you know what? They actually killed god.
***Spoiler Alert***
Unlike TGC, that isn't the end of the story. Jesus rises again. Truth wins. Grace wins. Love wins. God wins.
***End Spoiler Alert***
So my question is, why don't we just use this movie to our advantage? As someone who works with adolescents, I think there would be great value in watching the films with ensuing discussions on how they fit into a Christian worldview. Here's a question...what would really happen if we succeeded in permanently killing God and doing whatever we wanted? How do we try to kill God every day to do what we want? How is the god in TGC fundamentally different from the God we worship?
I mean, honestly people. In the process of trying to make money Hollywood is throwing you a softball here. Right over the middle of the plate.
There is a good chance that Pullman's trillogy will be required reading in our home when our kids hit middle school. We will read the books together. We will talk about them. We won't get our underwear all up in a bunch. We will grow together and have respectful conversation about who our God is and how we can better serve that God.
Chill out...Don't trip...
Do...Not...Trip
Fair Dinkum
It is at this point in the conversation where my friends begin to aspirate. Pandemonium ensues. I jump in with a huge smile and a peppy "just kidding!!", right before anyone passes out and gets a nasty bump on the head.
I consider myself to be fairly well-read, so I am a little bit ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Phillip Pullman or "The Golden Compass" prior to last week. What an ignorant dolt I must be. I only mention it so that we are all clear that I'm forming all of my following opinions on second-hand knowledge.
My initiation into this fantastic public debate occurred in the friendly confines of Facebook. One of my friends joined a group entitled "Do NOT support 'The Golden Compass'". I clicked on the link to see what in tarnation was going on, to find that the group had over 120,000 members and that its homepage contained a link to a very fair and balanced story from Fox News.
What I can surmise from my fact-gathering mission is this: my fellow Evangelicals are mad that Hollywood has a pro-athiest agenda. They are calling for us to boycott TGC as a sign of solidarity that we will not support a trilogy of movies based on fictional books that culminate with kids killing god so that they can do whatever they want to do.
I agree that Hollywood has an agenda. It's called money. If bare breasts and swear words sell, they will release movies with bare breasts and swear words. If movies based on a series of books written by a well-known Christian author will sell a gaggle of tickets, they will release such a movie. If a movie will cause Christians to raise such a ruckus that the movie gets tons of free advertising in the form of newspaper stories and tv news debates, they will release such movies.
That's right, friends. You are once again masterfully filling your role as puppet.
It's like I always say...When Hollywood sends you limes, squeeze the juice into your rum and coke and relax.
The last time I checked, people really like to do whatever they want. Not only that, but there are 4 books in my bible dedicated to a story of how people wanted to kill god so that they could do whatever they wanted. And you know what? They actually killed god.
***Spoiler Alert***
Unlike TGC, that isn't the end of the story. Jesus rises again. Truth wins. Grace wins. Love wins. God wins.
***End Spoiler Alert***
So my question is, why don't we just use this movie to our advantage? As someone who works with adolescents, I think there would be great value in watching the films with ensuing discussions on how they fit into a Christian worldview. Here's a question...what would really happen if we succeeded in permanently killing God and doing whatever we wanted? How do we try to kill God every day to do what we want? How is the god in TGC fundamentally different from the God we worship?
I mean, honestly people. In the process of trying to make money Hollywood is throwing you a softball here. Right over the middle of the plate.
There is a good chance that Pullman's trillogy will be required reading in our home when our kids hit middle school. We will read the books together. We will talk about them. We won't get our underwear all up in a bunch. We will grow together and have respectful conversation about who our God is and how we can better serve that God.
Chill out...Don't trip...
Do...Not...Trip
Fair Dinkum
i'm scared that naive parents are going to allow their kids to buy into it unknowingly and to the extreme.
(action figures, trading cards, posters, etc.) when they're in elementary school. it'd be hard to tell an obsessed kid that the storyline he's bought into for years.
imagine someone telling you star wars was an evil and lacked a positive storyline when you were in middle school (not true, but tragic to you at the time if someone told you).
however, there is definitely reason to hope here. but i also understand the fear.