The Golden Compass—Pointing Children in the Wrong Direction

I know “The Golden Compass” has been out since Friday December 7; however this email notice that I finally opened provides pretty good reasons as to why this is not a movie Christians should patron with their money or have their children’s malleable minds subjected to the subtle anti-Christian under tones of the movie.

Incidentally the movie was tamed because of expected criticism; however the books from the “The Golden Compass” are based are overtly anti-Christian and the author is an avowed atheist.

JRH 12/9/07
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The Golden Compass—Pointing Children in the Wrong Direction

Kellie Copeland
Email Notification: December 7, 2007
KCM.org

In the days we are living in it is imperative that we be aware of God’s plan for this generation. At the same time, we must not be ignorant of Satan’s plan and devices. He has launched an all-out attack on our children in an effort to control their hearts and minds. Many Christian parents, while aware this is his goal, will unknowingly allow the enemy the access he is after.

The Golden Compass, a children’s fantasy movie starring Nicole Kidman, and scheduled for release December 7, is one such doorway into the minds of children. The movie is based on a novel written by avowed atheist Phillip Pullman. The Golden Compass is the first book in a trilogy called “His Dark Materials” which also includes The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass (for a summary of these books go to http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/index.html.)

Many of you are aware of the anti-God, anti-church, anti-authority message of these novels. However, some parents will allow their children to see the movie where the anti-God message will be toned down significantly for the screen. Many will be deceived into allowing their children to read the books. As believers, we must take our position in opposition against anything that would exalt itself against the Word of God.

Despite saying he is only telling a story, the author is very passionate about his beliefs. This should be enough to keep believers away from seeing the movie or allowing their children to read these books. The purpose of this article is not aimed solely to discuss what is right or wrong, but reveals God’s purpose and plan for this generation and expose the enemy’s objective as being the destruction of God’s position in the home, family and church.

Satan is afraid of this generation of believers and is doing all he can to divert their attention from the Lord. In “His Dark Materials” the content is the antithesis of everything the Lord has planned for our kids.

Consider the collective impact of the following points taken from interviews and quotes from the series and by Mr. Pullman himself:

THE FALL IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN

· It is considered a positive step towards enlightenment and the improvement of life. It is a central theme of the trilogy. Lyra and Will (the two main characters) represent Adam and Eve, whose temptation was their love for each other.

· In a recent interview[1], Mr. Pullman states, “…the Satan figure is Mary Malone, not Lord Asriel and the temptation is wholly beneficent. She tells her story about how she fell in love, which gives Lyra the clue as to how to express what she’s now beginning to feel about Will, and when it happens, they both understand what’s going on and are tempted and they…fall—but it’s a fall into grace, towards wisdom, not something that leads to sin, death, misery, hell and Christianity.”

· In another recent interview[2], Mr. Pullman says, “…The thrust of the story, the sympathy of the story if you like, seems to be with the side that many traditionally minded Christians in particular have thought to be the wrong side. The general theme, the general gist of the whole book is that the famous story of the Temptation in the Garden of Eden and the Fall of Man so-called, when Eve gave way to the temptation to eat the fruit of knowledge and tempted Adam to eat it as well, that this traditionally [has] been presented as being a very bad thing and Eve was very wicked and we all got covered in sorrow and sin and misery from then on as a result of this…well, I just reversed that, I thought wasn’t it a good thing that Eve did, isn’t curiosity a valuable quality? Shouldn’t she be praised for risking this? It wasn’t after all, that she was after money or gold or anything, she was after knowledge. What could possibly be wrong with that?”

· In a speech[3], Pullman states “We don’t need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do’s and don’ts: we need books, time and silence. ‘Thou shalt not’ is soon forgotten but ‘Once upon a time’ lasts forever.”

· ‘Wisdom isn’t gained from God but from experience and making your own choices.” [3]

THE CHARACTER CALLED GOD IS THE ENEMY

· In The Amber Spyglass[4], it reads: “The Authority, god, the Creator, the Lord, Yahweh, El, Adonai, the King, The Father the Almighty—those were all names he gave himself. He was never the creator. He was an angel like ourselves—the first angel, true, the most powerful…The Authority was the first of all. He told those who came after him that he had created them, but it was a lie.”

THE REPUBLIC OF HEAVEN

· Mr. Pullman says[5], “We’re used to the kingdom of heaven; but you can tell from the general thrust of the book that I’m of the devil’s party, like Milton. And I think it’s time we thought about a republic of heaven instead of the kingdom of heaven. The king is dead. That’s to say I believe that the king is dead. I’m an atheist. But we need heaven nonetheless, we need all the things that heaven meant, we need joy, we need a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives, we need a connection with the universe, we need all the things that the kingdom of heaven used to promise us but failed to deliver. And furthermore we need it in this world where we do exist not elsewhere, because there ain’t no elsewhere.”

· In yet another interview[6], Mr. Pullman says, “The republic of heaven…stands for a sense of community. It stands for joy. It stands for a sense that the universe and we together have a common meaning and a common destiny and a purpose…I don’t want to do without heaven, but I can no longer believe in a kingdom of heaven, so there must be a republic of heaven of which we are free and equal citizens—and it’s our duty to promote and preserve this.”

· This philosophy is promoted by the main character, Lyra, who speaks of the Republic of Heaven[7]: “‘We have to be all those difficult things like cheerful and kind and curious and patient, and we’ve got to study and think and work hard, all of us, in all our different worlds, and then we’ll build….’ ‘And then what?’ said her daemon sleepily. ‘Build what?’ ‘The Republic of Heaven,’ said Lyra.”

· When asked about Jesus’ statement[1] “Unless you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” Mr. Pullman responded, “He wasn’t right all the time.”

THE NAME OF THE TRILOGY, “HIS DARK MATERIALS” IS DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED TO THE WORD OF GOD

· Everything in this universe is made up of light at its core. When God said, “Light Be” (Genesis 1) it was! God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all. We are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth (1 John 1:5-8). We are children of the light. Darkness does not comprehend us.

THE CHURCH IS ESTABLISHED AS THE ENEMY, AS ARE THE PARENTS

· The main characters are hunted, kidnapped by the “Church.” They seek to destroy Lyra and Will and others.

THE SOUL OF LYRA AND OTHER CHARACTERS EXIST OUTSIDE THEIR BODIES IN ANIMALS CALLED “DAEMONS”

· The dictionary defines daemon as “a spirit, evil spirit, demon.”

· On Philip Pullman’s official Web site[8] he states, “…readers have told me that the daemons which at first seem so utterly fantastic soon become so familiar and essential a part of each character that they, the readers, feel as if they’ve got a daemon themselves. And my point is that they have, that we all have. It’s an aspect of our personality that we often overlook but it’s there.”

· BBC Radio 3 interview[9]…the daemon is conceived of as being the gift of the rebel angels. Now in the course of the myth, the rebel angels are on the side of right and decency and goodness and consciousness, and all these things. [T]he rebel angels…gave to the beings in each world who were evolving, a gift that would help them understand themselves and become wise. In some worlds, they gave them a daemon.

· The Golden Compass Movie Web site[10] states in a character summation that, “In Lyra’s world, a person’s soul lives on the outside of their body in the form of a daemon—a talking animal spirit that accompanies them through life, always close to it’s corporeal half. In a description of daemons, they say that in our world it is possible that people have daemons as well, only they are invisible. You can create your own daemon avatar to take into the world with you by selecting “meet your daemon” on the Web site.

THE CULMINATION OF THIS SERIES IS THE DEATH OF “GOD”

· With his death, society is freed from control, and the main characters are able to be free from danger and from a “king.”

Consider the message sent: God is the enemy; the church is a dangerous enemy and a big mistake; the most mature and enlightened thing you can do is to disregard authority (include parents in that); fallen angels are the good guys; your “daemon” will speak to you from outside of your body and God is dead. This is mind-altering stuff at 9, 10 and 11 years old. When a child reads or watches this type of demonic message, it will influence the thought processes and the heart toward God you have worked so hard to develop by prayer and discipline. Seeds will be planted that may not show up for years to come. But they will produce a harvest.

It is God’s harvest and His plan for this generation that is at stake. He desires a people holy unto Himself. At the 2007 Southwest Believers’ Convention, the Word of the Lord came to Kenneth Copeland regarding His plan for them. Read it carefully (I’ve edited it somewhat for brevity. The entire prophecy can be found at http://www.kcm.org/pdf/Go%20Boldly.pdf).

“There is a generation,” saith the Lord, “that’s being raised up and even has already come on the scene. A generation that believes the Word; a generation that will exchange their thoughts for God’s thoughts: a generation that will believe who they are in Christ Jesus and who they are walking in the power and in the life of God…We know we’re children of God. We know we’re born of God, we know we are bone of His bone and spirit of His spirit. We know that He dwells within us; we know that His commandment is life everlasting. We know that His Word is alive and we know in whom we have believed. And we look like Him and we talk like Him and we act like Him…”

God is calling this generation to a place in Him we’ve never known before, to walk in such a degree of obedience that their very thoughts are exchanged for those of God. He says they’ve already come on the scene! The Superkids at Eagle Mountain International Church are truly walking in this prophecy, and there are thousands more like them around the world. In The Amplified Bible, Isaiah 55:7-9 says, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

People read this as though God is saying, “too bad, you can’t have My thoughts; they are too high for you.” No! He is saying in verse 7 to forsake your own way and thoughts, and let Him take over! Isaiah 55:11-13 tells us that His thoughts (Word) go forth out of His mouth and according to verses 12 and 13 they produce THE BLESSING!

We call it “The Sweet Life” at Superkid Academy. God makes things work for you and He turns rough places into victories. You can only live in THE BLESSING when you walk in obedience and take His thoughts as your own. He isn’t holding them back from you. He has freely given you His Word so you can walk out His plan for your life. Romans 8:28 says it clearly, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.”

It’s a privilege to teach and train children who desire to obey God and choose His way and not their own. They are mighty upon the earth already, but as parents and grandparents, even our imagination can’t fathom THE BLESSING this generation of young believers will experience (see 1 Corinthians 2:9). They are so in love with Him that being obedient is the only choice.

The call on us as ministers and parents is to protect that love and teach them to walk in THE BLESSING! We must pay attention to what they put before their eyes. It is our duty to say “no” when they ask to go to a movie, read books or fill their minds with things that are in opposition to God. It is OK for them to be the only person in their class who haven’t seen The Golden Compass. I encourage you to go online and do the research for yourself. Sit down with your children and talk with them. Inspire your children by reminding them frequently of the amazing plan God has in store. Teach them of His faithfulness. Teach them about THE BLESSING!

We are on the brink of a mighty move of God in this generation. They don’t settle for less than God’s best for them. They’ve exchanged their thoughts for God’s thoughts. They are bold to stand out. They are ordinary kids doing extraordinary things through the power of God’s Word. This is who they are.

I refuse to be silent and let Satan control their destiny in the name of entertainment. We are God’s people and we live to please Him! (Philippians 2:12-13, New Living Translation)

FOOTNOTES

[1] http://www.thirdway.org.uk/past/showpage.asp?page=3949
[2] http://www.abc.net.au/rn/relig/enc/stories/s510312.htm
[3] http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/author/carnegie.html
[4] ‘Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings’ by Richard Abanes, pp.33
[5] http://www.hisdarkmaterials.org/information/philip-pullman/home
[6] http://darkadamant.betterversion.org/BBC_Belief_Philip_Pullman.txt[7] http://www.hisdarkmaterials.org/information/his-dark-materials-books/faq
[8] http://www.philip-pullman.com/
[9] http://darkadamant.betterversion.org/BBC_Belief_Philip_Pullman.txt

[10] http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/

Mary Malone is an ex-nun who says Christianity is a convincing mistake. (‘Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings’ by Richard Abanes, pp.33-34)

The church is described as an entity that controls, destroys and obliterates every good feeling. (‘Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings’ by Richard Abanes, pp.34)