The Deceit of "The Golden Compass"

I have received email alert after email alert regarding this movie, due to be released December 7, 2007 (Pearl Harbor Day).

Like most of us who grew up as part of the baby boom, we were enthralled with books such as the Lord of the Rings series and the Chronicles of Narnia. They all had a great message of belief in forces outside of ourselves, perseverance, good suppressing/overcoming evil, and, underlying all of those messages, the greatness of God. Whether we were Christian or Jewish, God and His Goodness/Righteousness overcame evil. Simpler times, yes, but is it any wonder those stories, so many decades later, are still read, made into incredible movies, and loved by all ages?

I never heard of Phillip Pullman until I began receiving these email alerts. So far, I've heard from friends, the Catholic League, One News Now and America Family Alert. One of my friends provided a Snopes link as well.

The movie is based upon the first book (Northern Lights, released in the US as the Golden Compass) in a trilogy titled His Dark Materials.

Per Snopes here,

"...the series follows a streetwise girl who travels through multiple worlds populated by witches, armor plated bears and ecclesiastical warriors to defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God."

Well.

Let me clarify right here, before anyone gets their panties in a wad, I have nothing against a great fantasy or fantasy series. I have read--repeatedly--every single Harry Potter book out there, and each and every one of them--particularly after I found out a lot of the underlying Christian symbolism J.K. Rowling used in her writings (Townhall article detailing symbolism used can be found here) to bring about Harry's adventures--was fantastic.

No, this is not a hit piece on the world of fantasy books, not by a long shot. This is a piece on an insidious evil purposely meant to indoctrinate our children and grandchildren (under the guise of fantasy and adventure and riding the coattails of the Harry Potter phenom) into the joys of secularism, atheism and agnosticism--often without parents and grandparents being aware of those underlying messages.

What I have learned regarding Phillip Pullman and the underlying message of this series of books is alarming and enraging. It shows just how far the secularists will go to indoctrinate our children into the atheist agenda while covering it up as "entertainment" to be released for the holidays.

More from Snopes here:

"...Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview with the Sydney Morning Herald that 'My books are about killing God'." (Conservative British columnist Peter Hitchen labeled Pullman "the Most Dangerous Author in Britain and described him as the writer "the atheists would have been praying for , if atheists prayed.")"

and

"Books of the trilogy have sold more than 15 million copies around the world, with Northern Lights winning the Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature in 1995 and in 2007 being awarded the 'Carnegie of Carnegies' for the best children's book of the past 70 years. The Amber Spyglass, the final book of the series, won the Whitbread Prize in 2001, making it the first children's book to do so."

That's enough from Snopes. You should have a rudimentary idea at this point if this is something you want your children/grandchildren exposed to in either book or film form.

Let's hear from Bill Donohue and the Catholic League here:

November 2, 2007

PHILIP PULLMAN’S DECEIT IS APPALLING

On this morning’s “Today” show, English atheist Philip Pullman was questioned by Al Roker about his trilogy, His Dark Materials, and the movie which opens December 7 that is based on his first book, The Golden Compass. Roker mentioned that the Catholic League is charging that Pullman’s work is selling “atheism for kids.” Here is Pullman’s response:

“Well, you know I always mistrust people who tell us how we should understand something. They know better than we do what the book means or what this means and how we should read it and whether we should read it or not. I don’t think that’s democratic. I prefer to trust the reader. I prefer to trust what I call the democracy of reading. When everybody has the right to form their own opinion and read what they like and come to their own conclusion about it. So I trust the reader.” [Emphasis mine--note his 180 turn from what he told the Sydney Morning Herald]

Catholic League president Bill Donohue replied as follows:

“The last thing Pullman trusts is the people. That is why he tries to sneak his atheism in back-door to kids. If he had any courage, he’d defend his work, but instead he continues to do what he does best—practice deceit. This is the same man who boldly exclaimed a few years ago, ‘I’m trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.’ Now he says that it is undemocratic of us to issue a consumer’s alert (we’ve published a booklet on his work) that exposes his hatred of all things Catholic.

“We at the Catholic League never had to run from our work. How pitiful it is to see a grown man slip kids his poisonous pill and then pretend he trusts the reader. We are so happy to have ripped the mask off his face. And the movie doesn’t even open for another five weeks! This is going to be a good ride. Hope Pullman is up to it.”

And the follow up article here:

November 13, 2007

SCHOLASTIC PRESSED ON “THE GOLDEN
COMPASS”; NO MORE VENTURES WITH PULLMAN SOUGHT

Catholic League president Bill Donohue wrote the following letter to Scholastic Corporation CEO Richard Robinson; copies of the letter were also sent to all the bishops and school superintendents in the Catholic community. Here is the body of Donohue’s letter to Robinson:

As someone who spent 20 years in education, I am aware of Scholastic’s stellar reputation. This is all the more reason why I am profoundly disturbed by Scholastic’s role in co-producing “The Golden Compass.” It is not the movie, per se, that is the problem, it is the book—and the other volumes that comprise His Dark Materials—that is the issue.

The author of these books, Philip Pullman, does not disguise his hatred of Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church. Why, then, would Scholastic be associated with such bigotry? As pointed out in our booklet on “The Golden Compass,” producing such a movie would seem to violate Scholastic’s own Credo, one part of which says, “To help build a society free of prejudice and hate, and dedicated to the highest quality of life in community and nation.” Moreover, Scholastic professes a belief in “High moral and spiritual values,” something which surely sounds odd given the Pullman connection. [Emphasis mine]

Christians need to be convinced that Scholastic will never again work with militant atheists who have an animus against their religion. Catholics, in particular, want to be certain that purchasing Scholastic materials does not indirectly fund campaigns against them. To this end, we look for Scholastic to pledge that in the event a movie version of Pullman’s other two books, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, is launched, it will have nothing to do with them. This would reassure Christians that the “Golden Compass” venture was an anomaly.

Contact Kyle Good, Vice President, Corporate Communications and Media Relations, kgood@scholastic.com

Yes...you read that correctly--Scholastic.com. The people we order books from for our children through their schools--I ordered many a book through Scholastic when I was in school.

From American Family Alerts here and One News Now here:

American Family Association here:

"There is a new movie coming to theaters December 7. You should be forewarned about The Golden Compass. The target audience for the movie is children, and it is being promoted in some schools. The Golden Compass is based on a book trilogy that promotes atheistic views, likely to be reflected in the movie.

For more information on The Golden Compass, click here to read the column by AFA's Rebecca Grace. You might also want to read an article from Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship. Click here for the article."

and One News Now here:

The Golden Compass is a film from New Line Cinema based on the first book of a series, His Dark Materials, written by English atheist Philip Pullman. It is set to release December 7 in theaters nationwide. From watching the trailer, it's easy to see that the film has a C. S. Lewis/Narnia feel to it, but don't be deceived.

Pullman's book trilogy is the story of "a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow God," BBC News reported. The Guardian, a British newspaper, goes even further to describe the books as "metaphysical fantasies encompassing parallel worlds, the death of God and the fall of man ....

Click the links and read the articles in their entirety.

The bottom line is this movie promotes, heavily, an agenda. It covers up the agenda by promoting a movie done in the style of Narnia; New Line Cinema plans to release this movie just in time for the holidays, when people are planning on spending time with their families.

The season, though, is not a season for atheism. The season is Christmas, the birth of our Lord, our Salvation, into this world. It's a time for families, closeness, celebration, giving, love--timeless values.

Do you really want to line this man's pockets? Not just this man, but all who are helping him promote his agenda? New Line Cinema, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green and the rest of the cast? They knew what they were making and promoting. Do you want to help hollyweird continue with their anti-family, anti-America agenda by making these people even more wealthy?

There used to be a time when no self-respecting star or studio would make a movie even hinting at such values. Any studio or star that did so became instant box office poison. Trouble is, there's no such thing as box office poison anymore. Hollywood truly has no morals, no values--anything goes. And the public continues to eat it up as if it were the finest delicacy. Then these same people turn around and bemoan the lack of values in today's society.


Look what's being promoted as normal, progressive and "ok".


The question is--IS it normal and ok? Or is it further proof of the degeneration of our society from within, the cancer eating this country alive in its metastization?


When we think nothing of presidential candidates who participate in scandal after scandal in fundraising, who sweep their wrongdoing under the rug, who can't answer simple questions without prevaricating constantly, who can't make decisions, who commit treason against a sitting President (dissent is one thing, legitimate questions regarding policy are okay, too--constant treason is another)...

When we reward bad behavior and choices with constant media attention...

When we accept as normal aberrant sexual practices...

When we kick God out of our schools and public places...

When our government rapes the populace and commits armed robbery upon the populace in the form of continuous taxes to reward the lazy, punishing the productive...

When murderers are appeased and catered to...

When we refuse to enforce laws on the books regarding immigration--then whine we need the workers (after a generation long murder spree of the unborn)...

When killing those we deem "unworthy" of life simply because they are not yet born or are too old to be of use...

When flushing a koran is considered an abomination but creating "art" by thrusting a crucifix in urine or creating a statue of the Virgin Mary out of elephant dung is considered art to be admired...

When we have a climate that condones all of the above, what do we expect? We have no one to blame but ourselves and our own slide down that greased slippery slope embarked upon when people decided Madeline Murray O'Hare was the one to follow.

Now--what are we going to do about it? I won't be giving my money to New Line Cinema or the cast members of this film--preferably as often as I find a movie released by New Line or one of these stars. I am but one person--my money won't be missed as an individual. But how many individuals can make a difference--together?

I can't tell you how to spend your money. I can ask you to think long and hard about how you DO spend your money. You earn it--spend it wisely.

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