The Golden Compass – A Briefing for Concerned Christians

The Golden Compass is generating a lot of annoyance from all kinds of people. Why are Christians so up in arms against this movie/these books?

Albert Mohler has A Briefing for Concerned Christians about The Golden Compass. He’s read the books and watched the movie. His response is informed, rational and reasonable, which is why the media will not be interviewing him in spite of the fact that he is the president of a major Baptist seminary, on the board of Focus on the Family, and described by Time Magazine as the “reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S.”

Mohler writes, (emphasis added)

Pullman’s attack on biblical Christianity is direct and undeniable. He once questioned why his books attracted little controversy even as the Harry Potter books attracted so much. He told an Australian newspaper that what he is “saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God.” …

The most direct attacks upon Christianity and God do not appear until the last book, The Amber Spyglass, in which Lyra and Will (a boy her age who first appears in the second book) eventually kill God, who turns out to be a decrepit and feeble old imposter who was hardly worth the killing. …

So, what should Christians do?

A good first step would be to take a deep breath. The Christian faith is not about to be toppled by a film, nor by a series of fantasy books. Pullman has an agenda that is clear, and Christians need to inform themselves of what this agenda is and what it means. At the same time, nothing would serve his agenda better than to have Christians speaking recklessly or unintelligently about the film or the books.

This is about the battle of ideas and worldviews. While Christians will not celebrate the release of this film, we should recognize the mixture of challenge and opportunity that comes with millions of persons watching this film and talking about the issues it raises. When the movie is mentioned in the workplace, in school, on the playground, or in the college campus, this is a great opportunity to show that Christians are not afraid of the battle of ideas. …

Philip Pullman has an agenda, but so do we. Our agenda is the Gospel of Christ — a message infinitely more powerful than that of The Golden Compass. Pullman’s worldview of unrestricted human autonomy would be nightmarish if ever achieved. His story promises liberation but would enslave human beings to themselves and destroy all transcendent value.

The biblical story of the Fall is true, after all, and our only rescue is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The curse of sin was not reversed by adolescents playing at sex in a garden, but by the Son of God shedding His blood on a cross.

So let’s get our bearings straight as we think and talk about The Golden Compass. This movie does represent a great challenge, but a challenge that Christians should always be ready to meet.

Christians have an opportunity with the release of this movie.  Rather than engaging in some knee jerk reaction and confirming the stereotype – like the woman who warned me against Lord of the Rings because “it promotes witchcraft,” let’s follow Mohler’s advice and take advantage of it.