The Golden Compass

We had a post about Pullman here before we quit this blog a while back, and now that the movie's come out, there's a good deal of digital ink getting spilled on it (the movie, not the post) -- especially as to whether Christians, and perhaps in particular Catholics should be wary of it or hostile toward it or embrace it as a great book for kids (Pullman is an atheist, and the general buzz is that his books are for atheism what C.S. Lewis' Narnia books are for Christianity -- highly readable but instructive allegory designed to promote a specific worldview -- in Pullman's case, that religion is bad and organized religion is worse and the Catholic Church is the worst of all). I haven't read the books -- only interviews with the author -- but Rick mentioned catching the movie and discussing here which one of us (if either of us) takes it as an attack on his faith or wants to defend it.

(Of course, whether or not adults with some formation in their faith should see the movie isn't really the issue -- the issue is whether it's propaganda against a belief system parents may be trying to instill in their children. And then whether parents should have input into and make judicious, values-based decisions about what sorts of media their children are exposed to. The answer to the latter of course, whether you are liberal, conservative, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, atheist or anything else is, yes. Duh.)

I'm thinking of picking up the book as well -- as a fan of science fiction and fantasy literature and books over movies, it seems I ought to before forming a final opinion on this...

And just in case our plan to catch this movie and review it here goes the way of many of our othere schemes that are designed to be accomplished in our "free time" ... First Things has an interesting review here. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops had a review posted as well that seemed to endorse the film ... but now it seems they've annulled it.