The Golden Compass[12]

The Golden Compass, directed by , has caused quite a stir amoung Christians and the rumor that this novel-turned-movie is attacking belief in God. Known as one of Britian's most outspoken Atheists, Philip Pullman is author of the Golden Compass series. Although Pullman has been quoted in past interviews as "trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief", in that same interview he also says, "I'm not in the business of offending people. I find the books upholding certain values that I think are important. Such as that this life is immensely valuable. And that this world is an extraordinarily beautiful place, and we should do what we can to increase the amount of wisdom in the world'."
There are only a few ties to Christianity that I see in The Golden Compass film. The first example being Dust. The explanation of Dust in the movie is the free will and creative spirit a child has in their younger years. In the movie, children are captured by the Magisterium (church?) and cut away from their daemons and they are forced to "settle". The way this ties in with Christianity is that Pullman portrays the church as being somewhat forceful, taking the free thinking and will of people. Pullman is hinting that Christians are somewhat forceful and eager to push their religions on others.


Works Cited
McClintock, Pamela and McNary, Dave. "Will 'Compass' find audiences?" Variety, December 6, 2007. May 20, 2008.