Cappy

The movie release of The Golden Compass is upsetting people on both sides of the religious spectrum. Christians are calling it “anti-God,” and atheists are fuming that the movie has watered down the “anti-God” elements. But come on, even a movie without an explicit religious undertone is a step in the right direction. And listen to my man Bill Donohue of the Catholic League:

They’re intentionally watering down the most offensive element,” Donohue said. “I’m not really concerned about the movie, [which] looks fairly innocuous. The movie is made for the books. … It’s a deceitful, stealth campaign. Pullman is hoping his books will fly off the shelves at Christmastime.

He knows what’s going on. And you can bet the author, Philip Pullman, does too. In books writers can be fearless, they can be open, they can actually say what they mean. But in movies, you have to satisfy a whole room of people at once, an entire demographic at once, rather than the individual watcher. You have to watch what you say and who you say it around. But novel-based movies always, ALWAYS, no matter how bad the movie is, lead to more sales of the book. (That’s why I’m for a movie version of Atlas Shrugged. Even though it is sure to be awful, it is also sure to sell books.)

In discussions over the movie Pullman suggested that the church could be represented by “any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual.” And you can bet that many Christian parents will go far beyond suggested that their children don’t see the movie or read the book, instead choosing to exercise their own curtailment of freedom by forcing their kids to stay away from both.

And even if the movie doesn’t serve as adequate impetus to boycott Pullman, his own words just might. After all, what good Christian could promote a man who doesn’t like C.S. Lewis…

The novelist has said they are in response to C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia,” the popular children’s fantasy series of which “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is the first book — written by Lewis to teach Christian ideals to kids.

“I loathe the ‘Narnia’ books,” Pullman has said in previous press interviews. “I hate them with a deep and bitter passion, with their view of childhood as a golden age from which sexuality and adulthood are a falling away.” He has called the series “one of the most ugly and poisonous things” he’s ever read.

Christians are even admitting that its a well written story, Donohue even called Pullman “very talented.” But of course, that’s as far as the praise goes, because in the end Christians are cleverly defending their beliefs the only way they can: by snuffing out the competition. In an active mined individual, all ideas are allowed consideration and the best ideas flourish and create the philosophy of that individual. But in a mind closed off to reality and debate, it can only survive by avoiding that which might damage its fragile wall.

This becomes even more apparent in the case of Golden Compass that the book doesn’t specifically attack the concept of God, but rather a “a dogmatic, power-hungry establishment.” Why would anyone not want to hear that? I can only think of one reason.

Quotes from Fox News.

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