Madre's Missives

Inadvertent and Occasionally Intentional Thoughts

Compass Controversy: But They Kill God!

Posted On: December 18th, 2007 at 9:11 pm

Most of the "theological" aspects of the movie have been discussed in great detail in many and various places. I have no desire or time to rehash plot explanations etc.

In short, I found nothing in this movie any more offensive to Christians than the average TV sitcom that caricatures Christianity in order to dismiss its followers as backwards and unenlightened folks who just mindlessly ape what they've been told is true. Maybe I've got a thick skin about such matters, but to me it looks like the same old straw man, same old insult. Do we really expect anything else from Hollywood? From the world?

The high school youth from my church who saw the movie with me were far more confused by the incongruity of the storyline itself than were even slightly convinced to renounce their Baptismal faith. Some teens from my youth group did not have their parents' permission to see the movie and I respect that. I even hired a babysitter for my own son that evening. While I am comfortable watching a controversial movie like this with well-catechized high-school-aged young men and women, I will not see it with my 5 year old child. I don't think this movie would be appropriate for most elementary-school-aged kids.

But the biggest offense in the Pullman series of "His Dark Materials" is yet to come, in the final book in the series which concludes with the main characters killing God, or at least the "god" figure in the books. How DARE he? How anti-Christian and anti-religious can a story get?! And to market such material to children and teach them that God can and should be killed in order for people to gain their freedom from "Dust" the sin-like substance that permeates humanity and causes sickness and even death??

Hmm...wait a second there. That sounds a little familiar.

Isn't it a bit ironic that we, good Christians, are so deeply offended about an author writing about children killing God...and yet we actually get annoyed when Lent comes around each year because church is so drab and depressing? We get all worked up about a sci-fi fantasy atheist author's scandalous conclusion, but fail to be at all put off by the Scandal that is true.

Did you forget? We - you and I - really have killed God. We are no better than Pullman. In fact, his killing of "God" is just a pretend story. We mocked and beat our God with our fists and a whip that literally ripped His flesh from his bones. We spit on our God. And our God had real nails pounded through His real hands and feet into real wood. God really does die in our "story". We did that. That's what sinners do when they get their hands on God. Don't think you're any better than Phillip Pullman just because you don't have anything to do with this series of stories.

We're so blasé about the fact that we indeed HAVE killed God that we actually get self-righteous and offended when someone writes a story about a fictitious deicide and Hollywood makes a movie about it.

As I reflect on the movie and the publicity leading up to it, in a way, it's fascinating that people have lined up in protest, articles are written, sermons preached, and parents warn their children with prayerful fervor against such offensive worldly ideas. Imagine it, an atheist - trying, quite openly, to promote his false beliefs on the big screen! It's like being surprised when the Pope does or says something particularly Roman Catholic or a bear does his business in the woods.

If only we expended half that much energy looking out for and speaking against the false beliefs that come masquerading under the label of "Christian" instead of feeding sweet poison to our children.

Edited on: December 18th, 2007 10:22 pm

Comments:

Re: Compass Controversy: But They Kill God!

Posted On: December 20th, 2007 at 12:31 am by dtp
Now, now, now,

You gotta be careful about this, I mean, to teach that God died for you?

Next thing you know, yer gonna want to bind people to his death, by pouring water over their heads, making arcane gestures over them, and stating your authority is from a paradox where Three equals One

Didn't they tell you, that is too revolutionary for this world?