I finished reading the trilogy by Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials, several weeks ago. I wanted to take some time for reflection before blogging my review.
The first question on every parent's mind is, "Should I let my child see the movie?" This was definitely my question after receiving various email warnings from people who had not seen the movie or read the book. I decided to read the trilogy rather than see the movie; mainly because seeing The Golden Compass would segue to Matthew reading all three books, anyway. I needed to do my research.
The answer to every parent's question is, No, you should not allow your children to see The Golden Compass. The underlying premise of the story is the idea that original sin does not exist. Satan tempting Eve with the apple is depicted as a good thing; and Satan and all of the other fallen angels are painted as rebels on the side of good. God, on the other hand, is shown as the bad guy... punishing mankind for Eve eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Pullman weaves his story around the idea of God as a weak-minded control freak who sucks the fun out of life with all of His rules.
Pullman doesn't address Christ at all. Well, of course he doesn't mention Jesus. How could he? Mentioning Jesus would unravel the plot.
Anyway, the three books follow the main character, Lyra, and several others as they try to determine which side is actually good (the church and God or the fallen angels and Satan). At the end of the third book, God is destroyed.
I found the trilogy entertaining in a sick kind of way; mainly because I had just finished Beth Moore's Bible study Daniel, which really digs into the prophesies concerning end times. His Dark Materials is like a fun house mirror reflection of Genesis, Daniel, and Revelation all rolled into one. It reminds me of when my children try to explain how something happened and put their own slant on it. (I didn't actually kick him, Mommy. He ran into my foot! I didn't say he was a loser to be mean, Mommy. I was talking about the time he lost when we played that board game, remember?) Through Philip Pullman's stories, I had the feeling I was listening to a rebellious, but very persuasive child, telling his side of the story. It was amazing to see how many different ways Phillip Pullman came up with to dismiss or explain away scripture.
Anyway, children shouldn't see this movie because the trilogy is headed in a direction you don't want to go. Pullman is a gifted author and convincing story-teller. I was grateful for the timing of my last Bible study. Know your scripture before reading this...
As far as explaining to my kids why we wouldn't be seeing the movie; I just told the truth, short and simple. I said, "The books depict God as the bad guy and Satan as the good guy, and in the end God is killed. It's totally unrealistic and goes completely against the Bible." They didn't seem at all interested once they knew the plot. I think it really helped, though, that I read the books before telling them we couldn't see the movie. They knew for sure that I knew what I was talking about.
1 comment:
Fascinating! I cannot tell you how helpful that was! I have been curious how your reading has been going and what you thought. Thank you so much for sharing!
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