His Dark Materials Indeed!
I presume many of you have heard about the movie The Golden Compass. If not, Fox News has an article here. As this article describes, the movie version has removed many of the offensive religious elements that were originally in the book. Fine.
My observation on the ol' brouhaha, though, is that the book trilogy, entitled His Dark Materials, is not just "atheistic," but satanic. It reverses the moral order (what is presumed good is not, and what appears evil is good), it establishes a false cosmology and theology of the "daemons"--spirits who guide us, and in the end, the characters reportedly "kill God." All of this is a lot of repackaged gnosticism; it's diabolical. It is not enough to say the author doesn't believe in God. It is not enough to say the books seek to convince young people that there is no God. Science textbooks do it routinely. These books propose another "gospel" altogether.
I suppose if you want to fill your head with this wickedness no one will stop you. But if you care for your faith and the faith of your children, flee this stupid filth.
11 comments :
Sorry about the above delete. It's a bad typing day!
I have to say I'm with Eric here. My kids will no doubt see the film and the sequels. However, they have the capacity to reason and to question and can distinguish fact from fiction and fantasy. I predict all will be well.
Actually I agree with Plato. Literature that is harmful for public and private morality ought not to be read. Actually, he advocated censoring them, but that's another issue. As I believe Pr. Brown was alluding, Tolkien and Rowling are not avowed atheists whose purpose is to help children reject God. Pullman is.
But I don't have a problem with grownups reading the Satanic Materials Trilogy, nor older children well grounded in faith. Not the youngsters the book is geared toward. It's completely irresponsible for parents to allow spiritually harmful material be fed to their children.
So you guys think parents should brainwash their children, and censor what impressions they get? But if tthe christian gospel is the truth and the one that makes more sense, why are you all so disturbed by books giving another gospel?
Anonymous Friend,
We need to remember that parenting means keeping inappropriate, dangerous and unwanted things away from our children. If you believe that something is spiritually harmful, keeping it from your child is the same as keeping Liquid Drain-o away from them. It would be completely irresponsible and wicked to allow children to make decisions and be exposed to things that are against the values you wish to instill in them, that are harmful or inappropriately mature for them.
As for letting truth and falsehood "slug it out"--to paraphrase you--yes, the truth will always prevail, but children especially do not always recognize the truth, and above all we must remember what Romans 16:17 says, "I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them."
If you are a Christian, Anonymous, I suggest that you would be better off realizing that some things need to be censored in this sinful world. I would also suggest you that the term "brainwashing" be used for those instances which truly are psychological manipulation against the will.
Raising children is not brainwashing.
Thanks for commenting.
In fact to me giving children materials to rebel more strongly against institution, at a time in their lives when their faculties of reason are battling many internal and external obstructions, and a time when it is natural for them to rebel without cause anyway, is like brainwashing and manipulating them.
Also it should be mentioned that Pullam leaves no ambiguity aboout the identity of the "Authority", as he calls Him. In the books, one of the names given to the "Authority" is Jehovah. So to the annonymous poster, who stated that children should be allowed to be influenced by spiritualy contrary literature, would you be comfortable with a book that was anti-islamic? Whose villain was Allah, and whose hero was Jesus? Because to a christian, "His Dark Materials" is just as intolerant to his faith, as my perverbial example would be to a muslim. I've gone through the first, and last, book in the series. (Yes I know that it's out of order, but my local public library only had those two books, and I didn't want to wait to put the middle book on hold first.) I actually decided to read them because I had read that it is an atheistic fantasy series. I was curious to see just how a fantasy could be non-mythological in nature. I was then shocked to discover that this series is, from what I've read about the subject, conveying satanistic concepts. It seems to me to be something that Anton Lavey, the founder of the "Church of Satan" would write, if he were to write childrens literature. P.S. I am a grown up, so I'm not an immature,impressionable, youngster.
I find it interesting that some people commenting here have not even taken care to properly classify their complaints against this literature.
This is not a satanist text.
PLEASE do not blindly equate satanism with pantheism.
All you do is make well learned theists such as myself want to throw dung in your mouth... as the dung wash would likely clean your mouth up!
Now I have only read this series once, but I am fairly certain that... while The Authority is denoted as a deceiver, he is never actually classified as "evil" or "the Villian."
Rather... it is "people" and the misuse and abuse of authority (lower case) which is cast in the villian role, and yes...
...if we want to step out of a fictional story...
for ceturies The Church burned, hung, disembowled, imprisoned, starved, tortured people for no better reason then their decision to live in peace ... differently.
Pullman's parallel is "severing" which is certainly more tasteful way to remind us that belief unchecked by compassion and acceptance of what is means to be conscious is dangerous.
I just read the first book and the ending is ridiculous. One of the characters who is working against the magisterium wants to destroy Dust (original sin), one of the characters who is working for the church wants to destroy Dust (original sin). From this the protagonist determines that Dust is somehow "good"
the author was just expressing his ideas. people may accept them if they want, but if they disagree, they can take it just as fiction. i believe people are mature enough for that
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