The Church of the Apostles

I have spent a full week in another world, a world of magic and mystery. In Lyra's world, a world where things seem similar to our world but with such stark differences that it makes the whole experience seem so alien. In Lyra's world people's souls live on the outside of their bodies in the form of animals, they are called daemons. I journeyed with Lyra on an epic adventure from the surroundings of Jordan College (a parallel version of Oxford University) to the far north, fighting ice bears and rescuing friends from the harmful grasp of the Magisterium. Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon, set out on a purpose to free some "best mates" from the General Oblation Board, a division of the Magisterium, who is trying to "cut" or separate young children from their daemon (or soul). With the help of some unique circumstantial characters, they journey to the North to a land called Svalbard to fight against the Magisterium to gain freedom for the souls of all the young who have been kidnapped against their will.

            If you have been tracking with my thoughts then you probably have heard something of the new film The Golden Compass. If you are a Christian or at least have a Christian friend who has email, you definitely know what I'm talking about. Since Monday of this past week my email has been flooded with "Christian Forwards", the forwards being far less Christian then probably the senders, about the dangers of The Golden Compass and the call to boycott the film all together. I took on the task about a week ago to read the book by Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass, the first book in a trilogy called His Dark Materials. My hopes in my learning was possibly to add some clarity to the controversy that is surrounding the movie and to give parents a guide to addressing an issue their kids WILL be talking about.

            Philip Pullman, the author of The Golden Compass, is an atheist. His statements in several interviews, both in Great Britain and in the States have shown that he wants to be the C.S. Lewis of the Atheist World. Pullman has made a fantastic world of wonder and adventure to lure children away from their "non-thinking" Christian upbringings to the "thinking" world of the atheist.  Philip Pullman is an incredible author, and far worth the Oxford Professor Status he shares with C.S. Lewis. I was immersed in his story. I had spent years away from reading fictitious novels to be welcomed back to a world of wonder with a tangible presence in his story, journeying alongside of Lyra and her band of acquaintances into a magical fight against oppressive evil to the salvation of the innocence of children. That is what makes me as frightened as I am intrigued.

            Hollywood doesn't only dumb down Christians. In the movie version of The Golden Compass, Hollywood has managed to so whitewash the issues that Pullman holds dear that for most watching the film they won't get any connection with the Christian Church or any doubt in God. Hollywood also manages to redeem some of the book's self-serving, abusive characters into selfless hero's fighting alongside of good. For most they will see a movie about a young innocent girl fighting against an oppressive authority who wants to squash her will to think or choose. Apart from a slight comment from the Magisterium of "this could upset 2000 years of tradition and history" most would not make much of a correlation to an antichristian or anti-church agenda. There in is the problem.

             The design of the December 7^th release of the movie was not just for big box-office sales, but for bigger book sales. That every child who goes to see The Golden Compass and is intrigued by the wonder and magic of the story has to ask for the book trilogy for Christmas, causing much of the same phenomenon as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. Now with the book you get a totally different story. I have read the first of the series, The Golden Compass, so I will comment lightly on the other two books of the series until I read them. The book brings an onslaught of self serving character's who are abusive to children and who have a dark nihilistic view on life.  Lyra, the protagonist of the series, is a rebellious disrespectful girl with an unstable upbringing and a natural despise for any authority above her. The book contains, unlike the movie, a good amount of coarse language and some very descriptive violence. Pullman, the master he is, brings every detail to life of Lyra's abused past and the violence that happens in her epic journey. The book clearly and in a mature manner brings out the Godless world that Pullman hopes to create.

            So the Question remains, should you bring your child to see The Golden Compass? Absolutely! As The Director of Children's Ministry and as a parent, I would hope to see parents bringing their children to the movie (I stress The Movie). I would like to see parents working with their kids to help them engage the world around them with the truth of the scripture. Their friends will see the movie so how can we help our children see redeeming qualities of this film to reach their peers for Christ? Let's help them see that as Lyra was a savior to her world, Jesus is the true savior of our world. You could point out that the heroes of the movie fought nobly for the sake of truth as we also fight for the sake of "The Way, The Truth and The Life". A great book, Shedding Light on His Dark Materials, by Bruner and Ware; can help parents to engage their kids about the series, His Dark Materials, and give them good insight into understanding the issues with Philip Pullman's books. I would not recommend reading the series for any child.

            As parents our children will be confronted with peers who have read the book series and have hard questions about faith and God's existence. I would suggest parents to read the series and help their children to answer the questions that are brought about in the novels. I brought my daughter Mackeen to the movie with me and she has written a piece also contained on the church website. My plan is to read the entire series and help her to answer questions that might come her way. When I feel she is old enough to handle the coarse language and violence of the books, I will take an active role into helping her understand God's truth apart from atheist speculation. My hope, in these new issues that always seem to confront us in our Holy Seasons as a church, is that we use our platform as Christians to be the salt and light to our culture, not to shrink back in fear, but to use the boldness that we find in Christ to share our faith and to allow our kids to share their faith with the world.

Coram Deo
Joel A. Christian
Director of Children and Youth Ministries