12.11.2007

The Golden Compass and the Search for Truth

While sitting in my office yesterday pondering world I wish I knew, a fax started coming through the office machine like a slow moving locomotive. The context of the fax was a warning about a New Line Cinema movie, The Golden Compass, which is based of a trilogy, His Dark Materials, by Phillip Pullman. The movie has supposedly sparked much theological controversy, particularly in its' supposed attack of the Catholic Church (I must confess I have not seen it to verify), and authority of all kinds. I decided to explore on the Golden Compass site at www.goldencompassmovie.com. I watched the first five minutes of the movie, which draws the audience into the imaginative world(s) of Pullman, where souls live outside of their bodies in the form of animal partners called daemons (pronounced 'demons'). Connecting this magical world and worlds like the one we inhabit is dust, which was known at one time, yet the knowledge was destroyed by the 'ruling power' and fearing any truth but its' own, destroyed the golden compass devices, telling of the dust, except for one, which is where the story begins......
I just can't imagine the point that Phillip Pullman is trying to make. (History majors, stop laughing, you are giving away my sarcasm). Maybe instead of sending faxes to churches warning against the dangers of such movies, those who think they hold a monopoly on the truth should acknowledge that they serve a God revealed in Jesus Christ found outside of their walls. Nobody owns the Holy Spirit, for it is God the Father (filioque, (and the Son's)) to give, not ours.
How about seeking reconciliation with a confused, yet truth-seeking author, instead of attacking his work? Who's reaching out to him and telling him the story of Christ this Christmas, who promises that those who seek the truth will find it?
Peace be with you today.

2 comments:

emilykatz said...

don't you think that all the energy people are putting into fighting this movie could be used in a BIGGER way... like feeding the hungry? is it a part of christian history to over react? so over it.

S said...

I totally agree with you that Christians ought to seriously reconsider their approach in responding to this movie. I did see it last Saturday and actually liked it. The clear theme of the movie is that we ought to question authority and think for ourselves, and while that may be attacking church authority and authority in general, I don't see it as attacking God, at least not the God I worship, because the God I worship gives us free will to choose whether or not we want to follow Him. But even if it was attacking God, I think we ought to engage the ideas brought up in the movie as a tool to open dialogue with people rather than just condemning it. The truth should stand on its own and we should not fear challenges to it. Well, rather than write you a novel here I'm going to post my response to the movie on my blog, sisrael.livejournal.com.