My friend Rob sent this email to me; I asked him if I could pass it on, and he said yes.
Long story short, he got an email from his cousin basically saying that taking one's child to see The Golden Compass was tantamount to having them burn in Hell. This was his reply:
"Cousin,"
God made us responsible, thinking beings. No matter the metaphor in the Bible, we are not sheep, and God did not intend us to be as such.
To that end, over the last several years I've investigated several belief systems including atheism. I've studied the logical arguments for and against the existence of God, and I simply think atheism is not the truth. It is certainly not evil. Hundreds of thousands of atheists live good lives, contributing to the good of society, doing good works for others. No great atrocity such as war or genocide has been committed in the name of atheism.
On the other hand, Jesus is probably shamed by the number of wars and crimes committed in his name. As you well know, no lives are saved, no one is forgiven, and no one is converted through violence, anger, or protest. People become believers through the observation of true Christian lives and through the grace of God.
Reading a book written by an atheist will not make me an atheist and it will not add evil to the world; and if its a good story, I'll probably appreciate it. If I think the film is appropriate for the age of my son, I'll let him watch it.
Satan does not work through atheism; that would be too cliché. Satan works within each of us, subverting our desires, our pride, to his ends. We see this everyday: in the early loss of naivety in of our children, in our consumer culture, in the loss of pleasantries and manners between strangers, in the violence and sex actively taught in every type of media possible, and in the selfish actions of ourselves and others.
As you know, it is a responsibility for each of us to recognize and think about good and evil. We must make decisions based on our beliefs, hopefully based on the example Jesus set for us. However, again, we are not sheep. God does not want us to mindlessly walk through our lives following the directions of any church. To believe so is to underestimate the grace and plan of God, to underestimate God's faith in humanity, to undermine the gifts God has given us.
I teach high school, so you can imagine that I occasionally run into parents who want to ban books for various reasons: bad words, witchcraft, violence... I've never run into a parent who wanted to ban a book they had actually read and understood. One of the most frightening things in this world is the people who think the world is black and white, who make decisions without thinking, who make decisions without even having a reasonable amount of information.
Countless groups have banned the Harry Potter books because "they promote witchcraft." Oddly enough, anyone who has actually investigated witchcraft knows that it has nothing to do with Satan or evil. It's about Earth spirits, not my cup of tea, but whatever... The Harry Potter books engage the imagination, they teach kids about possibilities, and they help kids realize the possibility of miracles in a world that seems void of them. They are excellent books about friendship, loyalty, and the power of good over evil; yet they are banned by various church groups because the characters can do magic. What a shame.
How about Star Wars. Do you remember watching that as a kid? Banned as anti-Christian. Too bad because the whole concept of the Force is a wonderful way to start a conversation about how God interacts with our world. These movies make it pretty clear that George Lucas is some type of Christian, and yet his films have been banned by various church organizations.
I've read the information about The Golden Compass. I've also read enough to know that the "killing of God" that the author discusses in his interview might be interpreted in several ways when reading the books. The author has an agenda: He does not like or agree with organized religion. Giving the fact that most major wars and a considerable amount of violence is done in the name of one religion or another, I'm not sure I blame him. I don't, however, agree with him.
I will probably see this movie in one fashion or another. When I see it, more than ever I'll appreciate the fact that God gave me the ability to recognize evil for myself. If the story is good and I enjoy the film, I'll probably see the next one. If the author's agenda is heavy-handed, I won't support him in the future.
Best Wishes,
-Rob
Just thought I'd share.
Long story short, he got an email from his cousin basically saying that taking one's child to see The Golden Compass was tantamount to having them burn in Hell. This was his reply:
"Cousin,"
God made us responsible, thinking beings. No matter the metaphor in the Bible, we are not sheep, and God did not intend us to be as such.
To that end, over the last several years I've investigated several belief systems including atheism. I've studied the logical arguments for and against the existence of God, and I simply think atheism is not the truth. It is certainly not evil. Hundreds of thousands of atheists live good lives, contributing to the good of society, doing good works for others. No great atrocity such as war or genocide has been committed in the name of atheism.
On the other hand, Jesus is probably shamed by the number of wars and crimes committed in his name. As you well know, no lives are saved, no one is forgiven, and no one is converted through violence, anger, or protest. People become believers through the observation of true Christian lives and through the grace of God.
Reading a book written by an atheist will not make me an atheist and it will not add evil to the world; and if its a good story, I'll probably appreciate it. If I think the film is appropriate for the age of my son, I'll let him watch it.
Satan does not work through atheism; that would be too cliché. Satan works within each of us, subverting our desires, our pride, to his ends. We see this everyday: in the early loss of naivety in of our children, in our consumer culture, in the loss of pleasantries and manners between strangers, in the violence and sex actively taught in every type of media possible, and in the selfish actions of ourselves and others.
As you know, it is a responsibility for each of us to recognize and think about good and evil. We must make decisions based on our beliefs, hopefully based on the example Jesus set for us. However, again, we are not sheep. God does not want us to mindlessly walk through our lives following the directions of any church. To believe so is to underestimate the grace and plan of God, to underestimate God's faith in humanity, to undermine the gifts God has given us.
I teach high school, so you can imagine that I occasionally run into parents who want to ban books for various reasons: bad words, witchcraft, violence... I've never run into a parent who wanted to ban a book they had actually read and understood. One of the most frightening things in this world is the people who think the world is black and white, who make decisions without thinking, who make decisions without even having a reasonable amount of information.
Countless groups have banned the Harry Potter books because "they promote witchcraft." Oddly enough, anyone who has actually investigated witchcraft knows that it has nothing to do with Satan or evil. It's about Earth spirits, not my cup of tea, but whatever... The Harry Potter books engage the imagination, they teach kids about possibilities, and they help kids realize the possibility of miracles in a world that seems void of them. They are excellent books about friendship, loyalty, and the power of good over evil; yet they are banned by various church groups because the characters can do magic. What a shame.
How about Star Wars. Do you remember watching that as a kid? Banned as anti-Christian. Too bad because the whole concept of the Force is a wonderful way to start a conversation about how God interacts with our world. These movies make it pretty clear that George Lucas is some type of Christian, and yet his films have been banned by various church organizations.
I've read the information about The Golden Compass. I've also read enough to know that the "killing of God" that the author discusses in his interview might be interpreted in several ways when reading the books. The author has an agenda: He does not like or agree with organized religion. Giving the fact that most major wars and a considerable amount of violence is done in the name of one religion or another, I'm not sure I blame him. I don't, however, agree with him.
I will probably see this movie in one fashion or another. When I see it, more than ever I'll appreciate the fact that God gave me the ability to recognize evil for myself. If the story is good and I enjoy the film, I'll probably see the next one. If the author's agenda is heavy-handed, I won't support him in the future.
Best Wishes,
-Rob
Just thought I'd share.
:
:v And that's where we need to start. Before even getting into different interpretations of the book(from people and the movie) just read it themselves.
I have seen this debate sooo many times!
