AFILM which is scheduled to be shown in Singapore cinemas this month is causing great concern among Christians. And they should be – and rightly so.
The children’s movie, entitled “The Golden Compass”, has been described as “atheism for kids”.
It is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled His Dark Material written by Philip Pullman, a militant atheist and secular humanist who despises C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. His motivation for writing the trilogy was to specifically counteract Lewis’ symbolisms of Christ portrayed in the Narnia series.
Clearly, Pullman’s main objective is to bash Christianity and promote atheism. He left no doubt about his intention when he said in an interview in 2003 that “my books are about killing God”.
He had even been reported to have said that he wants “to kill God in the minds of children”.
While “The Golden Compass” film itself may seem mild and innocent, the books are a much more different story.
In the trilogy, a young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in a great struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God.
Another character, a former nun, describes Christianity as “a very powerful and convincing mistake”.
In the final book, characters representing Adam and Eve eventually kill God.
Each book in the trilogy shows Pullman’s hatred of Jesus Christ getting progressively stronger.
As far back as early 2005, Bishop Dr Robert Solomon had warned us of attempts by some people to show that “God does not exist” and to “dethrone God”.
In an article entitled “Kingdom or Republic?” in the April 2005 issue of Methodist Message (page 3), he writes:
“There have been several attempts to unseat God from heaven. Lucifer and his rebellious angel friends tried it a long time ago, and failed.
“There have also been similar attempts on earth to dethrone God. Atheists have tried to show that God does not exist.
“One such attempt is by award-winning British author Philip Pullman. In his best-selling His Dark Material trilogy, Pullman portrays God as an irrelevant, confused and weakened old being, and the church as a corrupt and cruel institution that must be dismantled.
“Making his underlying beliefs and motives clear, Pullman told an Oxford literary conference in August 2000:
‘We’re used to the Kingdom of Heaven; but you can tell from the general thrust of the book that I’m of the devil’s party, like Milton. And I think it’s time we thought about a republic of Heaven instead of the Kingdom of Heaven. The King is dead. That’s to say I believe the King is dead. I’m an atheist …’ ”