The Golden Compass Is A Person

I would guess the upcoming movie, to be released around Christmas and called The Golden Compass, will be a blockbuster.

Already, the Catholic League is poised to give the release a hard time. Why? Well, the organization in the story that trumps all evil is called "The Magisterium." This is an obvious reference to Medieval Roman Catholicism.

Add to that the fact that this story is written by an ardent atheist to be in competition with The Chronicles of Narnia. The author simply seems to despise religion and particularly God. Thus, he has produced some anti-God propaganda to help children to not get sucked into the great black hole of religious faith.

That said, I'll probably watch the movie, even though I might have, at my tender age of 58, become overwhelmed by labyrinthine fantasy epics. Still, it is a great opportunity for the wonderful special effects we have become accustomed to. The price tag on this whopper is higher than Waterworld was, over 200 million.

Narnia was a delight, but I haven't watched it again. For one thing, I have not the patience any more to sit through a long, droll build-up in movies, as was the style in C.S. Lewis' day, back when people valued plots and suspense. Today we know better. If you want to make a good movie, cut to the chase, I only have a 7-minute attention span. If you want my dollar, that is.

I have surely been through numerous movies written by atheists: and what about the popularity of Christian-bashing in the movies of the last three decades? You get used to it after awhile. It starts to feel good. Christians make good bad guys (no oxymoron intended).

And, just because this movie is the world's-eye-view of an atheist doesn't mean it isn't spiritual, or that it doesn't have worthwhile things to tell us. I've reached the place I think the church should lash out against its critics less and listen more. They may be trying to tell us something valuable.

It's hard to tell whether protests hinder or propel movies. I call it "negative hype". It can do wonders for one's career. So a bit of Christianized overkill may do the movie good.

I have a motto in my mind, these days, that no matter where you look, you can find substance. It may be that this is going to manifest in this movie. After all, most movies are about good guys and bad guys, heroes and villains. These images are always profoundly biblical, no matter who is producing them. God's story is based in these very things.

2007 should possibly be dubbed "the year of the atheist." Numerous atheist-themed books have rocked the bestseller lists, and now we wind up the year with anti-God propaganda for children. So is the country going atheist? Or is it just a fashionable moment for atheism? I would guess the latter.

As a former atheist, I don't worry much about atheism. It has been known to do as much harm as any other religion if its adherents become too zealous and dictatorial. In fact, recently I have had Internet conversations with very dedicated atheist scientists, and they are more than amiable. In fact, some of them have jumped from the Christian train, often as a result of offenses or traumas that made them doubt God.

Jesus said to us to love our "enemies". Anybody who hates us qualifies as an enemy. I regard this as an opportunity of discovery. This is a fantastic concept! It causes us to stretch and empathize with those we are most opposite to.

I am of the opinion that the church is often, if not almost universally, adept at drowning out the voices of those it seeks to reach. We are afraid of critics. Perhaps we are so insecure about our own beliefs that we must insulate ourselves from conflicting information. What we do, then, is avoid constructive criticism. What those who are outside the church are saying is, "This is what turns me off about you." My retort: "Wow! What is it? You may be right. Maybe I can fix that."

So I will be a lonely Christian that welcomes this movie. It reminds me of the Harry Potter mania of some years back, when Christians were so livid in opposition to these cool stories.

Is our message anti-world? There is a bit of Gnosticism in that: a kind of dualistic view of the universe. Or should we really be pro-people, trying to love everybody, mingling with the sinners and scorners like Jesus did, and confessing our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities, and our faults, identifying with them.

Instead, we are often obviously full of pretense and pride, only driving them away from our ultimate product, salvation. For one thing, after almost 2,000 years, we have not yet sorted out what we believe about what Christ did. Are people going to be drawn to confusion?

We have good news. It trumps anything I've heard from my atheist friends. And that good news is theirs too, whether they like it or not. It's the only good news this world really has.

Oh, by the way, here is a clue: Jesus is the golden compass.