Another movie. Another bout of anti-Christianity. Another chorus of anti-anti-Christianity protests. This time it's the Golden Compass and this link on the movie has been circulating all over the ether. Extracts below :

The movie has been described as "atheism for kids" and is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled "His Dark Materials" that was written by Phillip Pullman. Pullman is a militant atheist and secular humanist who despises C.S. Lewis and the "Chronicles of Narnia". His motivation for writing this trilogy was  specifically to counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Christ that are portrayed in the Narnia series.

Clearly, Pullman's main objective is to bash Christianity and promote atheism. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that "my books are about killing God." He has even stated that he wants to "kill God in the minds of children". It has been said of Pullman that he is "the writer the atheists would be praying for, if atheists prayed."

While the movie itself may seem mild and innocent, the books are a much different story. In the trilogy, a young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake." In the final book, characters representing Adam and Eve eventually kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH. Each book in the trilogy gets progressively worse regarding Pullman's hatred of Jesus Christ.

Here are some thoughts from a few friends which are worth pondering:

"Of course I will not let my kids watch it - not because it's "evil" but just as part of a parent's responsibility to screen through what our kids should not be seeing at their tender age where their minds are yet to be prepared for such confusion and contradictory materials. Getting paranoid is never a good thing - just basic parental common sense.

"One of my favorite past times when I was a teenager was to readyand critique cultic doctrinal materials - but before I could do that I had to have spent hundred of hours studying and understanding our own fundamental Christian doctrines.

"There must be a balance - on the one hand if we are really serious about our faith we must first take time and make a commitment to study our own faith. Then hone or sharpen our doctrinal knives against such materials. Just to discuss and debate over such controversial materials merely for curiosity's sake, or proofing one's 'ego' or intelligence would not be a healthy motive.

"Our jobs as parents and educators is primarily to educate our children or people rather than becoming full time bashers of anything non-Christian. God can defend himself, we dont need to defend him but we need to educate ourselves and those under our care concerning truth."

And:

"I think calling for boycott of the movie is either extreme and would not resolve the situation. (Because) then technically we should NOT watch any of the 'keng' movies like star wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc…

"Or even Romance movies that depict newly in love couples jumping into bed together after the first or second date."