"My books are about killing God" — Phillip Pullman.
Are you concerned with the witchcraft and dark themes embodied in the Harry Potter book and film series? If you are a Christian and your answer is "Yes" then Phillip Pullman thanks you.
Sort of.
Identifying J.K. Rowling's stories about the boy wizard as covering fire, drawing away the ire of concerned Christians, Phillip Pullman — the author of the best-selling His Dark Materials trilogy — has been slowly advancing what he identifies as an even more subversive philosophy: the need for children and adults alike to kill God. Of course, Pullman also seems to be a little miffed at the universal attention that Rowling has enjoyed — describing his books as "flying under the radar" despite their theocidal themes.
Not any more.
On December 7th, the first of Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy – The Golden Compass – will hit theaters worldwide. New Line Cinema, the studio responsible for the book's screen adaptation, shelled out the big bucks to screen selected scenes at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. New Line is betting that this will be the first in a three-movie deal that will bring in a Lord of the Rings-level box office. And based on the high-profile casting and the special-effects wizardry lavished on this film adaptation, the bet's a good one.
Bait and Switch
Rumors abound that New Line insisted that the screenplay be devoid of any of the "God and Church" animosity that grows from mere proddings in The Golden Compass to a full-fledged smack down by the time we reach the third book, The Amber Spyglass. As of this writing, the degree of truth behind that rumor is unknown. But in philosophical or theological terms, it hardly matters.
What we do know is this. Accompanying the anticipation surrounding the debut of Andrew Adamson's film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the winter of 2005 was a massive increase in book sales for that series. Fortunately, Adamson more or less adhered to Lewis' story line. Anyone who saw the film would find few surprises in the book. Parents could buy the series with confidence.
If The Golden Compass film and later His Dark Materials adaptations are true the spirit of their source material, the evangelical atheism contained in them will be a big turn off for the film's target audience. The compressed format of film doesn't lend itself to lengthy discussions about theology. But if the rumors are substantiated, and the film version of Pullman's books have been cleansed of content that might be offensive to Christians – or anyone who believes in any God with a capital G – then we need to be prepared for one of the biggest bait-and-switches in cinematic history. No-holds-barred ad campaigns hyping The Golden Compass as this winter's "must see" film will heighten awareness of the His Dark Materials books. And it will be there, as biblically-illiterate young readers engage Pullman's masterfully woven fantasy, that they will be lulled into one of the most vicious revisionist histories of the Church. Oh, and they will be encouraged to root for the death of God.
What This Series of Articles is Not About
I want to make it clear at the outset that this series of articles is not designed to be a call to boycott The Golden Compass. Any attention Christians bring to The Golden Compass by yelling, screaming, offering to pay for the prints to burn them (as I remember a televangelist saying at a rally denouncing The Last Temptation of Christ) will only fuel the curiosity factor. You would think that Christians would have learned that lesson. The hype around The DaVinci Code turned a boring film into a box-office juggernaut, earning it six times its production budget and guaranteeing that Dan Brown's other book, Angels and Demons, would get the green light (it is tentatively scheduled for a Christmas 2008 release).
Besides, it won't work. The Golden Compass has become the "must see" film of the Christmas season. Every time the trailer for the film comes on the audience reaction is positive. They are positioning this as a family film filled with adventure and excitement. A Christian boycott will not stop this film from being a blockbuster. And there is a better way to approach this movie.
The method we find used in the Scriptures to confront the accusations of non-believers, or pagans, is not threats, but persuasion. In Acts 17 and 19 we read of Paul speaking to the Athenians, or hear of his tactics among the pagan people throughout Asia. He moved them with arguments. Paul was well-versed in the mythologies of his time, and, when he had the opportunity, he used that knowledge to question, confront, and make opposing claims. His goal was not to win some temporal culture war, but the battle for his immediate hearers' souls. We should have the same aim in mind.
Christians can successfully use popular culture as a means of starting conversations about morality, ethics, and the Gospel. I have received numerous emails from people describing how they used Bible studies and FilmTalk cards created by MovieMinistry to bridge the gap between entertainment and evangelism. As distasteful as it may seem, The Golden Compass represents an opportunity for Christians to engage lies with the truth. The first step to understanding how that dialogue can take place is realizing that movies are not monologues.
Turning Movies from Monologues to Dialogues
When people head out to cinemas this winter, they will say that they are going to "see" or "watch" The Golden Compass. And that is precisely what most of them will do. What they will not recognize is that this film, like most others, contains a persuasive agenda. As they sit, uncritically absorbing movies as entertainment, subtle attitude shifts can occur below the threshold of their immediate awareness. They aren't paying attention to philosophical content – after all, it's "just a movie."
Precisely.
Persuasion expert Roderick Hart argues that people are more easily persuaded when they are having a good time.2 The best way, then, to slip in some subversive philosophical or theological idea is when people feel that they are being entertained. Dan Brown's book, The Da Vinci Code is an excellent case in point.
Publishers pumped out dozens of books debunking the false history and theology in Brown's novel. Churches held special services devoted to helping parishioners to "Break The Da Vinci Code!" It is unfortunate that had the same Christians who turned out in droves for these last-minute, exciting-sounding Da Vinci Code seminars instead regularly attended simple classes in Church History over the years, it is possible that the ahistorical clap-trap that is The Da Vinci Code would never have gained traction.
Nevertheless, The Da Vinci Code provided a chance to talk about the Gospel for those ready to seize it. Checking in at a hotel late one night I noticed that the young woman at the counter had a copy of Brown's book. I asked her what she thought of it. She offered that she was planning to take her mom out to see the film later that week, as a birthday present. She also volunteered that the book was a real eye-opener. That simple admission opened a door to a good-natured conversation over the following hour that touched on the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, the person of Christ, and the history of the church. Few such natural opportunities presented themselves in my previous travels.
Books, movies, and other pieces of pop culture make truth claims. Some of them are laudable, others require exploration, and still others call for confrontation. Just because an argument comes off of a movie screen, or out of some stereo speakers, does not mean that it is immune from response. If two or more people see or hear it, such claims can and should become a source of discussion. We just have to make sure that we know what we are talking about.
In the chill of this coming winter, Pullman's books are going to be hot. The ramp up to the movie premiere is in full swing — and Pullman's books are finally finding a market in the United States that had previously eluded him. This won't be just a one-shot deal. Two more times, in the next four to six years, sequels to The Golden Compass will make their way to the theaters and a new group of kids will be exposed to these novels. It is my hope that the series you are about to read will equip parents to talk to their kids, high school and college students to talk to their friends, and pastors to prepare their parishioners to redeem the time and make the most of every opportunity to share the Gospel.
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