to arms! to arms!: high church is under attack (again)

[Gan]

Christian groups are up in arms here over a new children's film starring Nicole Kidman and based on an award-winning novel by British author Philip Pullman, accusing it of being anti-religious.


"The Golden Compass" which opens here Friday is the film version of "The Northern Lights," the first book in Pullman's "Dark Materials" fantasy trilogy aimed at teenage readers.

The books by confirmed agnostic Pullman trace the fate of a young girl, Lyra, as she becomes drawn into an apocalyptic battle of good against evil, meeting a host of strange characters along the way including a polar bear, voiced in the film by Ian McKellan.

Evil in Pullman's books is represented by the church, called the Magisterium, whose acolytes kidnap orphans across England to subject them to horrible experiments in the frozen northern wastelands.

"The Northern Lights" won Pullman the 1995 Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in Britain, and the final volume in his trilogy, "The Amber Spyglass" was the first ever children's novel to be awarded the prestigious British Whitbread Book of the Year award in 2002.

With its 180-million-dollar big budget movie, New Line studios is hoping to repeat the box-office success of its "Lord of the Rings" series.

And it aims to tap into the young audiences of cinema-goers who flocked to the five "Harry Potter" films making them big earners for Warner Bros.
But already "The Golden Compass" is whipping up the same controversy which saw the "Harry Potter" series based on the novels by British author J. K Rowling, accused by some on the religious right of promoting witchcraft.

The author's attack on organized religion has been toned down for the film, in a bid to attract as wide as audience as possible, something director Chris Weitz has acknowledged.

"In the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots," Weitz wrote in the British Daily Telegraph.
But "if that's what you want in the film, you'll be disappointed," he warned.

However, the sanitized version of Pullman's book has failed to appease the Catholic League, which gathers some 350,000 members, and which has already been sending out leaflets denouncing the film.

"The Catholic League wants Christians to stay away from this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books," said president William Donohue.

"Unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may be impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present. And no parent who wants to bring their children up in the faith will want any part of these books," he added.

The League already took on the movie world in 2006 to denounce the blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" and its central tenant that Jesus Christ had a child by Mary Magdalene whose descendants still survive today.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops however has been more nuanced in its approach warning in a review of "The Golden Compass" of its "anti-clerical subtext, standard genre occult elements, character born out of wedlock, a whiskey-guzzling bear."

But it adds that "taken purely on its own cinematic terms, (it) can be viewed as an exciting adventure story with a traditional struggle between good and evil, and a generalized rejection of authoritarianism."

"The Golden Compass" will be released in some 3,000 cinemas and only 60 have so far refused to screen it, according to the industry daily Variety.

"It's this undisguised anti-religious theme that has numerous groups in a lather, but perhaps more of an issue for some ... will be the film's lack of exciting uplift and the almost unrelievedly nasty treatment of the young characters by a host of aggressively unpleasant elders," Variety added.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071204003305.4utrub9c&show_article=1
__________________________________________________ ___

First it was Harry Potter promoting witchcraft. Next it was the DaVinci Code, and now its The Golden Compass.

This backs up some wacko email I got the other day about how this movie is a direct assault and insult to God, and that I should boycott the book/series/and movie and tell EVERYONE ELSE TO BOYCOTT TOO!

wow, just wow.

PS. I'm reading the book now and have every intention of seeing the movie. (Yes I also have all the HP books/movies and the DaVinci code book/movie). TEH DEVILZ IN MEH HOUZE!

[Davenshire]

Yeah the books were a surprise.

I liked them a lot, but could see all the holy rollers throwing a fit, I figured with the previews they were changing the movie A LOT.

sucks :(

[Sthrockmorton]

I've seen this coming from the Golden Compass for awhile now, and I can't even comment without getting worked up.

Some religious nuts make me :rofl:

Heaven forbid people make a fictional story that goes against what they've chosen to believe, or alter the perspective that's been forced on their children.

[Gan]

Seems the only books allowable to even hint at something magical are the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, LOTR, and the Bible.

Jooo are not allowed to be entertained! :(

*Here's the email I got the other day. I still had a copy since I forwarded it onto my mom for a good laugh. Pagans that we are. :whistle:



Pass this on to anyone who have children who would want to go see this movie. They are marketing it to look like the Chronicles of Narnia with ice, snow and a polar bear in armor. A lot of kids will go see the movie because of the similarity.

Be sure to read the post at Snopes. It is true, and it is horrific.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS, a new movie targeted at children, will be released December 7, 2007. This movie is based on a the first book of a trilogy by atheist Philip Pullman. In the final book a boy and girl kill God so they can do as they please. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a 2003 interview that "My books are about killing God."

The movie is a watered down version of the first book and is designed to be very attractive in the hope unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the the movie and that the children will want the books for Christmas.

The movie has a well known cast, including Nicole Kidman, Kevin Bacon, and Sam Elliott. It will probably be advertised extensively, so it is crucial that we get the word out to warn parents to avoid this movie.

You can research this for yourself. Start with this article on
Snopes.com, then go to Google.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

[Danical]

Was that from a coworker?

I'd fucking turn that shit over to HR and say, "This email creates a hostile work environment."

It probably wasn't though.

[Gan]

Was that from a coworker?

I'd fucking turn that shit over to HR and say, "This email creates a hostile work environment."

It probably wasn't though.

LOL no, it was from my catholic neighbor.

[Drew]

or alter the perspective that's been forced on their children.



This bit always annoys me, what sort of parent wouldn't offer guidance to their children? You try to instill whatever values you feel are best in your child. I don't get upset at hippies who teach their children about loving mother earth and never harming another living thing even though I don't agree with any of that new-age crap. At least they are passing on a set of values. Letting your children "figure it out for themselves" is a lot worse. Kids aren't equipped to make or understand the implication of a lot of choices. It's up to a parent to take what they've learned in their life and teach their child that, it's part of the human experience.

In the end, whatever they don't agree with they can give up when they turn 18.

[Sthrockmorton]

This bit always annoys me, what sort of parent wouldn't offer guidance to their children? You try to instill whatever values you feel are best in your child. I don't get upset at hippies who teach their children about loving mother earth and never harming another living thing even though I don't agree with any of that new-age crap. At least they are passing on a set of values. Letting your children "figure it out for themselves" is a lot worse. Kids aren't equipped to make or understand the implication of a lot of choices. It's up to a parent to take what they've learned in their life and teach their child that, it's part of the human experience.

In the end, whatever they don't agree with they can give up when they turn 18.

I'll agree with instilling whatever values you feel are best in your child in whatever way is possible. I'm probably one of the least religious individuals you'll ever meet; regardless, ingraining morals into an individual is very important. Church happens to be a good/convenient method of doing so, most of the time.

However, forcing children to worship a religious figure/figures at such a young and impressionable age is something I completely disagree with.

It's a shame the two (morals and religion) are usually taught hand-in-hand. If only people could be good natured of their own volition. It seems the threat of a higher being is the only route to make most adults act that way.

[Drew]

Like Voltaire said: If God did not exist it would be necessary to invent Him.

[Sthrockmorton]

Is my last post coming off clear? For some reason re-reading it, I feel like I'm having a hard time articulating what I want to say. Heh

[Sthrockmorton]

Like Voltaire said: If God did not exist it would be necessary to invent Him.

I won't argue that. It just sucks that the majority of people aren't inherently good, or at least don't choose to be.

[Drew]

I thought I got it. My point with the quote was that most people won't just adopt a set of morals without a good reason to do so. Hence why God and morality are interwound.

[Sthrockmorton]

Yeah, we're on the same page, I'm just a little slow today.

[Kembal]

I think I'm picking up this trilogy....I hadn't realized what the plot was behind it. Looks like a fairly interesting read.

[TheEschaton]

The best part of it is that the Chronicles of Narnia have major heresies in them. The last book basically says that if you worship a different god, but are still a good, faithful person, God'll still accept and love you when you die, even though you worshipped a false god.

And the Screwtape Letters? Come on.

But because C.S. Lewis was known AS a Christian, those books get a lot less flack.

-TheE-

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

I really don't see how they could associate that book and trilogy (Northern Lights in particular) with being anti-religious or anti-God. I really, really enjoyed it even if some parts did freak me out a bit, but it really was just a struggle between good and evil like plenty of other stories.

The ice fields/killing fields really stick in my mind, too, though that's because it's disturbing. Still, can't wait to see the movie.

[TheEschaton]

Has anyone else read the Kushiel's Dart trilogy? I really enjoyed that one.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<I really don't see how they could associate that book with being anti-religious or anti-God.>>

I think it might have been the atheist author who talked about how his book is strongly atheist in nature.

[Eoghain]

Damn, every now and then I fool myself into thinking that getting a pentacle on a dead Wiccan soldier's gravestone is like our biggest achievement, but then fundie Christians remind me that we have this giant evil agenda that's totally succeeding in brainwashing children and undoing society. Sometimes I wonder which side of me is more powerful, the witch or the homo.

I'm in ur mediaz, threatenin da sanctity of ur family an stealin ur chillinz.

[Sthrockmorton]

Has anyone else read the Kushiel's Dart trilogy? I really enjoyed that one.

Who wrote it E? I'll look into it.

[Hulkein]

However, forcing children to worship a religious figure/figures at such a young and impressionable age is something I completely disagree with.

In most situations people make their kids go to church because they themselves are going to church. What do you want them to do, pay for a baby-sitter?

You can't force someone to worship anything, you can only force them into the building. If they don't want to go along with it then there's nothing anyone can do about it.

[Bobmuhthol]

<<You can't force someone to worship anything, you can only force them into the building. If they don't want to go along with it then there's nothing anyone can do about it.>>

This would make much more sense if we were talking about, say, a teen that had not previously been heavily exposed to religion. You are doing nothing but forcing a child to worship if that's all he knows in the world, and going further, a resistant child becomes much less resistant with "firm" (abusive :() parenting.

[Sthrockmorton]

In most situations people make their kids go to church because they themselves are going to church. What do you want them to do, pay for a baby-sitter?

You can't force someone to worship anything, you can only force them into the building. If they don't want to go along with it then there's nothing anyone can do about it.

I don't mind people taking their kids to church, its a good opportunity to instill morals.

An example of what I'm referring to are the people who make their kids recite a prayer before every meal, starting when the children are old enough to speak.

And yes, parents can usually force a child to worship something, even if they don't want to. Simply because the children are dependent on the parents. I knew lots of kids growing up who wouldn't be allowed to eat the food their parents prepared if they didn't recite their prayer at the dinner table. It's a form of coercion.

[Drew]

Has anyone else read the Kushiel's Dart trilogy? I really enjoyed that one.

I read the first book and maybe half the second one but I'm not into S&M and my interest tailed off.

[Liberi Fatali]

I thought this thread was about the rise of the Confederacy. :(

General Albert Pike would be rolling in his grave over this thread.

TO ARMS! TO ARMS! TO ARMS, IN DIXIE!

[Drew]

Yes, because Confederate commanders were the only ones to ever call their troops to arms.

[TheEschaton]

Jacqueline Carey or something like that? Just search for "Kushiel's Dart".

That one would be considered REAL blasphemy.

[Hulkein]

I don't mind people taking their kids to church, its a good opportunity to instill morals.

An example of what I'm referring to are the people who make their kids recite a prayer before every meal, starting when the children are old enough to speak.

And yes, parents can usually force a child to worship something, even if they don't want to. Simply because the children are dependent on the parents. I knew lots of kids growing up who wouldn't be allowed to eat the food their parents prepared if they didn't recite their prayer at the dinner table. It's a form of coercion.

I realize what I'm going to say is more or less semantics so you don't need to point that out, but, I don't believe that saying a few words because you're forced to in order to eat is 'worship.' If you don't mean it then they are just words.

Most people who are coerced into doing things like that tend to rebel anyway. It's almost always up to the person as they grow older to decide whether or not they want to follow the religion. Church for kids is just about learning structure, discipline, etc moreso than anything else.

A parent who still goes to church does so because they think it is a positive thing in their life. There's no reason why a parent shouldn't try to instill what they believe to be a positive force in their life onto their children.

[Numbers]

This bit always annoys me, what sort of parent wouldn't offer guidance to their children? You try to instill whatever values you feel are best in your child. I don't get upset at hippies who teach their children about loving mother earth and never harming another living thing even though I don't agree with any of that new-age crap. At least they are passing on a set of values. Letting your children "figure it out for themselves" is a lot worse. Kids aren't equipped to make or understand the implication of a lot of choices. It's up to a parent to take what they've learned in their life and teach their child that, it's part of the human experience.

In the end, whatever they don't agree with they can give up when they turn 18.

You really need to read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. Seriously, grab it from your library, and go into it with an open mind. He's hostile at times, and condescending and arrogant at others, but he pretty much goes over exactly what you're talking about and tears it to shreds.

[Drew]

LOL @ Richard Dawkins.

Richard Dawkins is the David Duke of atheism.

[Tsa`ah]

LOL @ Richard Dawkins.

Richard Dawkins is the David Duke of atheism.

Only if Duke can be sited for numerous positive contributions to society and science .... sadly for your comparison, Duke can't hold a proverbial candle to Dawkins outside of noose tying, sucker punches, cross burning, and empty rhetoric on white superiority.

Touching on the subject of children, church, and forced worship ... well despite what you want to believe it is indoctrinating into a theological mindset.

Children are impressionable. If you take a child that has been in church every sunday since birth to 18, that child is very likely to believe in and worship god once he/she flies the coop and is less likely to question what they were taught until they willingly expose themselves to other theological and philosophical concepts.

A child not exposed to organized religion, rather given practical answers by parents when questions of theology arise is far more likely to arrive at their own conclusions later in life.

A child can also be indoctrinated into atheism in the same manner as the first example.

This is not to say that religion, or lack of it, are bad things. This is to say that it's foolhardy to think that beliefs are not forced onto children while they are impressionable. This is also why I'm thankful that my parents would open a discussion on the way home from temple twice a month. They wanted us to understand that what we heard was nothing more than opinion based on scripture and they wanted us to form our own beliefs. From my experience within my own pier group ... most "church" going parents are comfortable with indoctrinating their children and really don't discuss or debate sermons or lectures ... and in doing so close many doors before their children can discover them.

More on the subject at hand however.

I really get annoyed when groups call for people to boycott and protest every little thing that clashes with their beliefs. If you don't want you children to see the damn movie ... don't let them see it. If you don't want them reading the book, don't let them read the book.

Society today is so damn bereft of personal responsibility, let alone the motivation to actually do the hard work of raising a child in the manner they want to. As a result, everyone has to suffer the result of laziness.

I remember a thread some time ago about Howard Stern going to satellite radio because of the timeslot and parents being "unable" to keep their kids from listening to him. This is the same thing ... if you can't actively participate in your child's life ... don't fucking have kids. It's pretty damn simple.

[Sthrockmorton]

sited = cited

[Tsa`ah]

sited = cited

You = no life.

If you want to nitpick a mistake ... take it to the officials. Do it enough here and we go through your posting history and throw it back at you.

[chillmonster]

I thought I got it. My point with the quote was that most people won't just adopt a set of morals without a good reason to do so. Hence why God and morality are interwound.


Maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought the quote was about powerful people using religion to control the masses not God being the only way people would do good.

Also, humans, as social creatures living in a communities have automatically adopted a set of moral values without GOD because that is what allows them to survive. Your insinuation is that before Moses laid down the 10 Commandments the Jews were killing each other wantonly. That's nonsense. Never mind the fact that essentially every culture in the world - many with far different religions and social structures than ours have developed the same fundamental rules that govern human behavior.

The fact is, if looking at the phenomenon in evolutionary terms, those of our ancestors with the natural inclination for empathy (which tests with toddlers confirm) would have a better chance of surviving and thriving therefore passing on their genes. Those without that urge to empathize with one another would die off from infighting or simply the inability to work together to overcome the inevitable adversities that couldn't be worked through alone.

[chillmonster]

As for the books, they are some of the best Science Fictioin ever written. A complete, multilayered universe with complex characters overcomming difficult physical, emotional, and moral obstacles. For those who haven't read them, the trilogy is beautifully written and on par with anything Orwel, Wells, Tolken, Orson Scott Card, or any of the best of the genre have ever put out.

[Sean of the Thread]

Religion is such a burden to our society .. complete crock of fucking shit.


http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b236/Japgross/poop.gif

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

As far as the religion in general debate, I don't think you have to believe in God or a God to have a set of ethics and morals. My father is agnostic and always gave me the freedom to explore whatever religious/spiritual paths I wanted but I still learned a lot of my own moral code from him.

In the end I've converted to Methodist but I do not attribute my morality to God or belief in God, at all. There are plenty of Christians/Muslims/Whatevers who qualify as pretty evil people, and plenty of non-believers/atheists/agnostics who are good people.

I do think children are highly impressionable though and pushing a religion at a child definitely has SOME kind of impact-- sometimes it turns the kid off to religion, sometimes it makes the kid indifferent to religion because they never believed it, and sometimes the kid just believes it without really questioning otherwise. I can't say it's negative per se but I have met some kids who seemed pretty brainwashed. One girl I used to go to school with didn't believe in Space Travel (thought it was a hoax) because everyone knows if you go far enough up you'll end up in heaven. Another girl believed the Grand Canyon was where the Earth split apart and water spilled from the earth to flood it during the Great Flood (Noah's Ark, etc).

[chillmonster]

A generation of kids who are taught to first think critically is a good thing. Training them to suspend critical thinking when they are very young does them a disservice, and does society a disservice also.

Sherri Shepherd (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/04/sherri-shepherd-doesnt-g_n_75292.html)Here is someone who can not bring herself to question (and therefore refine) her own beliefs. The less people like this we have the better.

Jesus Camp Clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bB2rt3IKJc) Some of the scenes in this video qualify child abuse. They look too much liked madrassas for me.

[Hulkein]

Jesus Camp is terrible. Those people are definitely doing a disservice to their kids. You can teach your kids to critically think while also instilling in them some of the positive values that come out of a religion. They're not mutually exclusive.

[Latrinsorm]

God'll still accept and love you when you die, even though you worshipped a false god.Because dogma sure states that God stops loving people...............PERIODPERIODPERIOD
I knew lots of kids growing up who wouldn't be allowed to eat the food their parents prepared if they didn't recite their prayer at the dinner table.Praying is not worship. Praying prayerfully is.
I really get annoyed when groups call for people to boycott and protest every little thing that clashes with their beliefs.Yeah man, fucking democracy!!! It's so annoying.

I love the statistics being cited in this thread, btw, because it's very worthy of being associated with Dawkins' level of expertise in this field.
I don't think you have to believe in God or a God to have a set of ethics and morals.One doesn't. The contention was that without such a belief the majority of people would not act morally (and that would be bad!). This contention has been made by very, very, very nontheistic people as well as very, very, very theistic people. I don't know if anyone has enough evidence to make an empirical case for it, though.

[Tsa`ah]

Yeah man, fucking democracy!!! It's so annoying.

I love the statistics being cited in this thread, btw, because it's very worthy of being associated with Dawkins' level of expertise in this field.

Well I think someone needs to go back and revisit the definition of democracy ... because I really doubt people protesting this movie are the majority. They are exercising a civil liberty for sure, but they're not practicing democracy.

Nice way of diverting from the core of the argument though ... parental responsibility. I hope you never have kids ... or at least kids I'll have to deal with.

Aside from that, I guess you've delved deeper into the Latrin bag o lame tricks .... not seeing statistics, I'm seeing opinions and observations. Perhaps you'd like to throw some out there.

[Latrinsorm]

They are exercising a civil liberty for sure, but they're not practicing democracy.You don't think boycotts are a democratic process?

How silly of me to interpret "far more likely" as a statement of probability when it was really just an opinion of yours not meant to have any prognosticative value. Consider me thoroughly chastised. :)

[Warriorbird]

They're exercising free publicity. The movie has already been WAY tamed down.

[Hulkein]

Well I think someone needs to go back and revisit the definition of democracy ... because I really doubt people protesting this movie are the majority. They are exercising a civil liberty for sure, but they're not practicing democracy.

That's a pretty weak response.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

If you people think Jesus Camp is nuts, you should definitely hear about "Purity Balls".

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2928607

Basically the girl is "marrying" her father and pledging to stay a virgin until she marries off when she's older. Fucking creepy.

[Gan]

If you people think Jesus Camp is nuts, you should definitely hear about "Purity Balls".

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2928607

Basically the girl is "marrying" her father and pledging to stay a virgin until she marries off when she's older. Fucking creepy.

Do I hear banjos playing in the background?







(Deliverance joke)

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Do I hear banjos playing in the background?

:rofl:

[Sean of the Thread]

SHURE DO GOT A PURTY MOUTH DON'T HE?

[TheEschaton]

Because dogma sure states that God stops loving people...............PERIODPERIODPERIOD

Well, C.S. Lewis's God sure as hell stopped loving people.

[Latrinsorm]

I guess that brings me to my next point: why do you want Aslan to cut you so bad, Eschaton? :no:

[TheEschaton]

Cause the pain feels so goooooooooooood.

[landy]

Religion has never been a problem, period. Organized religion, however, has been one of the largest blights on human progress since it's inception. It absolutely discourages free thinking and personal achievement outside the parameters of what is accepted by the group. The obvious truth at the core of almost every major religion in the world is that people are afraid to cease to exist, and consciously or subconsciously many use the idea of spirituality to shield themselves from coping, but in shielding themselves from that unpleasant truth they shut themselves off from progress in other directions.

[Celephais]

Yep... religion is just a way for people to try to shield themselves from the fact that things are just going to irreversibly end once they die. No instant replays, no second tries, it's over.

[Gan]

Yep... religion is just a way for people to try to shield themselves from the fact that things are just going to irreversibly end once they die. No instant replays, no second tries, it's over.

/Agreed.

Nothing like coping with the inevitability of death by creating a new rule that states there is life after death.

[CrystalTears]

Hey man, don't bag life after death. You don't know, man... you just don't know. Death is a scary thing for me so if I can feel slightly better believing that I'll return rather than blow out like a candle, it works for me.

[Silique]

Thats one reason I dont give my email address to my neighbors

[Warriorbird]

"Freedom requires religion."
Mitt Romney

[Gan]

"Freedom requires religion."
Mitt Romney

LOL

I just read that article.

[Celephais]

Hey man, don't bag life after death. You don't know, man... you just don't know. Death is a scary thing for me so if I can feel slightly better believing that I'll return rather than blow out like a candle, it works for me.
The simplest answer - nothingness. Black abyss.

Enjoy your nightmares.

[Methais]

Christian groups are up in arms here over a new children's film starring Nicole Kidman and based on an award-winning novel by British author Philip Pullman, accusing it of being anti-religious.


"The Golden Compass" which opens here Friday is the film version of "The Northern Lights," the first book in Pullman's "Dark Materials" fantasy trilogy aimed at teenage readers.

The books by confirmed agnostic Pullman trace the fate of a young girl, Lyra, as she becomes drawn into an apocalyptic battle of good against evil, meeting a host of strange characters along the way including a polar bear, voiced in the film by Ian McKellan.

Evil in Pullman's books is represented by the church, called the Magisterium, whose acolytes kidnap orphans across England to subject them to horrible experiments in the frozen northern wastelands.

"The Northern Lights" won Pullman the 1995 Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in Britain, and the final volume in his trilogy, "The Amber Spyglass" was the first ever children's novel to be awarded the prestigious British Whitbread Book of the Year award in 2002.

With its 180-million-dollar big budget movie, New Line studios is hoping to repeat the box-office success of its "Lord of the Rings" series.

And it aims to tap into the young audiences of cinema-goers who flocked to the five "Harry Potter" films making them big earners for Warner Bros.
But already "The Golden Compass" is whipping up the same controversy which saw the "Harry Potter" series based on the novels by British author J. K Rowling, accused by some on the religious right of promoting witchcraft.

The author's attack on organized religion has been toned down for the film, in a bid to attract as wide as audience as possible, something director Chris Weitz has acknowledged.

"In the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots," Weitz wrote in the British Daily Telegraph.
But "if that's what you want in the film, you'll be disappointed," he warned.

However, the sanitized version of Pullman's book has failed to appease the Catholic League, which gathers some 350,000 members, and which has already been sending out leaflets denouncing the film.

"The Catholic League wants Christians to stay away from this movie precisely because it knows that the film is bait for the books," said president William Donohue.

"Unsuspecting parents who take their children to see the movie may be impelled to buy the three books as a Christmas present. And no parent who wants to bring their children up in the faith will want any part of these books," he added.

The League already took on the movie world in 2006 to denounce the blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" and its central tenant that Jesus Christ had a child by Mary Magdalene whose descendants still survive today.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops however has been more nuanced in its approach warning in a review of "The Golden Compass" of its "anti-clerical subtext, standard genre occult elements, character born out of wedlock, a whiskey-guzzling bear."

But it adds that "taken purely on its own cinematic terms, (it) can be viewed as an exciting adventure story with a traditional struggle between good and evil, and a generalized rejection of authoritarianism."

"The Golden Compass" will be released in some 3,000 cinemas and only 60 have so far refused to screen it, according to the industry daily Variety.

"It's this undisguised anti-religious theme that has numerous groups in a lather, but perhaps more of an issue for some ... will be the film's lack of exciting uplift and the almost unrelievedly nasty treatment of the young characters by a host of aggressively unpleasant elders," Variety added.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071204003305.4utrub9c&show_article=1
__________________________________________________ ___

First it was Harry Potter promoting witchcraft. Next it was the DaVinci Code, and now its The Golden Compass.

This backs up some wacko email I got the other day about how this movie is a direct assault and insult to God, and that I should boycott the book/series/and movie and tell EVERYONE ELSE TO BOYCOTT TOO!

wow, just wow.

PS. I'm reading the book now and have every intention of seeing the movie. (Yes I also have all the HP books/movies and the DaVinci code book/movie). TEH DEVILZ IN MEH HOUZE!

I never heard of it before, but I'm definitely going to go see it now that all these holy roller ass nuggets are throwing a fit over it.

Fuck them.

[Warriorbird]

All that's even vaguely subversive will likely be gone from the second 2 scripts as well as the first. It's still kinda neat though.

[Latrinsorm]

It absolutely discourages free thinking and personal achievement outside the parameters of what is accepted by the group.Isaac Newton, William Blake, Meister Eckhart....
The obvious truth at the core of almost every major religion in the world is that people are afraid to cease to existIt's odd that something so obvious has been repeatedly refuted by empirical science.

[Warriorbird]

But...given your own claims...empirical science doesn't count for anything, Latrin.

[Hulkein]

/Agreed.

Nothing like coping with the inevitability of death by creating a new rule that states there is life after death.

You guys are all soooo strong! :rofl:

[Latrinsorm]

But...given your own claims...empirical science doesn't count for anything, Latrin.It doesn't count for absolute TRUTH. The question as always is whether people have varying levels of trust in science depending on the subject matter (and if so, why). I highly recommend trusting science! :)

[StrayRogue]

You guys are all soooo strong! :rofl:

I for one don't feel the need to commit good (or bad deeds) because of some stupid fear of an inevitable punishment that will be dealt by an omnipotent super being when I die.

Besides, better to reign in hell, than to serve in heaven.

[StrayRogue]

By the way, Christianity sticking it's nose it films like this always makes me laugh. They inevitably cause more people to go and see the film to see what all the trouble is about.

If they weren't so hypocritical (read about their handling of the Narnia film) they might have a point.

There are far worse films with far worse messages.

[Hulkein]

I for one don't feel the need to commit good (or bad deeds) because of some stupid fear of an inevitable punishment that will be dealt by an omnipotent super being when I die.

Neither do I. I commit good acts because I was raised that way, wouldn't matter if I believed in God or not.

[Keller]

Neither do I. I commit good acts because I was raised that way, wouldn't matter if I believed in God or not.

According to Matthew 25, you're going to Heaven, Hulk.

[Gan]

According to Matthew 25, you're going to Heaven, Hulk.

According to the Baptists, it takes more than good deeds alone to get to Heaven.

[Kembal]

According to the Baptists, it takes more than good deeds alone to get to Heaven.

According to the Baptists, I've doomed my soul to darkness by being a Hindu. To which I say, screw them. :)

[Drew]

Looks like it's getting pretty bad reviews:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/his_dark_materials_the_golden_compass/

[Gan]

Bad reviews = good movie to go see.

Any movie the critics say suck is usually one that I will find a joy to go watch.

[Hulkein]

Bad reviews = good movie to go see.

Any movie the critics say suck is usually one that I will find a joy to go watch.

How was Lion's for Lambs?

[Gan]

How was Lion's for Lambs?

Havnt seen that one. Probably wont see it either. Especially if its anything like Syrianna (which sucked).

Here's my list for this holiday season.

1. Golden Compass
2. No Country for Old Men
3. The sequel to National Treasure

[landy]

Don't waste your time with no country for old men

[Latrinsorm]

No Country for Old Men was awesome. I would strongly encourage you not to bring the kids though. :no:

(the above meant as a humorous juxtaposition, not a critique of Ganalon's parenting abilities)

[Gan]

My son is not a big movie buff yet for theatre venues. He likes to watch them at home.

So that list was more of what I want to see.

[landy]

What about that movie was "awesome"? The last 15 minutes ruined any chance it had of being decent.

[Latrinsorm]

Its worth going just to watch the reactions of people of landy's ilk. :D

[landy]

My ilk? Precisely which ilk would that be, since you seem to know me so well?

[Latrinsorm]

SPOILER SORTA THING ETC. FOR GANALON

The ilk of people who found the last 15 minutes of NCfOM dissatisfying, dur. Did you think you were the only one?