Praise the Lord for your responses! To argue we need to throw money in the coffer of the enemy in order to know how to fight him is not Biblical. Jesus fought the enemy with the Word, not by spending time with Satan to "see where he's coming from." I don't need to try cocain (even once) to understand how to help drug addicts, and I don't need to put money in the author's pocket in order to understand his hatred for God.

Isaiah 55:8-11

I do not believe we need to read this or view the movie and also, we do not need to let our children go see the movie or read the book. If we read, study, and meditate on the bible daily, then there should be no problem defending our faith no matter what arguement comes agianst us! In reality the arrguements that do arrise are nothing new. Those that were in the DaVinci Code have been around for hundreds of years. Holy scripture demolishes all attacks on the Gospels of Jesus. To have an intelligent disscussion about faith,I do not need to drop to the level of my attackers, I ask them rise to my level.

I agree with your main point, that is, that the church does not need to hide its head in the sand nor prove Pullman to be correct. However, I remember some similar remarks being made about The DaVinci Code and, even long before that, The Last Temptation of Christ. Some said that Christians need to see the movie so that they can correctly respond to the world, emphasis on correctly. The problem was that we were pouring money into the pockets of those who market heresy. I did not get involved in the controversy over The Last Temptation of Christ, but my response to The DaVinci Code was simply to read the book, which I did not pay a cent for, just got from the local library, and prepared myself to give a defense for the gospel as opportunity arose. That way I am not promoting with my finances the furtherance of such misinformation. But I, likewise, will not boycott such a movie, i.e. standing in front of the theater, because this simply draws attention to the movie.

I agree, however another point to ponder, is that if we pay for box office tickets to this movie, aren't we in some way financially SUPPORTING this mans anti-church, anti-Christian propoganda? I know that we each will be held accountable under God's scrutiny, whether or not we choose to be party to ANYthing deemed unwholesome or unworthy of glorifying Him. Whether or not we CHOOSE to view internet porn or watch unwholesome television, or go to parties where people do drugs & drink. Sure, we have the FREEDOM of choice (free will) to do whatever we want, but is it what GOD wants? that is what it ultimately comes down to. "As for me & my house, we will serve the Lord" & choose NOT to support anti-Christ mindsets.

I am a high school senior and I completely agree with this article. We shouldn’t run from this book or movie in the name of Christianity. This would just show the world what Philip Pullman wants them to see. I’ve read the trilogy and found it anti Christian in a warped kind of way on what most of the world believe in. But that is not what or who real Christians are. We aren’t power hungry penance believing wannabe rulers, we are Christians. We should not hide from this book and film, we should go out to those that challenge our faith and show them the errors in this mans ideas and beliefs.

Perhaps our work (as parents)should be to point the movie out to our children, explain WHY we would not want them to see it, how it attacks the TRUTH of our faith, and--according to the age and maturity of our child/ren--engage in a discussion as to how to support and defend our faith in the face of such films. THEN, we should look at alternatives, such as the work of C S Lewis and J R R Tolkein, etc.

I agree with those who say we should not support the film by pouring money out of our wallets to take our children to see it. After all, there are so many other wonderful movies to see and better ways to spend $10/ticket. Like, on a book! :)

Eva Marie Everson
Author: Sex, Lies, and the Media
www.EvaMarieEverson.com

I do see his point, that the church can become controlling. But from what I've read about The Golden Compass it seems that Pullman really goes beyond that idea even. Pullman's ideas completely twist Christianity and are very wicked.

I do agree with the other comments that we should not give our money to projects like these. But the author of this article is correct in saying that we should be prepared to defend our faith against these ideas.

I do not plan on seeing this movie myself, but if you have an older child who is mature enough and already strong in their faith, I do think it could be a good idea to rent (instead of supporting this in the theaters) the movie and talk about what's wrong with the ideas.

Christians do tend to simply forward e-mails that decry this movie and things like it, and then not know how to defend what they are decrying.

I'm all for Christians becoming less of alarmists, because I do think it makes us look bad to the world.

If this were a movie for adults, I might agree. I've used very offensive movies like DOGMA for ministry purposes to very good effect. But there are two factors here that encourage me to not see the movie or read the books:
1) This is a movie aimed at children. I know the author beleives we can just explain to our kids why the movie is wrong and everything will be fine. But I think that is a bit naive. Folks, we're talking a magic-filled movie with loads of eye-candy and good actors making these characters feel real. You think your children can see that and not walk out affected? The bible with black-and-white print and ancient style can't compete in their little minds! No, I can explain the errors of the movie/book to my children without exposing them to it.
2)A movie like DOGMA was never going to be a smash in the first place, but this one could be. And if it flops, it sends a message. "WE DON'T LIKE THESE KINDS OF MOVIES! STOP MAKING THEM!" Hollywood goes where the money is!

I, too, strongly disagree. As a christian, I am suppose to be teaching my children anyway. I don't need to support someone financially who's goal is to turn children into athiests. Standing up for what I believe and not wanting children to be filled with more lies than what they are already exposed to each and every day, is my job as a parent. That's not cutting people off. That's wisdom. I have many examples all around me to use as teaching tools everyday. We are to do as Duet. 6:6-9 says and talk to them daily, use teachable moments, and surround them with the love and word of God. I do not need help from the movie. I've already went to the bookstore and read parts of the books to them and they see what Pullman's intentions are by the material in them. We discussed and learned and walked out without giving a penny to support the lies. I'm certainly not going to take them to be entertained by the lies and support that.

I disagree also, why would you financially support a movie whose author openly declares that one of his intentions is to kill God in the mind of children. If those who are looking at believers and see us doing it and then think its OK and do it themselves but don't have the truth to combat the lies, what good is there in that. Instead of wasting the money there why not spend it on a more worthy?

I totally agree with clark7371. I would also like to add that Jesus said in Mt. 6:23 that, "...if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" The eye is the window to the soul. Why would I take them to see something like that? I can teach them that there are people out there who attack our faith without exposing them to this type of movie.

Having read the trilogy, I'd say that the best argument NOT to read them is that they're poorly composed. The first book (renamed The Golden Compass) is by far the most entertaining. However, as the stories continue into the second and third books, his arrangement grows more and more erratic and unengaging. It is those two books in which Pullman tries to bring in his ideas about killing the "Authority" (his version of God) and so forth.

I really wish that I hadn't wasted my time on the books.