What is your general reaction?

MK: Surprise. As far as story telling goes, I liked it. It's a very well-written and compelling story. I enjoy books that get me thinking about some of the deeper issues. I did, however, find it unsettling that I began sympathizing with things Christians would and should normally consider wrong. Because things are turned around in this book, I caught myself rooting for what typically would be evil. I can see now why people would be drawn in and why parents should be concerned.

SJ: My general reaction? The books are appealing, well-written. Yet, they’re also very dark. I was a little taken aback by the heroine. Lyra’s behavior, somewhat toned down in the movie, wasn’t what I expected – she lies, gets drunk, smokes, and curses. She doesn’t always have the emotional reactions to various situations you would expect. And to me as a woman, as a girl, she certainly didn’t appear very womanly or girlish.

MK: I agree. For the purpose of the story, Philip Pullman needed Lyra to be a female so he wrote her as one… and that’s where it ended. She is completely lacking femininity – Sarah and I both felt that we couldn’t identify with her responses or actions.

SM: I think we’re going to eventually see the reason for that. After all, Eve herself probably hadn’t been taught how to behave like a girl. But I’m getting ahead of the action.

I had different reactions to book and film. Regarding the book, as I was reading it, for the first two-thirds I thought it was just a nice entry in the fantasy genre. One could easily wonder where all the fuss comes from, especially because I was trying to make myself experience it from two perspectives at once, the first as being completely aware of Pullman's agenda, the second being a more naive position of just picking up a book and reading. So my reactions varied. Basically, as I alluded to earlier, the one I noticed most was when I began literally shaking at the point in the book where Lyra is about to be severed from her daemon. That idea and image caused me to have a physical reaction and some strange memories. Some other things that stuck out were the lack of married adult characters, and the idea that in the middle of morality is human education (the Oxford Scholars), and things then branch out in directions from there. It's an incredibly humanistic piece, and that's often thematically uplifiting even to some Christians.

To the movie, I was surprised at how edited, how truncated the story is. So much less depth. We’d heard from the producers that any anti-Christian elements had been toned down, but in fact, the Magisterium is a more obvious ‘villain’ in the film than in the book (though I grant that’s probably a necessary conceit in making a movie, which I find ironic in this case). We’d also heard the film would end before the book does, which is a huge disappointment since that's where, in the book, most of the objectionable or controversial material is. I suspect that folks who walk out of a movie theater wondering what the big deal is will, if the sequels are made, find themselves very surprised at where the second movie goes.

MK: Yes, the movie cuts off the last three chapters of The Golden Compass, and those last three chapters deliver a swift slap to the Christian reader. It is one thing to write from an anti-Christian point of view, but it is downright insulting to discover a re-written version of Genesis 3 and then read an “interpretation” of that re-written scripture that states, in part, God must be sinful. That irritated me more than anything else.

SJ: He really is using his storytelling abilities to bait. So when he plops something down about the Church or Lyra or spirituality, you're expected to accept that. But when you take away all the enticing fantastical elements, he has set up a world where Christianity is at odds with science, intellectual thought, sexual fulfillment, free will... Pullman knows he has some ammunition (the Church is an easy target for failures that have happened). But he misrepresents. As Christians, the Church is the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. You can't misrepresent the Church without misrepresenting Christ.

SM: Did you notice how in the book every time there was a church building nearby, it was referred to as an “oratory,” and not as a church? The impression I got was that Pullman was saying these are just the places where people spout meaningless words.

Are Christians overreacting by sending warning emails and boycotting the film?

MK: In terms of overreacting, it depends on who you are and what your purposes are. This story really can be a great tool for Christians who are informed and equipped to handle the deeper issues. The initial emails we all got were typically misinformed and alarmist in nature, but there is truth in them, because there are troubling elements in The Golden Compass. But as far as "Don't read the book or see the movie," there really isn't a simple answer to that. There needs to be an intelligent response. We need to be better informed as Christians. When asked, "Why aren't you seeing this movie?" saying, "Because I got an email saying I shouldn't" is not a good response.

SM: When I purchased the book and the clerk asked if I was going to see the movie, a fellow shopper said politely, "Oh, then you must be a horrible person." He was being sarcastic, obviously aware of the objections Christian groups have raised. It made me sad, both that we've caused people to believe that's what we think of them if they see it, and that people really just think we have our dander up without having a reason. "Oh, if those Christians fear this or don't like this, it must be good and worth seeing." I mean look, Pullman has not been secret about what his intentions and beliefs are. If someone had purposed to bring down everything you hold not only dear but personal (not to mention true), you might just want to raise an alert about it.