Church of Scotland rejects Golden Compass boycott calls
The Church of Scotland has rejected calls to boycott the Golden Compass movie and instead published a leaflet to mark the film's release.
by Maria Mackay
Posted: Thursday, November 29, 2007, 10:58 (GMT)
The Church of Scotland is going against the tide of opposition to the soon-to-be-released movie The Golden Compass, by rejecting calls for its boycott and saying it is instead "looking forward to a major cinematic event this winter".
The Golden Compass is the film adaptation of the first book in British author Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" fantasy trilogy, published in the UK under the title "Northern Lights", and is due for release across the UK on 5 December.
In the movie, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, a young girl's quest to uncover the reason behind her friend's disappearance concludes with the killing of a character named God - who turns out to be a phony.
The governing body in Pullman's fantasy world is the Magisterium, which attempts to get to the root of sin by conducting cruel experiments on children, and concealing facts that would jeopardise the power and authority of the Church.
There have been calls from within some sections of the Christian community for the film to be boycotted because of its attack on Christianity.
The Catholic League in particular has strongly criticised the movie for promoting atheism and denigrating Catholicism, and has already published a brochure called "The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked" in an effort to respond to some of the atheist elements in the series.
The Church of Scotland's Mission & Discipleship Council says, however, that the film "provides a golden opportunity to stimulate discussion on a wide range of moral and spiritual issues".
The film's heroine, the young girl Lyra Silvertongue, becomes involved in a struggle between good and evil as she traverses a fantastical universe to find her kidnapped friend.
The Church of Scotland said she is "one of the powerless who turns out to be a saint, and so the film is an invitation to dialogue on human purpose and destiny, the abuse of power, the making of choices and the meaning of life".
Rather than boycotting the film, the Church of Scotland is planning to publish a leaflet to mark its release, which will be made available to Church of Scotland congregations, as well as other denominations all across Scotland.
The Golden Compass "will enable congregations to engage with young people, and adults, in terms with which they can relate", the Kirk's Mission & Discipleship Council believes.
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The comments below are readers' personal opinions and are in no way intended to reflect the editorial opinion of Christian Today.
Added: Thursday, December 20, 2007, 16:22 (GMT)
I just want to say that I took my children to see the movie. We have never read the books, and they are 9 years old. I usually disregard hysterical religious boycotts because they end up having the opposite effect and making a movie or book a smash success.
Anyway, we loved the film! It was a wonderful, exciting fantasy about a brave little girl and a fantastical world which touched the imagination and encouraged the human ideals to search for the truth, believe in what you think is right and stand up to the abuse of power and authority. It was about the sacredness of free will.
If the Church identifies with the evil Magisterium, that's a very sad state of affairs. Basically, they are identifying with everything wrong with those who which to quell progress, freedom of belief and human tolerance. To me, that is a shame, and what they end up doing is looking exactly like the kind of dangerous close-minded evil empire they are trying to say they are not.
See the movie, bring the kids and lose yourself in fantasy!
Wendy V A, New Jersey
Added: Monday, December 3, 2007, 16:42 (GMT)
I haven't seen the film, and just about everyone who is saying something good or bad ar in the same position. The film isn't out yet.
Still it is based on a very negative and evil book. I say stop the film! Anything based on a negative script, must be negative.
Jacobus, South Africa
Added: Monday, December 3, 2007, 9:31 (GMT)
We need to encourage our children to engage and teach them to discern. The Pullman trilogy is excellent writing. How many Christians have been hurt by the abuse of power within the Church? We need to be big enough to join in with a debate and yes, involved our children in that kind of discussion. The God that is "killed" is not the God I worship - however, a Church that exerts power and tells people what to think and how to act - isn't that exactly the kind of Church that is telling people, "you must not watch this film"?
Ali Campbell, Haywards Heath
Added: Thursday, November 29, 2007, 16:17 (GMT)
Well done, Church of Scotland. I am however irritated that just about everything gets turned into an opportunity for mission these days. The best way for Christianity to convince non-believers is to set its house in order by ceasing to discriminate against LGBT people and by acknowledging that other religions are valid paths to the Divine.
It must be emphasised that in Pullman's book, the Magisterium (and the Authority, clearly intended to be a being claiming to be God) exists in a different universe to the one we inhabit - so it could be claimed that any resemblance to the Catholic Church is a "coincidence" - and if the cap fits, wear it...
Personally I would like to see a debate around the book Shadowmancer, which was extremely offensive to Pagans (on the grounds that the Devil appears and claims to have been all the gods and goddesses worshipped by Pagans - now that really IS offensive).
Yvonne Aburrow, Bristol, UK
