The Golden Compass: His Dark Material

The latest Christian outcry against Hollywood has come to town. This one strikes me as both serious and humorous. The humorous part is that this time the other side of the fence is crying foul along with Christians. My take on this movie is entirely second-hand. I haven't read the books. I haven't seen the movie (I'm not too big on sci-fi or fantasy flicks). If my information on the movie is wrong, I apologize. Feel free to correct me in the comment section.

1. Atheists lament that the anti-God message has been watered down for the sake of sales. That cracks me up. It appears that even the devil has a hard time getting an honest hearing in today's market economy. Looks like Satan is going to have to buy his own billboards if he wants to get any hard core anti-God message into mainstream America. Grieve not for him. He has plenty of voices at the grassroots level.
2. According to the Wikipedia report, Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheist, claimed on the CBS's Early Show that rather than being anti-religious the movie will simply teach kids to question authority. Questioning authority, she says, is a good thing for kids to learn. That just makes me wonder if she's watched any children's television lately. Every product from soft drinks to hardware encourages kids to roll their eyes at their parents and go their own ways. One currently popular commercial shows three teen aged girls complaining that one of them got a pony instead of a phone for Christmas (pretty funny, actually). Is too much respect for authority really the modern epidemic Johnson appears to believe it is?
3. Lastly, the main character apparently takes advantage of the opportunity to "kill" God as part of the movie's climax. This represents, I suppose, the great creativity of the author of the books. But I think I've heard something like that in another book somewhere ... let me see ... where have I read that somebody took advantage of the opportunity to kill God ... must think back ... OH YEAH! I've actually read four books where that happened. They were Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Apparently, though, when we kill God he has a habit of not staying dead--and also of forgiving us for doing it. This Golden Compass is weak sauce as far as the Gospel message is concerned.

Well, that's it for now. In case your wondering if there is a conspiracy against the church and faith, there is ... but this isn't news. This is status quo. Be faithful. Love your neighbor. Honor your God. That's the best defense.