The Golden Compass (Parents, Please Read This)

[Kaitin]

I wish you would read the books first or at least the SparkNotes: His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass - don't forget to use the pull-down menu to read the next two books.

Agree 100%

I read the books long before I heard about the Christians having problems with this. I wasn't thinking of castration and female circumcision when I read about the part where the Gobblers separted the kids from their 'daemons'. I see it more like the person's soul/personality. I see that the Gobblers are taking their souls away and turning the kids into something that isn't quite normal. Lyra and her friend Roger seems to be the good characters. One can't help but root for them.

The "daemons" are the kids' special animals - separate but connected and communicating with ESP or something. I loved the daemons in the books because I love animals and was so close to my cat for years like Lyra (main character) is close to her animal.

Lyra and Roger are good I think and I do root for them. Adam and Eve? I don't think so. They are kids and Lyra is bratty and immature sometimes. Thinking Adam and Eve killing god is too serious. Female circumcision? I don't remember anything in the books with this.

The books are exciting - with scary mystery, balloon rides, flying, talking animals, big battles. The religion part is boring and probably most kids don't pay attention. Probably no kid reads the book or sees the movie and then decide about god.

The books won many awards.

From Wikipedia:

The Amber Spyglass won the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year award, a prestigious British literature award. This is the first time that such an award has been bestowed on a book from their "children's literature" category.

The first volume, Northern Lights, won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in the UK in 1995.[16] In 2007 it was selected by judges of the CILIP Carnegie Medal for children's literature as one of the ten most important children's novels of the past 70 years. In June 2007 it was voted, in an online poll, as the best Carnegie Medal winner in the seventy year history of the award, the Carnegie of Carnegies[17][18]

On May 19, 2005, Pullman was invited to the British Library in London to be formally congratulated for his work by culture secretary Tessa Jowell "on behalf of the government"; and shortly afterwards received the Swedish government's Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children's and youth literature (sharing it with Japanese illustrator Ryôji Arai). In Sweden, the prize is second only to the Nobel Prize in Literature and is worth 5 million Swedish Kronor or approximately £385,000.

The trilogy came third in the 2003 BBC's Big Read, a national poll of viewers' favourite books, after The Lord of the Rings and Pride and Prejudice. It was one of only two books in the top five not to have had a screen adaptation at that time (the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which came fifth, was not released until 2005), and those two books were the only entries in the top ten to have been written in the last twenty-five years.


So the books are good literature and not just anti-god or kids books. And many many people love the books so probably not so "kill god" as some think. Please read the books and think for yourself before you decide the books are "Satan's best work" .

 

[Buffalo]

Thanks Kaitin for your post. I didn't know that Phillip Pullman won all that awards.

I also want to add one more comment about God. If you read in the SparkNotes link I provided (in the last book, The Amber Spyglass) this sentence - "Balthamos tells Will that angels are made out of Dust. He also tells Will that God was not the creator of the universe, but was rather one of the first angels." Again, I told you that they didn't kill God but Metatron. God just faded away.

 

[GalaxyAngel]

My children knows about Harry Potter.. isn't real. "Just movie"

Good thing, How they managed about this and will look forward new movie incoming up.. They will not going fall for it.. Just movie..
I'm glad..

 

[GarnetTigerMom]

yeah Harry Potter is just a movie and it not a real true life events, it all fictional. I love it and it was such a good movie I don't see nothing bad. I know lot of people are anti-relgious are against it. They have to realized movies that are being make is not a real life true story. It just a movie nothing such a big deal.

 

[Banjo]

yeah Harry Potter is just a movie and it not a real true life events, it all fictional. I love it and it was such a good movie I don't see nothing bad. I know lot of people are anti-relgious are against it. They have to realized movies that are being make is not a real life true story. It just a movie nothing such a big deal.

Harry Potter is targeted by some of the churches due to the witchcraft being featured in the novels. However, The Golden Compass is now targeted by the church due to the strong anti-Christianity contents. Or at least it's alleged that they are. Harry Potter himself does not attack Christianity. In fact, there are some elements of Christianity to it. Especially when all of the novels feature Christmas. These novels were not written in order to attack the church.

A particular villain, (If I'm not mistaken) refer to itself as Yahweh. Are you aware of the fact that the name, Yahweh is God the Christians believe in? That's where the real problem lies in these novels.

That's why it may generate a bigger negative buzz because none of the Harry Potter novels featured such a thing.

 

[Lantana]

I believe in the old ways of allowing your children to test the waters themselves and then make their own decisions.

It hasn't been long since they outlawed Huckleberry Finn and that was a classic that I grew up on. Same with "Little Black Sambo" and many others.

Children nowdays are overly protected and coddled.

Lantana

 

[Banjo]

I believe in the old ways of allowing your children to test the waters themselves and then make their own decisions.

It hasn't been long since they outlawed Huckleberry Finn and that was a classic that I grew up on. Same with "Little Black Sambo" and many others.

Children nowdays are overly protected and coddled.

Lantana

Oh, I really enjoyed 'Huckleberry Finn'.

 

[GarnetTigerMom]

I believe in the old ways of allowing your children to test the waters themselves and then make their own decisions.

It hasn't been long since they outlawed Huckleberry Finn and that was a classic that I grew up on. Same with "Little Black Sambo" and many others.

Children nowdays are overly protected and coddled.

Lantana

I agree with you. Watching good classic movie is great as too many parents that are to religious and over protective on children will not solve that. I think they need to let the kids make their own decision. It just a movie. I even watch lot of classic movie like Huckleberry Finn was great and slaughter house five, some great books too like Egar Allen Poe and other classic.

 

[GarnetTigerMom]

Harry Potter is targeted by some of the churches due to the witchcraft being featured in the novels. However, The Golden Compass is now targeted by the church due to the strong anti-Christianity contents. Or at least it's alleged that they are. Harry Potter himself does not attack Christianity. In fact, there are some elements of Christianity to it. Especially when all of the novels feature Christmas. These novels were not written in order to attack the church.

A particular villain, (If I'm not mistaken) refer to itself as Yahweh. Are you aware of the fact that the name, Yahweh is God the Christians believe in? That's where the real problem lies in these novels.

That's why it may generate a bigger negative buzz because none of the Harry Potter novels featured such a thing.

as a catholic, I get sick of the church negative problems on children books or the movies they make. I don't let the church decide anything for me or my child. Strong anti-christiantiy goes too far thinking it attacking the church when they are really not attacking the church, it all in their heads to think they being attack. It just movie that not real. They should know better it only a movie and it not such a big deal. Movie are not real.

 

[Buffalo]

.....
I started reading Harry Potter after I heard about the Christians complaining about it. I don't see anything bad about it. What is wrong with love, friendship, and loyalty? It still is about good versus evil. The only problem for the Christians are witches/warlocks and witchcraft. If one believe in witchcraft, one has given power to witchcraft. For example, I don't believe that witches/warlocks have any real power to do anything so they can't use my fear against me.
.......
Mods: I know we are not supposed to talk about religion and I agree. I just want to point out that the Christians shouldn't give so much power to the witchcrafty. Maybe it is me that see witchcrafty as fable.

I just want to add one more thing. I just rent "An American Haunting" the other day. I totally agree with Kate Batts (character), when toward the end of the movie, she told John Bell (another character) that she didn't put the curses on him and that John put the curses on himself. Exactly my point that one's imagination can run away. That's why I don't think anybody should give witchcraft any powers otherwise the witches/warlocks can use your fears against yourself.

 

[Kalista]

I have the trilogy in a boxed set. I was busy with RIT so I haven't gotten around to reading them yet. One of my Christian friends is interested in reading those books because he likes kid books like that and already read all of the Narnia and Harry Potter books and Eragon books.

Believe it or not, I have not read Harry Potter books. When I cleaned up my husband's stuffs to pack to move into new place. I did not realize, he had two books. I rather read first books than third one. It will help me to understand what is the Harry Potter movies all about. I never understand why so many people fascinated in "Harry Potter" movies.

Kalista

 

[Kalista]

first part of a trilogy is in fact

What is it?

 

[GarnetTigerMom]

What is it?

it means the movie made a lot of money
box-office - the amount of profit a movie makes in theaters
hit - something that succeeds, wildly
Lord of the rings - the name of a series of books ( by J. R. R. Tolkien, that was made into 3 movies)
trilogy a set of 3 things - Lord of the rings was 3 moviews, and 3 books, but other works of art can be trilogies, too.

 

[Cheri]

I'm a Christian and I don't think Harry Potter is all that bad, beside It entertains kids, and gets them to read books, even my son has so many books about Harry Potter he's a huge fan also. The only reasons some parents forbid their kids in watching Harry Potter because the scripture in the bible does have something being said about avoiding witchcraft. But, it's not gonna brainwashed the kids, it is just a story. It does not make kids tempt dabbling in witchcraft in my opinion. :P

I don't mind having my boys watch The Golden Compass either.

 

[GarnetTigerMom]

I'm a Christian and I don't think Harry Potter is all that bad, beside It entertains kids, and gets them to read books, even my son has so many books about Harry Potter he's a huge fan also. The only reasons some parents forbid their kids in watching Harry Potter because the scripture in the bible does have something being said about avoiding witchcraft. But, it's not gonna brainwashed the kids, it is just a story. It does not make kids tempt dabbling in witchcraft in my opinion. :P

I don't mind having my boys watch The Golden Compass either.

Well posted !

 

[Buffalo]

I'm a Christian and I don't think Harry Potter is all that bad, beside It entertains kids, and gets them to read books, even my son has so many books about Harry Potter he's a huge fan also. The only reasons some parents forbid their kids in watching Harry Potter because the scripture in the bible does have something being said about avoiding witchcraft. But, it's not gonna brainwashed the kids, it is just a story. It does not make kids tempt dabbling in witchcraft in my opinion. :P

I don't mind having my boys watch The Golden Compass either.

Exactly! I like the part where Harry told the Sorting Hat not to put him in Slytherin, any house will do but not Slytherin. It is all about choices we make everyday. Harry chooses the good not the bad. Ditto for Lyra in the Golden Compass.

 

[Aleser]

I'm a firm believer that once your child has reached the age to comprehend long books, they should have a well-established understanding of the difference between fantasy and reality- and that not allowing them to read a book or see a film for fear that a work of fiction can shake their faith speaks volumes about failures in parenting- and of the fragile nature of so called "faith" you're worried about destroying. I don't believe it's quite so geniune if you've never found yourself questioning it and believing DESPITE those questions.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

I saw the Golden Compass 2 weeks ago. Good film, I knew about the anti-religous stuff, but I didn't see much of it in the film. It evidently was 'dumbed down' from the novel, as most book-to-movie adaptations are.

I LOVED the Polar Bears, and their fight. Great stuff. Actually, now that I look back, the CGI of the bears was impressive, I did not often think to myself 'this is so obivously CGI' that often if I did.. maybe subconsicously.. heh.

The film is PG13, apropriately rated, IMO. NOT FOR CHILDREN, however it is marketed.

 

[Cheri]

The film is PG13, apropriately rated, IMO. NOT FOR CHILDREN, however it is marketed.

Isn't it the parents decision? Parental guidance still required for those under 13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is also PG13, And some parents allow their children watch Harry Potter movies also.

 

[PowerON]

Just want to make an announcement that There is going to be a CBS/HDTV in April, 2008. Not yet set a date but will soon. Marlee will play Laura, a Deaf mother and I forget his name will play Dan, a hearing father. They have been married for nine years and very happy. They have a son who had been hearing until he was six years old. He became deaf and the hearing father want him to have Cochlear Implant. Both father and mother got into a arguement about it. The title of the movie is call "Sweet Nothing in My Ear". I hope you all watch it in in the Spring. It should be a very interesting movie about why we don't want to have Cochlear Implants on very young children.

what does it do with deaf actress and Golden Compass?