Bill Donohue Attacks Philip Pullman, "The Golden Compass" Movie
Friday October 12, 2007
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, is at it again. Known for his hard-hitting attacks on, well, just about anything and everything (including Miller beer), Donohue has decided to settle on one big target for the time being....
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You have to wonder if this Donna Freitas, or whomever wrote the above commentary has even read the Pullman series. I was encouraged to buy the books for my fifth grade daughter at a children's book store, and just accidentally began to read the books myself before she did. The stories were well written, and the plots exciting and imaginative, but everything in them were constant insinuations and underlying insults to Christianity and everything that Christ taught. Encouraging children to read them, and not knowing what is being read is asking for trouble. The books specifically identify God, as old, incompetent, selfish, dying, and a liar. They pretty much describe an imaginative apocalyptic war between angels, witches, bears and other beings between our world and other dimensions from our world that children discover. The good angels in this book are revolting against this dying incompetent god,and the "good" side in these books is the side fighting against god. How many children in fifth, sixth and andolescent ages can distinguish this tale from their faith that they are taught in church. How many of them might take the underlying insinuations of atheism and anti-christian messages to heart? If one does, that is too many. I would not let my daughter read the books.
And that would be a great reason to not read the books, if you have that faith.
However, not everyone does. The question would be, is he informing people what the books, and the movies are about (up to dispute, but perfectly fine to do), or claiming that if a book or movie disputes or challenges his faith, that it is some kind of attack, and such a piece shouldn't be produced..
Given that most religious films, by extension, directly challenge the doctrine of other faiths, the view of God in a film by Muslims wouldn't be the same as a film by Jews or by Hindus, for that matter.
Even if the books and movie were everything listed, the group producing it has as much a right to do so as, say, the producers of 'The Passion of the Christ' has, even if their vision of God, etc, differs from that of people with other beliefs, or lack thereof.
Don't confuse God with Authority? My mind can not even begin to understnd that statement.
Hey, W. Hansen, maybe you didn't get to the bottom of Donna's post where she says she has not only read Pullman's books but written a book about them!
And Cuddles, maybe your mind could understand the statement about God and Authority if you had read them. Authority (capital A) is a pretty major thread in them.
I am a devout Christian who has read and loved Pullman's series and can't understand why parents would feel the need to shelter their kids from books that aren't written with their own exact theology in mind.
Cuddles, it occurs to me that you may have meant you read the books and don't understand Donna's point about God and Authority, in which case I'm sorry for assuming you hadn't read them. That wasn't fair of me.
Don't confuse God with Authority? My mind can not even begin to understnd that statement.
Is G.W. Bush God? No.
Is G.W. Bush an Authority? Yes.
Is Fred Phelps God? No.
Is Fred Phelps an Authority? Yes.
Did that clear things up for you?
I just want to say, there's a big difference between, "not written with their own exact theology in mind," and what is written to contradict pretty much everything one believes in. We're not talking about some trivial difference in nonessential doctrine or belief. I can understand why believing parents would be loath to give these books to their children, and yes, I've read them.
Anne,
What is wrong with questioning doctrine... Thomas did it of Jesus, and yet Jesus still confided in him. We are meant to use our minds, otherwise freewill is a waste - God does not want robots.
Beth,
I'm puzzled why you can't understand that parents are concerned about letting their young children read a trilogy that includes the killing of 'God' that was written by a man who in 2003 said, "My books are about killing God". I believe you refer to this parental mentality as 'sheltering'.
I have a question for you. Why would you think a God fearing parent would want their child to read any writings from an author who states that his works 'are about killing God'? How can this concept be so difficult for you to understand?
Ryan,
There's nothing wrong with trying to understand and question doctrine. God doesn't want robots and has given us free will. You may choose to read books that I consider to be a waste of my time. I don't have a problem with that, just like you shouldn't have a problem with me deciding that the words of any author whose literary works 'are about killiing God' are of no value to me. Why should I encourage my children to read what I consider to be of no value - a fantasy book that is fictional and according to the author's own words, anti-God?
I don't think anyone is denying Eagle 154 or countless other parents and readers or movie viewers the right to choose what they should read/watch, or allow their children to read/watch. Most definitely parents should be in charge of what they believe is appropriate for their family, in accordance with their faith. I am a parent that is very careful about what video games I allow into my home. I am in the minority among my children's Christian friends in that we do not own Halo or Medal of Honor or Call of Duty. I object to the violence in those games, and my son does not play them, at home or at his friend's houses. I communicate with his friend's parents regarding my decision and they respect it. We are all Christians, with a core of beliefs, but our families are distinct in what is allowable.
I differ with some of my Christian friends regarding Harry Potter, and I differ with them regarding Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. Perhaps it's because I am an English teacher and a librarian, and because I encourage reading, appreciation of literature, and intellectual freedom in my career and in my family, that I am more open to reading literature that others consider not only controversial, but banned.
I recognize that there are thematic elements in the His Dark Materials series that can be interpreted as anti-Christian or anti-Catholic, but I also recognize that this is a work of fiction, set in a universe that is not our own, and that the God of the work is not the Christian/Catholic God. All good literature makes us pause, reflect on our own lives, our own universe, on the human condition, to compare the world of the work with our own, to give us a lens through which to see ourselves more clearly. As good literature, Pullman's series provides us the opportunity, among other themes, to observe the problems that occur when religion has fallen into the hands of a corrupt authority (the Magisterium), and to evaluate our own religious institutions--and to look not only at the similarities, but also the differences. Pullman's comment that the Taliban is the earthly religious power structure that most closely resembles the Magisterium in his works is telling, and cause for reflection in today's world.
Please, I respect your right to keep your children from viewing these movies or reading these books, but please also respect my right to view them, read them, give them to my children to read, take my family to see the movie, without making me appear to be, or feel like a criminal. Your convictions are strong and I am not advocating that you deviate from them, only that you allow others to disagree with you, and to decide what is best for their lives and their families, just as you have. We can all be Christian and have different opinions of certain aspects of popular culture. We can all pray to the same God and/or attend the same church and arrive in the same Heaven even if we disagree about this issue.
In Catholic culture there is no distinction between God and authority: millenia of adulterous relationships between the church and state have blurred the 'render unto Caesar' secularist Christian commandment, replacing it with the theocratic paradigm that we outgrew centuries ago (but the clergy didn't - it still clings to feudalism).
If you'll notice, in Catholic culture, human relations are ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS, invariably, about power and domination. There is no such thing as relationships between equals.
The church is not apologetic about its hierarchical structure, even if the rest of humanity has already seen the virtues of democracy and choosing their leaders. They are in fact proud to be an all-male priestly elite, their leaders chosen only from within their ranks: the pope rules over the bishops, the bishops over the priests, and the clergy over the non-priests. Men rule over women. It is a culture of privilege and domination where people are not supposed to question authority.
Did Jesus teach not to question authority? Is this a Christian value?
"Do not call ANYONE ON EARTH Father, for One is your Father, and he is in heaven. Do not call ANYONE ON EARTH teacher, for One is your Teacher"
Jesus accentuated the importance of monotheism as a form of religion meant to emancipate us from misplaced authority, from mortal, sinful mediators that mislead people. In fact, all of Matthew 23 is a rant against the clergy. An ANGRY rant full of insults (vipers, hypocrites, greedy dogs, etc.)
I think that parents dont need to let their children see this move it provokes atheism. I think that Philip Pullman needs to read a little bit of scripture to find out what spiritual and spirituality means. I think that Pullman is lost and needs to be introdused to God. I think he needs to get his facts streight before he goes criticizing a religon. He is offending me and im sure alot of other Christians and he really shouldnt be tricking real every day Christian parents into watching this offending movie and then buying the book for ther
pre-teen/ teen. Its already hard enough to bring up a teen in the way of the Lord with all the distractions and problems in the world today without having this movie and book(s) helping them fall into the wrong path toward the Devil streight down to Hell. Some how we need to let people know all about this movie. I know that if Pullman will find the way of God God will forgive him He forgives us all.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I found this Bible verse and I think that if Philip Pullman will ask God to forgive him for what he has done God will.
~*!Courtney!*~
7th grade
Eagle, we should not be "sheltering" children. You should rather be equipping them with knowledge, allowing them to be able to examine and refute it. I think most christians and children SHOULD see it. If your child is so easily deceived by a movie, that just proves how faulty there faith is.
I would actually refer to those who think they shouldn't see it, not just eagle....
Saadaya, the clergy were corrupt, arrogant, and hypocrites, and scripture is basically telling us we should not be the same. And he says in scripture for us also not to be of the world because of it's evil. (note there is a difference between being OF the world and LIVING in/on the world)--Also, why else do you think that a LOT of christians AREN'T catholic.--because of it's system.
Just to see what your opinions are...
Isn't Atheism as a philosophical view that denounces the presence of a god/creator? I have not read this book series as of yet, however I hear a lot of talk of it "promoting" Atheism. I was just wondering how this book did so if it's "killing the authority" presumed to be a god, since Atheists do not believe in there being a god to begin with???
HEAR NO EVIL, SEE NO EVIL, SPEAK NO EVIL.
I don't think anyone wanting to see this movie should really tease the devil..The devil will usually take you on "HIS DARK" path to other "MATERIALS". Just ask Judas or better yet read about it!
Corrupt administration, hmm, sounds a HECK of a lot like George Bush and co.!!! Compared to THEM, the Catholic hierarchy, even with all it's faults, problems and troubles, comes off looking and smelling like a rose!! A fresh new one!!!!
I've personally read all of "his dark materials" and find them to be, as a catholic christian, slightly offensive, if at all. Overall, it seems that everyone is blowing things way out of poportion. My daughter is 13 and has heard about all the discussions about this series and has confessed that after all of publicity from the news and even her friends at school, she wants to read the book. So isn't fighting the book and telling people to NOT read it defeating it's purpose? I think to give a TRUE oppinion on it, you have to read the book.
I love these books and was very excited when I found out that a movie was being made. These books are a kidified version of Milton's Paradise Lost. Was the church up in arms about Chronicles of Narnia? That whole series raises the question about there being one path to God and Heaven ( only one correct religion). NO they were not up in arms because C.S. Lewis was known to be a Christain, though he had not always been. He had been an atheist at one point. Does the church forget that many of its saints questioned their faith? The church, esp. the Catholic church, needs to concentrate on other things. Their image is already beyond repair in regards to the sex abuse scandal.
I have not read these books, and probably will not -- even though I am a Potter, LOTR and Lewis fan. Knowing the New Line is doing the film means that it will be well done.
While Mr. Pullman certainly has the right to his atheism and to promote his secular faith in no God through children's literature, it certainly seems like a mean-spirited, small minded goal to do so.
Our societies are reeling from the systematic efforts to remove all higher values from the public square, and teaching our children that their greatest hope in life is what they find within themselves can only lead to eventual despair.
Life is too short to waste time on entertainment that does not breathe life into us, or seek to make us better individuals and communities. And making it a goal to steal hope from children seems worse than a waste of time.
Is it 'meanspirited and small minded' because his goal isn't the same as yours? Was it meanspirited and small minded to promote, say, YOUR faith, and far more directly, through production of media often marketed to even far more younger audience than 'The Golden Compass' was made for?
That you don't agree with his views is one thing. To say it is meanspirited to promote them is another. If he thinks they are correct (and most people do think their views are correct, that's why they ARE their views), how is it meanspirited or small minded to promote them?
If it is, because it is to children, then that should apply for everyone doing so. Just as much for 'Veggie Tales' as for 'The Golden Compass'.
The golden compass is an inspiring book even though it was written by an "athiest" i love the ending of the amber spyglass it is like a real experience some people have to go through leaving someone they like forever
His Dark Materials is a very good series there is little to find in these books that refer to atheism
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