The Golden Compass will be released on December 7 and already the right-wing Christians have their panties all in a knot over the content of the film. No, it doesn't have excessive violence and blood-spatters nor does it have overt sex or foul language. And it is pure fiction.
But! Always the 'but.' The fundamentalists describe it as "militantly atheistic," "blasphemous," "heretical," and "diabolical," according to David Yonke, religion editor of The Blade. He reports that the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and the American Family Association are among the groups calling for a boycott.
According to the website of the American Family Association: The American Family Association exists to motivate and equip citizens to change the culture to reflect Biblical truth and traditional family values. Interestingly, on a Google search for that name, a link to "homosexual agenda" appears in the search. End of story and legitimacy.
The author of the trilogy upon which the movie is based, Philip Pullman , said in a recent interview that he was "a religious man" because he is "preoccupied by the questions religion is preoccupied with," including "Who created the universe?" "What are we here for?" and "What happens when we die?" Yonke also reports: "Mr. Pullman has made it clear that he is not happy with the way religious institutions have answered those questions."
My, my, Mr. Pullman, surely you know the answer: it's magic!
