By now, most of you may have seen the chain mail going around that begins:
Just wanted you all to be aware…
“There will be a new children’s movie out in December called “The
Golden Compass“. The movie has been described as “atheism for kids”
and is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled “His Dark
Materials” that was written by Phillip Pullman. Pullman is a militant
atheist and secular humanist who despises C. S. Lewis and the
“Chronicles of Narnia”. His motivation for writing this trilogy was
specifically to counteract Lewis’ symbolisms of Christ that are
portrayed in the Narnia series.
It goes on to call Pullman the scourge of humanity for writing evil books, asking for a boycott of the movie, etc.
I would like to go on record with the following statement:
I. Do. Not. Care.
Reasons forthwith:
- People who have sent these messages out or received them have probably not been too terribly concerned with what their kids have been reading up until now. A fantasy book about talking trains? Talking animals? People with fantastic powers?
If you care so much about what your kids watch or read, read it with them. Be with them. Get involved in their habits and hobbies. - Reading a book about killing God is as likely to turn a person to Atheism as reading Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind: the High-School Musical Edition will make people turn to Christianity. I’d be more worried about teenagers reading Ayn Rand’s books, but then again, Rand’s selfish philosophy tends to mirror that of teenagers pretty well.
- Christians have a hard time letting the world happen and dealing with it. Don’t like the music your kids listen to? Christian Radio! Don’t like what they read? Christian Books (featuring Bibleman)! Don’t like what’s on TV? Touched By An Angel! All of it deeply violates the principles that Jesus showed when he ate with sinners: we have to interact with this world on its level, not some lofty ideal of what this world should be.
I want my kids to make good choices. I want them to understand that there’s a God and that He has a place in their lives. But if that’s the only thing they see, it’s just as bad as the scales that covered Paul’s eyes before his Emmaus conversion. Know there’s evil out there, but also know how to handle it.
And let’s not burn books, OK? Totalitarian regimes do that.