“Killing God” for Kids

The movie, The Golden Compass, recently opened to all kinds of media buzz. Some Christians are calling for its boycott, while others seem to think its okay. Well, what’s all the fuss about?

The fuss comes from Philip Pullman, the author of the book series – called His Dark Materials – from which the movies are based. Pullman is open an atheist and says that his books are all about “killing God.” In his books, Adam & Eve were doing the right thing in eating the forbidden fruit. God was wrong and oppressive for punishing them.

Rather than just say the movie is ‘bad’ we should be prepared to respond to those form the culture who ask what we think. This movie (and more clearly, the books) is an ICBM in an worldview war. We need to be prepared to respond to its claims about religion and the Christian faith.

Albert Mohler (president of the SBTS) has written an excellent summary of the film – why it will be popular and how we should response. Below is a short excerpt from his article. Go to be website for the full post, or listen to his radio show broadcasts about the movie (show 1, show 2)-

Philip Pullman has an agenda — an agenda about as subtle as an army tank. His agenda is nothing less than to expose what he believes is the tyranny of the Christian faith and the Christian church. His hatred of the biblical storyline is clear. He is an atheist whose most important literary project is intended to offer a moral narrative that will reverse the biblical account of the fall and provide a liberating mythology for a new secular age.

The great enemy of humanity in the three books, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass (together known as His Dark Materials) is the Christian church, identified as the evil Magisterium. The Magisterium, representing church authority, is afraid of human freedom and seeks to repress human sexuality.

The Magisterium uses the biblical narrative of the Fall and the doctrine of original sin to repress humanity. It is both violent and vile and it will stop at nothing to protect its own interests and to preserve its power.

Pullman’s attack on biblical Christianity is direct and undeniable. He once questioned why his books attracted little controversy even as the Harry Potter books attracted so much. He told an Australian newspaper that what he is “saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God.”