Per Christum Catholic Blog

By now, many of you know, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights is calling for the boycott of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. This boycott is making headlines; even the Today Show has mentioned it. If you have seen the trailers for the movie, it looks good. So why are Catholic/Christian communities in such a big uproar? Because Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy seeks to weaken or destroy a Christian child’s spirituality. This book creates a world where organized religion is corrupt, witches are heroic, and The Fall is considered the rebellion against the tyranny of the Authority.

Check out some of the characters on Wikipedia:

The Authority is the first angel created in this world. He convinces the other angels he is the Creator. He rules Cloud Mountain or the Kingdom of Heaven.

Xaphania is the angel who figures out The Authority lied. She leads the rebellion against him. She wishes to create the Republic of Heaven.

Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman) is a widow who works for Oxford and the Catholic Church.

Magisterium or the Church does experiments on children to separate them from their daemons (souls). The reasoning is it will prevent children from knowing sin. Coulter is in charge of these experiments.

Daemons in this series are the physical manifestation of the soul, think witch’s familiar.

Dr. Mary Malone is a physicist from “our world” and an ex-nun.

Pullman is an atheist and has even helped create a series called Why Atheism? with writer Michael Rosen. What does this have to do with his books? Everything. Just like Tolkien, Lewis, and George MacDonald put Christian themes in their books, so has he put atheistic themes in his. He weaves his story using Hebrew, Pagan, and Christian symbolism.

From an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003:

Pullman, though, expected more. “I’ve been surprised by how little criticism I’ve got. Harry Potter’s been taking all the flak. I’m a great fan of J.K. Rowling, but the people – mainly from America’s Bible Belt – who complain that Harry Potter promotes Satanism or witchcraft obviously haven’t got enough in their lives. Meanwhile, I’ve been flying under the radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God. Source: The shed where God died

From Pullman’s Q and A section on his website:

Q: What stance do the books take?

“It depicts a struggle: the old forces of control and ritual and authority, the forces which have been embodied throughout human history in such phenomena as the Inquisition, the witch-trials, the burning of heretics, and which are still strong today in the regions of the world where religious zealots of any faith have power, are on one side; and the forces that fight against them have as their guiding principle an idea which is summed up in the words The Republic of Heaven. It’s the Kingdom against the Republic.

And everything follows from that. So, for instance, the book depicts the Temptation and Fall not as the source of all woe and misery, as in traditional Christian teaching, but as the beginning of true human freedom something to be celebrated, not lamented. And the Tempter is not an evil being like Satan, prompted by malice and envy, but a figure who might stand for Wisdom.
….
And if certain Christian critics are confused by this, and imagine I’m denying the difference between good and evil, then all I can say is that I shall pray for them.”
Source: Pullman’s Q&A section.

In a recent interview with Al Roker, Pullman dances around the question about the book being anti-Catholic. Obviously, he’s heard that people don’t want to support a movie in which killing God is the objective. He now says the religion in this other world has gone bad. How bad? According to Catholic Culture:

Throughout the trilogy, priests are portrayed as evil and violent; one of them is an assassin. In contrast, an ex-nun who has lost her faith is positively portrayed. She describes Christianity as “a very powerful and convincing mistake.” The “Magisterium” kidnaps children in order to take out their souls. In the final volume, characters representing Adam and Eve kill God, who is referred to as YAHWEH.

As a Catholic blog we seek to inform our readers about a variety of topics. I wanted to do more than shake my finger saying, “bad man,” so I wanted to provide some background on the books and film. Hopefully, you now know enough to make your own decision about this series, and not boycott it simply because some prominent orthodox Catholics oppose it.

Want More?

Snopes.com on The Golden Compass

Philip Pullman “Religious Impulse” Listen to his examples.

Philip Pullman Realizes ‘Killing God’ Not the Ideal Sales Pitch

Atheism for Christmas?

“The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked” Catholic League

(Episcopal) Archbishop wants atheist Pullman on syllabus

photo from: About.com