Golden Compass loses its way
p2pnet news | Movies:- Is the Golden Compass Catholic heresy, or is it just a good fantasy movie which has religious zealots all hot and bothered over nothing?
It officially opens in theatres today and it’s guaranteed instant success if only because it’s creating a religious furor the likes of which has only been seen when Britney Spears sat on a fake Catholic priest’s lap for a promo pic.
Canon lawyer Pete Vere hates it and in a book, he and Sandra Miesel call Philip Pullman, author of the Northern Lights trilogy on which the movie is based, the Pied Piper of Atheism.
However, says Kansas City Star, “the U.S. Conference of Bishops recently issued its official review of the film.
And Catholic News Service writers Harry Forbes and John Mulderig loved it.
“The film has already caused some concern in Catholic circles because of the author’s professed atheism, and the more overt issue of the novels’ negative portrayal of his (very much fictionalized) church, a stand-in for all organized religion,” they write, but:
“The good news is that the first book’s explicit references to this church have been completely excised with only the term Magisterium retained. The choice is still a bit unfortunate, however, as the word refers so specifically to the church’s teaching authority. Yet the film’s only clue that the Magisterium is a religious body comes in the form of the icons which decorate one of their local headquarters.”
Everyone should, ” just relax and enjoy the talking bears, flying witches, shape- shifting critters – known as daemons, they represent the souls of their human companions– and spectacular battle scenes ,” says Bloomberg News.
And if fantasy adventure is what you’re after, go for it.
But as p2pnet posted yesterday, “The Church is … a key presence, but in a bid to pander to religious zealots, it’s been taken out of taken out of the movie in what could almost be an analogy of what happens in the book itself.
“In other words, the spirit has been surgically removed: people who’ve read it and who’ve have also seen the movie will know what I mean.”
Also See:
fake Catholic priest’s lap – Britney Spears Catholic priest scandal, Octobver 29, 2007
Kansas City Star – Catholic bishops give thumbs-up to ‘Golden Compass’, December 6, 2007
Catholic News Service – The Golden Compass, December 6, 2007
Bloomberg News – `Compass’ Riles Religious Group; Lush `Atonement’, December 7, 2007
p2pnet – Religious zealots protest Golden Compass, December 6, 2007
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December 7th, 2007 at 9:54 am
zealots are nuts, which is interesting to note that these zealots often do “unchristian” things such as shut up if your an atheist i a bit too much
December 7th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Huh? That made no sense, meth0d.
Nobody’s saying atheists should “shut up,” they’re saying most people believe in God and aren’t interested in atheism. Demanding that people buy what they don’t want? That’s the RIAA’s gameplan. Good job there!
December 7th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Catholic heresy
A sloppy use of the word “heresy.” The issue with Pullman’s books is that they openly attack and misrepresent the Catholic Church and Catholic beliefs. Pullman has made it clear in numerous interviews that he hates the Christian understanding of God, as well as “organized religion,” by which he mostly means Catholicism. Since this is the case, is it really so intolerant and narrow minded for Catholics to critique the books and point out errors in the same? That is what Vere and Miesel have done. In other words, they have responded to Pullman, not by making ad hominem attacks or name-calling, but by engaging his public claims.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
This is why Richard Dawkins wrote the book ‘The God Delusion’; to enlighten these misguided people. Religion is virus; most are indoctrinated when they are young for a reason; they willingly accept what their elders tell them as true, without means to argue against this proselytizing. Propagating an endless cycle of unquestioning belief.
December 8th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
It just a movie, dont watch it if you dont like it, that simple.
December 9th, 2007 at 12:13 am
When the church gets its act together and kicks out its paedophiles that it has knowingly hidden in its ranks , then maybe I`ll listen to them ….. and then ignore them . The church taking a higher moral or ecclesiastical ground , see my first sentence really .
December 9th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
‘When the church gets its act together and kicks out its paedophiles that it has knowingly hidden in its ranks , then maybe I`ll listen to them’
Right on and Catholic kiddie lovers at that!
December 9th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
To the above paedophile comment, unjustified. It’s the individual that becomes a paedophile, anything the media tells you is probably sensationalist shit, there’s normally an agenda behind it so must be taken lightly.
I don’t see why the catholic church is at arms about the situation. Just because the opinion of the book/film differs from their religion? All this talk is playing right into the hands of the dick movie producers, who at the end of the day are the ones who see to make a profit from it. The media likes to exaggerate to increase sales, the film companies like to exaggerate to increase sales. Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if this is blown amazingly out of proportion. Don’t let them win, don’t pay to see the movie.
December 9th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
I liked the book, but you know what they say, the movie is always worse then the movie.
December 10th, 2007 at 12:46 am
My comments are truisms and justified , if you read it again my point wasn`t about the `individual` as a paedophile but the church covering it up and (most importantly) NOT reporting the matter to the police , moving the individual to a different parish or whatever but and to repeat my point – NOT reporting it – er… fact . It a searchable point , if you wish to do so – “sensationalist shit” my arse . That this occurs above ground level management and to my knowledge has never been condemned by the upper church authorities leaves them with no moralistic upper ground to preach from – QED .