So this movie is supposed to be the first of a trilogy called 'His Dark Materials' in which the 'heroes' are ultimately trying to kill God. I'm interested in both sides of this, atheist and christian viewpoints. The bottom line being that the author wants to get more children to read his books, which are very clearly trying to eliminate spirituality from their lives. He doesn't just go after christianity, but after religion as a whole. I am a christian, and will not be watching this movie, but I am a very curious person by nature, and just want to see what everyone thinks. I am not trying to start any arguments, so let's try to have a grown up discussion here.

i've heard about it. isn't it surrounded by controversy right now?

Where on earth did you read this? I've read all three books in the trilogy, and many other Philip Pullman books as well, and while he is an atheist, "The Golden Compass" is in essence a harmless children's fantasy that focuses on the belief that children are self-reliant creatures with their own special gifts, including intelligence and a highly developed ethical sense.

Meacham, Steve. "The Shed Where God Died"
The Sydney Morning Herald.
13 December 2003

Wartofsky, Alona. "Philip Pullman's Trilogy for Young Adults Ends With God's Death, and Remarkably Few Critics."
The Washington Post
19 February 2001.

Those are just a couple, but he's pretty clear about his intentions. I don't really know the guys work, so I beg, please correct me if I;m wrong about him.

The trailers for this movie look really cool to me, and I just ordered the entire trilogy a couple days ago.

I'd really like to see this movie and not be disappointed at all.

They do look good, and they co-star Daniel Craig, the newest 007. I want to watch, but my spiritual convictions are a little stronger than that and I can't in good conscience support something that goes against everything I believe. I don't want to discourage anyone from watching, just want folks to know what's up when they go plunk down there hard earned cash.

Just because something goes against your beliefs doesn't mean you can't watch it. I don't do drugs or kill people for a living, but my favorite movie of all time is Pulp Fiction.

Quentin Tarantino didn't have an agenda when he made it either, other than making a whole mess of cash. This guys seems to be actively targeting children and their ideals.

These reviews distill the stories down beyond the point where their descriptions are meaningful. The universe created in the books is a metaphysical fantasy world that bears less relationship to the real world than Middle Earth in "The Lord of the Rings" does. Gods, angels, daemons, witches, talking bears are all precisely defined within the context of the story. The essential elements of Christian mythology are not discussed, only the workings of the "Church" as defined within the story. My children have read all three books as well as his excellent Sally Lockhart mystery series. The books can be viewed as allegorical in nature by adults and do raise issues about the ethical meaning of "good" and "evil," but most children will accept these as absorbing fantasies and nothing more. Some Christian scholars have taken the allegory as an attack on dogma rather than an attack on the principles of Christianity.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jh ... dark17.xml

sorry, friend, you're probably talking to the wrong person if that's the case- I think even with whatever your personal beliefs are, you do God and yourself a disservice to assume that there's something wrong with a movie that challenges your belief system- or any belief system for that matter.
First I don't think God to be that small minded nor short sighted in determining something like a fantasy movie should be shunned or ignored for fear of endangering the existing belief systems-

I think God gave people A) intellect, B) intelligence, C) a love of the sense of wonder that a movie or set of books like this can engender in people, D) the ability to ask questions, and E) the ability to understand that your assumed perception of something isn't always a reality for anyone else.

Not trying to argue, just letting you know that I don't agree with the idea of not watching something because it doesn't go along with my beliefs. I believe more than anything else that my beliefs can co-exist with a world of opposite beliefs and come out the stronger for it.

The problem for me is that the movies, and books are not geared towards adults, but rather they are written for older children. I see what you guys mean about the movies being nothing more than just stories and should be taken as such, but we are adults. We can handle this and brush it off like so much BS. A kid's mind is a steel trap, and tends to be more open to suggestion. He is attempting to squash the whole idea of a God, and religion altogether by turning it into the enemy. I understand not all organized religion is good, and even the 'good' ones have flaws, but the reality is that we need some form of moral code or guide, if you will. He's instilling doubt at a point when these children are already dealing with insecurity and the need for direction. Ultimately he's saying you can't trust anyone but yourself, and I don't agree with that.

Wow, I know nothing about the books, and have just seen the previews, and I just thought it looked like a fantasy movie about a talking bear. Is all that stuff very blatant in the books/movies or is all of that kind of an undertone that children won't understand anyway? I guess what I'm asking is, will it be painfully obvious to a kid when watching this that they are trying to kill God?

i'm planning on reading the books, but I'm pretty much assuming that these are about as "Anti-God!!" as Harry Potter is.

Not in the first movie/ book, but it gets a little more blatant later on, or so I've read. I cited some articles earlier that explain it better, and it's straight from the horses mouth, so to speak.

dude, children are exposed to all different types of ideas and stimuli everyday of their lives, you're beginning to sound a little extreme here and I have to say- if you're that concerned that a movie is going to endanger children (one that is designed to entertain them for goodness sake) you can certainly keep them from seeing it or whatever, but don't you think there's something to the idea of teaching by example and allowing your (or any) children to come to their own conclusions about God, life, the universe and everything with the impression that it's ok to watch and be entertained by all forms of ideas without necessarily subscribing to them?

Seriously, I think kids are much more capable of understanding the differences between what they'd watch in a movie like this one and what they are raised to bleieve about God or their religion.
Don't become fanatical over this kind of thing, it will only serve to discredit you later on to the people you most want to impress your viewpoint on (children), and I'm not kidding.
Your display of your faith should be all they need to know about what you personally think about faith, and no movie or book will make much difference if you're sincere in your beliefs.

you dig me?

New daddy. You must forgive me. (PM sent)

i covered this trilogy in a Fantasy Lit. class i took in my 4th year of university......these three books are leaps and bounds beyond anything that Rowling produced with her whole series......we actually read a harry potter book after reading this trilogy to pretty much highlight how infantile they are.....these books are definitly geared for an older/mature kid, but they're definitly accessible for the average reader....

the basic concept, and by basic i mean very basic, is that the story begins in a world like ours but not....every human has a daemon companion who exists as an external representation of their soul.....daemons are shape-shifting animals when a child is still young, but once you reach puberty, your daemon takes on a permanent form.....it becomes unbearably painful both mentally and physically to be separated from your daemon by more than 4-5 feet....however, it just so happens that there's a dark group out there that is conducting experiments in "cutting" children and their daemons from each other and the "very very basic" plot of the first novel follows the lead character Lyra in her pursuit of uncovering what's going on.....

like i said, that's a very very brief description of the first novel, and in the following two books the role of the "Church" comes into play much more, as well as parallel universes and epic polar bear battles.....they are really really incredible books and i just hope that the movies do them justice....the one preview i've seen looks promising.....

I like to experience something before I bash it. Just sayin'.

Bash is a strong word. I was looking for someone to help me see if I had been mislead regarding what this movie was supposed to be about. So far, all of the articles I've read have done nothing but confirm what I've been told, and the fair majority of them have been interviews with the author who makes no bones about what he is trying to accomplish. Anyway, I'm done with this one. Sorry if I offended anyone.