Thankful...

After having not just one but TWO thanksgivings this year I have realized how much I really have to be thankful for. God has blessed me with SO much and so often I take it for granted. I live in a country where I can worship freely without fearing persecution. That can't be said for most Christians around the world. When visiting India a few months ago I met many Christians who were rejected by their family and friends because they lived out the Christian life. Some were beaten and imprisoned. I have never had to face anything even close to that and for that I am extremely thankful.
I never have to worry if there will be something to eat tomorrow. In fact, I spent two days this week pigging out on all kinds of food. Each table probably had more food than many people have a week! I not only have food to eat, but the opportunity to decide between several foods. For that I am thankful.
I have a closet full of clothes to choose from that are in good condition, and several pairs of shoes to wear; none of which have holes in them. I have a soft bed to sleep in every night which is in a comfortable and safe house in a safe neighborhood. For all of this I am thankful.
Every day there are millions worldwide that live with barely enough to get by. Next time I start to complain about what I have, I hope I will think about what others don't...

Real Beauty

Compass controversy

The talk of the town in both Christian and non-Christian circles alike is the upcoming movie "The Golden Compass" starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig (From Casino Royal) among others, which comes to theaters in the beginning of December. The trailer for the film depicts a fantasy story about a girl who receives a magical compass with which she will be able to learn truth and ultimately defeat the evil and powerful Magisterium. However, Christians (and especially the Catholic church)are diabolically apposed to this movie, (and the series of books upon which it is based)claiming that it is openly anti-God and its purpose is to introduce atheistic ideology into the minds of its viewers/readers. The target audience for the movie and books is young readers probably between the ages of 7-14. They claim that although the first movie will be toned down, with several of the references to God and the Church removed, the two movies that follow will become more and more blatantly attacking these very things. Since the movie is not yet out and I have never read the series, I decided that as a Christian I should find out more about the series from those more experienced. I do not want to be deemed ignorant in this issue since it may become an important issue. However, I do not want to form naive opinions based on nothing more than... well... opinions. One of the websites that I went to was that of Tammy Cardwell. ()She not only gave her thoughts and opinions on the subject, but also included those of a friend who had actually read the first two books in the trilogy. Here is what that friend had to say:

I don’t know if it’s actually 'anti-Christian' so much as 'anti-Catholic Church'. I don’t know for certain because I’ve only read the first two books so far. I’d heard really good things about them over the past couple of years (general, "you should read these" recommendations from various places, including an acquaintance who likes good, edgy young adult fiction, and who I think of as a pretty conservative Christian guy), so I put them on my wish list and got them for Christmas a couple of years ago from my brother. I finally got to the first book early this year, and I did like The Golden Compass quite a bit, even though I wasn’t taken by Pullman’s prose, especially much of his dialog, which I found to be very simplistic and uninspired. You do sort of expect simplistic writing with some children’s/young adult books, but the odd thing about the two books I’ve read were that while they fit into the typical young adult dark fantasy genre with the young protagonist(s) undertaking an adventurous quest and overcoming various obstacles, there are really more disturbing, adult plot themes, like the tyrannical, all-powerful "Church" who is more powerful than the government of the world, which is an Earth parallel (think Spanish Inquisition-era Catholic Church and you’re probably not far wrong), and the sinister things going on that involve the Church and children (among other things). But being an adult, I didn’t really find it all that shocking, just kind of odd, and I decided that all in all it was a pretty good story with some cool things going for it, and the only reason I didn’t move right on to the next book was because of the quality of the prose, or lack thereof, IMO.
But I did pick up The Subtle Knife a few months later, and *that’s* where I started going, "huh?" as I was reading. I mean, it started out all right, introducing a new protagonist this time… a boy in present-day England. Will meets up with Lyra, the protagonist from the first book, by way of this little doorway–one of several that that connect to parallel worlds, and together they try to solve the problems presented in that book… which are even kind of more bizarre than the first book. Just as an example, one of the disturbing things that happen involves the knife mentioned in the title. This knife apparently "chooses" who is to wield it by cutting off two fingers of the one it chooses, which is what happens to Will. And then, the wound won’t heal until he finds the one person who amazingly has some special ointment. And that person turns out to be his father, who he’s been searching for throughout the book, because had disappeared right after Will was born, and who it turns out happened across one of those parallel world doorways into Lyra’s world and then couldn’t find his way back to Earth. By the time Will and his father run into each other at the end of the story, they only have enough time for him to cure Will’s hand, and explain that the knife is to be used by Will in a war against God, and then his father is killed by another character for this really ridiculous reason. By this point, I was really just kind of dumbfounded over how bizarre the story had gotten, and I really had no desire to pick up the third book anytime soon.

I have found many people and many sites commenting on whether or not they believe that this series is an attack on Christianity and God or not. Some have been very helpful while others have not. (I personally don't find snopes.com to be the most reliable source when it comes to these sort of things) That being said, this is not the end of my research on the topic. I will continue to research and post my findings as needed. I would urge you (especially if you are a Christian) to find out for yourself. Go to the bookstore and pick up a copy of the books to see what they are about. (Although you may want to reconsider before buying if you do not know what you are supporting) As for me, I hope that if it is found that this trilogy is an open attempt to introduce the ideas of atheism to young minds that you would take appropriate action in not supporting the novels and movie and would also warn others of the harms. I am saddened to say that these claims do not at all surprise me. The state our world is in is a very dire one indeed. Please pray for the lost around you. And don't just stay on your knees and think that is enough. Take action. We are the lights and hope in a dark and lost world. I finish with quotes from the author of the "His Dark Materials" series, : Philip Pullman:

I don't know whether there's a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say. I think it's perfectly possible to explain how the universe came about without bringing God into it, but I don't know everything, and there may well be a God somewhere, hiding away. Actually, if he is keeping out of sight, it's because he's ashamed of his followers and all the cruelty and ignorance they're responsible for promoting in his name. If I were him, I'd want nothing to do with them.

Q:You have run into criticism from certain religious groups who regard you as subversive, with the Catholic Herald describing your work as 'worthy of the bonfire.' Do such emotional responses concern or upset you or does it please you to generate strong reactions?
A: I'm delighted to have brought such excitement into what must be very dull lives.

Q: How do you respond to the claim that your books are anti-Catholic and promote atheism?
A: In the world of the story — Lyra’s world — there is a church that has acquired great political power, rather in the way that some religions in our world have done at various times, and still do (think of the Taliban in Afghanistan). My point is that religion is at its best — it does most good — when it is farthest away from political power, and that when it gets hold of the power to (for example) send armies to war or to condemn people to death, or to rule every aspect of our lives, it rapidly goes bad. Sometimes people think that if something is done in the name of faith or religion, it must be good. Unfortunately, that isn’t true; some things done in the name of religion are very bad. That was what I was trying to describe in my story.

Q: Is there an underlying message for atheism in your book or did you simply want to write a fantasy story, like Tolkien?
A: What I was mainly doing, I hope, was telling a story, but not a story like Tolkien’s. (To be honest I don’t much care for “The Lord of the Rings.”) As for the atheism, it doesn’t matter to me whether people believe in God or not, so I’m not promoting anything of that sort. What I do care about is whether people are cruel or whether they’re kind, whether they act for democracy or for tyranny, whether they believe in open-minded enquiry or in shutting the freedom of thought and expression. Good things have been done in the name of religion, and so have bad things; and both good things and bad things have been done with no religion at all. What I care about is the good, wherever it comes from.