What we are for?
or
What we are against?
The latest series to fall victim to the "Christian Boycott Bandwagon" (they needed something to fill the void left by the completion of the Harry Potter series!!) is Philip Pullman's trilogy of books "His Dark Materials" ("The Golden Compass", "The Subtle Knife", and "The Amber Spyglass").
The reason some people are getting all riled up about these books is because, by Pullman's own admission, he wrote them as a rebuttal to CS Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" which he views as 'Christian propaganda'.
Maybe he just said that to tick off a whole bunch of Christians, get lots of publicity, and sell lots of books. I don't know if that's why he did it, but if it is it's working.
Now, the reason that this is all coming to light now, (after all, the first book was published back in 1995) is that these books are finally hitting the silver screen. So, (beware the sarcasm) make sure none of you or your kids read the books or see the movie: they are likely to go straight to hell!
I suppose it needs to be said that I have not read these books (but the movie trailer looked pretty cool) so if you have please share your opinion. If there's really stuff in here that is totally harmful or heretical then set me straight.
It just ticks me off when Christians spend all of their time and energy condemning this, that, and the other thing but NEVER DO ANYTHING POSITIVE! It's no wonder people sometimes think of Christians as hate-mongers if all they see of us is endless condemnation.
After all, even if these books are evil, you don't overcome evil by abstinence. Abstinence is neutral. Instead we should, "...overcome evil with good" Romans 12:21 (ESV).
The funny thing is that people are condemning Pullman because he is an atheist. When was the last time an atheist was won back to Christ because he was boycotted and condemned by Christians? Last time I heard that wasn't one of the more effective methods. You may want to check out CS Lewis' own story for a more positive idea for converting atheists.
Anyway, Pullman's stories are full of spiritual themes and symbols. It's true (from what I've read), he doesn't view the church very positively, nor his 'god' representatives. But that shouldn't be a surprise should it?
A quick browse of wikipedia shows that Pullman grew up with a religious background. His grandfather was clergy. One of his biggest literary influences, and where he got the title for his trilogy, is John Milton's Paradise Lost, one of the greatest Christian classics. Another huge influence was William Blake, another amazing Christian artist and poet.
So, when you start reading articles and getting emails about how Philip Pullman is the devil incarnate, remember that these things are rarely black and white. For example, some Christian schools are suggesting that these books become compulsory reading to help students understand some of the secular world's justified critiques of the church. After all, Pullman clearly has some unresolved issues with Christianity in his past.
The main thing to keep in mind is that anyone reading these needs to read them carefully and cautiously. If kids are reading them, the parents need to be reading it with them and engaging them in discussion (or if the kids are too young then parents act accordingly... but that goes for "Christian" literature as well).
It just frustrates me when Christians go around boycotting everything. They boycotted Disney for years... and then Disney distributed the "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" movie so they had to lift their ban.
What happens if Pullman is eventually reconciled to Christ. Will the boycott on his pre-conversion books continue? Or will they become classics in their own right?
So,
Have any of you read these books? What are they really like?
Are these books really that bad... ie, "worse" than Harry Potter or Disney?
Why drives some of us to ban and boycott?
Are Christians known more for what we are against than for what we are for?
