http://atheism.about.com/b/a/259518.htm (http://atheism.about.com/b/a/259518.htm)
I hadn't heard about this one... I think I remember the books being mentioned in reviews.
Thoughts?
I hope the various radical churches won't go on tiraids against this film. The whole equating atheism to immorality or something got old real fast.
Wow...I'm so buying those books. I will definatley see the movie as well. If I'm real lucky, a protester might take a swing at me!
Oh I don't know. It looks an awful lot like "Narnia"--which I found to be a rather underwhelming film. And you can bet that they'll water down whatever anti-religious elements there are in the books. At least it proves that humanism is gaining some sort of acceptance in the marketplace of ideas (not to mention the economic marketplace, which is not an insignificant development). It'll be interesting to see what the result of all of this will be.
I loved Philip Pullman's Dark Material books and highly recommend for people of all ages. Only the last chapters of the final book ("The Amber Spyglas) in the series I found a bit disappointing. It looks like that the author had to finish it under time pressure.
The author of the article is absolutely right. Again and again Christians have to take *offense* to or "stand up for Jesus" in the face alternative viewpoints. This idea of Christianity being the default gives way to anything questioning it to be an attack on personal beliefs, an "indoctrination" as many Christians like to term it. But this is no longer the case ... religious belief IS being questioned and many alternative viewpoints, especially science and reason are coming to light. I look forward to watching the movie both for its entertainment value and its humanistic message. I also bought the books which I plan on reading (hopefully) before the movie comes out.
im gunna watch the movie.
I have read both the Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials, so I can confidently tell you they are as different as night and day. Chronicles of Narnia is an attempt to make Christian apologetics accessible to children. In the very first novel, C.S. Lewis introduces the "Lord, Liar and Lunatic" argument. By the final novel, he has subtly covered all the major Christian doctrines.
On the other hand, Pullman's novel is an extremely intelligent treatise for freethought. Although it is anti-religious - and astonishingly so - it also speaks to the beauty of nature, the joy of free scientific inquiry and the miracle of love. So while I expect the anti-religious aspect to be toned down, I am hopeful that the movie will still celebrate freethought.
I highly recommend the books. I have read them about three times each.
Sounds good - I'll definitely have to see this. Seems to me that the atheistic leanings in art tend to be more subtle than the Xtian ones. Might be nice to see a more aggressive approach....
I recently saw the THE GOLDEN COMPASS and really enjoyed it. If I had kids I would take them for sure. Great imaginative adventure and really strong female characters. It was a lot of fun.
Word. It was good.