Philip Pullman wrote a trilogy of books collectively called “His Dark Materials” that includes the individual books “The Golden Compass”, “The Subtle Knife” and “The Amber Spyglass”. A new motion picture is about to be released based on the first novel starring Nicole Kidman. This movie has started a large controversy. The author has been described as one of England’s most outspoken atheists. Christian groups in the United States have called the film anti-religious propaganda for children and are are calling for a boycott. Loyal fans of the series of books are annoyed because references to God and the Church have been removed from the movie to make is financially viable in the United States.
Here is an excerpt from page 23 of “The Golden Compass”
As I understand it, the Holy Church teaches that are two worlds: the world of everything we can see and hear and touch, and another world, the spiritual world of heaven and hell. Barnard and Stokes were two—how shall I put it—renegade theologians who postulated the existence of numerous other worlds like this one, neither heaven nor hell, but material and sinful. There are there, close by, but invisible and unreachable. The Holy Church naturally disapproved of this abominable heresy, and Barnard and Stokes were silenced.
This view of the universe presented by Philip Pullman is much, much closer to the real truth that the view presented by Church scholars and theologians. I expect this film to reach a wide audience and have a roll in evolving the consciousness of the planet in a more positive direction—away from dogma and towards finding and understanding the truth.
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