Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Fear Not the Compass | Christianity Today Movies


I like this article a lot. Click on the link above or on the title. The main thing that troubled me about the Golden Compass movie was how many emails that I received that sounded like the Antichrist had arisen and was jumping out of movie screens everywhere.

I love the first line of this article: "Should Christians be afraid of The Golden Compass? Mercy, no. Let's not be afraid. Discerning, yes. But not afraid."

For all those who think that the movie should be boycotted, that is fine, but please don't tell anyone. Have Christians not learned anything in the past 25 years of media "badness?" When was the last time that a Christian "boycott" ever resulted in anything but more hype and interest in the thing being boycotted? Let's not be afraid. Discerning, yes. But not afraid.

Of course Christians should not be a part of worldly things - that is the command of Scripture. You can't be a friend of the world and a friend of God, according to the book of James. So that means that you will have to "boycott" certain things or movies or music or places or words or thoughts or actions. But the minute 3 million emails go out advertising the "boycott," or the minute that the Facebook friends list gets 30 invites to the "boycott The Golden Compass Group," it changes from the personal choice (Maybe shared by friends and family) to advertising.

I have to admit, I was out of the loop on this one, and I hadn't heard about it before. As soon as I heard about it, I wanted to find out more. I would like to think that I have some wisdom and Christian discernment, but I know that many people who received those messages don't have much discernment. They may want to go see the movie even more because of the negative publicity about it.

Besides all that - it sounds like The Golden Compass has been a dud at the box office. They are talking about not making the sequels, which is a good thing. They are now talking about making The Hobbit, which is also a good thing. Check out this link about The Hobbit Movie.

Now don't get me wrong - from what I know about the Golden Compass, I won't go see it, and I wouldn't let my kids see it, nor would I let them see 98% if the movies that are available to see.

So rest easy, The Golden Compass is yet another minor pathetic hiccup in the constant attempts to erode the Christian message and the Word of God. It has already failed, just like all the others. So, smile, praise God for His almighty power, and go forth, sharing boldly the Word of life. Some will listen, some will scoff, some may want to kill you, but hey, with God on your side, it's all good.

My prayer for anyone who reads this, my friends, family, and Christian brothers and sisters all over the world is this...

"...I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil" Romans 16:19

I am now getting off the soapbox.

jc

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