A compass of dross

Who is Philip Pullman and why should we care?

h/t Red Sonya

A month from today a film will go into wide release entitled The Golden Compass. That's the name of the North American release of what was published as Northern Lights to the rest of the world. It stars heavyweight Nicole Kidman and is probably going to be a holiday blockbuster

Holiday blockbuster.

I don't profess any religion; I don't think it's possible that there is a God; I have the greatest difficulty in understanding what is meant by the words 'spiritual' or 'spirituality'"

"My books are about killing God"

-Philip Pullman

My kids and I attend cinema regularly. We've probably seen the trailor for this six or more times and always remarked that we'd put this on our list this season.

Not now. Not that I know what this is about.

Pullman despises C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia so he sets out to use similar themes to discredit the notion of God. (What's that old saw about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery?

What's this--he was raised (after his father was killed in plane crash when Philip was seven) by his evil clergyman grandfather who presumably tormented the young Philip with moral instruction?

Millions of impressionable children will see this movie and read the following two books in the Dark Materials trilogy.

Please take this movie off your list for the holidays. The Holy Days.