Carl Trueman weighs in on The Golden Compass controversy:
I am puzzled by all this hoo-hah: if The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a Christian story/movie, it teaches a woefully inadequate, if not unbiblical, doctrine of atonement (**my note: Lewis' book leans toward the "Ransom to Satan" theory of the atonement - if you don't know what that is, click here**)-- if Aslan is Christ, one might say, then he cannot save on the account given by Lewis; yet Christians were ecstatic about the movie. Pullman writes a piece that, if his critics are to believed, is very clear and direct in its anti-Christian message. So, if you're worried about leading your kids astray, which, I wonder, is more likely to confuse them??? The subtle theological deviancy or the explicit anti-Christian message? Or maybe, just maybe, Narnia and Compass are both fun movies which are subject to a range of interpretations, and our children have the sense to see them as make-believe adventures about make-believe worlds.(HT: Steve McCoy)
3 comments:
Hey Z,
I would say though that the Narnia stories point children to Christ and the Pullman stories point children away from Christ. That is a big difference. Little kids will not work out all the complex theology, they will just see one thing: Does this story paint God/Jesus in a good light or does this story paint God/Jesus as the bad guy. Of course I want to direct my children to the former types of stories as much as possible.
Any thoughts?
Mark,
I would say there is probably potential to teach your kids with both movies. They need to see the postive of the Lewis and the negative of the Pullman and be able to think through them both.
I guess it would come down to their readiness. You are right. I am thinking of teaching my 2nd and 3rd graders about "belief" through "The Polar Express" book. Definitely no deep or actual truth going on there!
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