Recently there has been much furor in email land amongst evangelical and even Catholic Christians over the latest kid's movie fraught with 'heresy' -- Golden Compass. From the 'Dark Materials' trilogy the Golden Compass books have been cast out of schools and have pitted 'religious' folks against 'open-minded' secular folks. I thought I'd actually read the books--which I have--and can now give a simple and honest opinion.

There is nothing open-minded about these books. Quite simply they are a slight to the Roman Catholic church. The 'Magistrate' may have/is an accurate portrayal of the RC's at some point in history, maybe even today, but they are clearly the antagonists in these books. There is simply NOTHING neutral about Golden Compass. Some people have labeled the books a breathe of fresh air, an aid if you will that helps kids think for themselves. This simple is not true. These books are just the opposite end of the spectrum.

I personally don't care if they were written by an atheist, the issue is content. The man has written books not with 'neutrality' to promote unbiased thinking, but has created a series that slams the boobs in the Vatican. Neutral these books are not, but really, the evangelical push and media extravaganza for the books that kill god (why does Pullman use big 'G'?) is a bit much. The more they complain the more publicity the movie/books get. They aren't even great books! I'd just opt for a good series from the UK that Christians are sure to love--Harry Potter.