For some time I have been intending to pick up Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. My wife, father-in-law, one brother-in-law and an English professor friend have all read and recommended the series–with certain caveats, of course. I am sure that by now you have heard about the controversy. One can hardly surf the Christian blogosphere (let alone the web in general) and not read something about Pullman and his atheist agenda. As the launch date of the movie adaptation of the first book in the series, The Golden Compass, came and went this weekend I managed to stumble across several good reviews. The first was Al Mohler’s The Golden Compass — A Briefing for Concerned Christians. My initial reaction to his piece was similar to that of fellow PCA guy, David Wayne, who wrote on JollyBlogger that Al Mohler Nails it on “The Golden Compass”. However, after a friend sent a link to Jeffrey Overstreet’s thought provoking review on Christianity Today (Fear Not the Compass) I would now describe Al’s Briefing… as a series of blows–some solid, some glancing. In other words, the nail was still hammered home, but it got bent and left surface dings along the way. Forgive me if this sounds harsh. I have never met Mr. Mohler, but I hear he is an honorable fellow and applaud the changes he has made at SBTS. However, those of us in reformed circles often filter things differently than the broader Bible belt culture in which we live. Perhaps it took seeing the local television news reports of people picketing at the Compass premiere, but there are certain elements in the article that remind me of the ways in which we Christians undermine what our good intentions try to protect.

I have to confess that I am slowly but increasingly becoming unsure of how to respond to the (persistent, pervasive, and burgeoning) paranoia borne of ignorant unbelief among professing Christian believers. The fact is that the Christian faith from the first days of its inception (for convenience’s sake I refer to Acts 2) has been intensely and passionately attacked (and, of course, we immediately think of Saul of Tarsus; and rightly so. But our faith compels us to follow that story through to the end, and answering the question [perhaps even with an air of gloating], “Who’s in charge now, Saul? Who’s the King now, Saul? Huh? Huh? C’mon, man; you’re so tough, you’re so big! Got anymore fight left in you? Huh? Cat got’cher tongue?” But, alas, we seem to only have confidence for such gloating at boxing matches, post-season football games and playground brawls; such real-world confidence seems out of place in the world of faith and religious practice).

In his review, Mohler writes:

So, what’s the problem?

This is not just any fantasy trilogy or film project. Philip Pullman has an agenda — an agenda about as subtle as an army tank. His agenda is nothing less than to expose what he believes is the tyranny of the Christian faith and the Christian church. His hatred of the biblical storyline is clear. He is an atheist whose most important literary project is intended to offer a moral narrative that will reverse the biblical account of the fall and provide a liberating mythology for a new secular age.

The great enemy of humanity in the three books … is the Christian church, identified as the evil Magisterium. The Magisterium, representing church authority, is afraid of human freedom and seeks to repress human sexuality.

The Magisterium uses the biblical narrative of the Fall and the doctrine of original sin to repress humanity. It is both violent and vile and it will stop at nothing to protect its own interests and to preserve its power.

Pullman’s attack on biblical Christianity is direct and undeniable.

So… Satan’s own attack on “biblical Christianity” continues to be direct and undeniable; from the days of the garden, Satan (who is no mere literary character if we are to believe the Biblical account) has had “an agenda about as subtle as an army tank [...] nothing less than the exposure of the tyranny of the Christian faith and the Christian church” (Echoes of the garden: “Did God REALLY say that? Whoa! Pretty heavy-handed and oppressive, don’t you think, Eve? I mean, c’mon; what sort of god would keep such goodies from you except a tyrant intent on oppressing and controlling you?! Take my advice and I will grant you all the delicious, savory wisdom that he is keeping from you.” — and the first lottery ticket was sold and the persistent promise has proven irresistible ever since.) (more…)