You Have to be aware of this, please....

Just got back and in town and just seeing this. AMEN!!!! Excellent thoughts, Tiffany...right on! Give me five, girl! LOL.

Crystal...please don't feel you are being attacked. I enjoyed reading your post and thought it was great. I can totallly understand how you feel that way from your point of view. Your post was not in any way offensive. I do not feel it was improperly worded. I think you were clear in trying to get some of us to see another point of view. I think you did it brillantly.

 

I do think that everyone has their own beliefs/desires/etc.... I also think that most of the things go over the heads of kids. My husband and I were talking about old music and how we knew the lyrics but...had no clue what they actually meant until we got older. His song example was "That's the way uh huh uh huh I like it....Uh huh Uh huh" I said yeh you thought it was a good song to roller skate to, eh? Anyway...here is another one you might want to read.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58987

WND Exclusive Commentary 'The Golden Compass' goes south – way south
Posted: December 3, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern

Last weekend we released a new video on YouTube giving the reasons why former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is "Chuck Norris approved" for president.

This upcoming weekend I'm giving the worldwide release (Dec. 7) of the children's movie, "The Golden Compass," a definite "Chuck Norris disapproval."

I normally don't critique others' movies, but this one not only warrants critiquing but condemning. The reason is it will very subtly push agnosticism, atheism, secularism and anti-Christian thoughts upon youthful minds and hearts.

There is hot debate right now about this movie all over the Internet. And liberal news agencies and publications are waging war to assure its global proliferation, viewing and success.

Is this for real?

When I first heard about the movie via e-mail, I thought it was another Internet-perpetuated urban legend. I was shocked to discover it was real, and the books upon which it is based have already gained some award-winning acclaim. (They are a trilogy from Philip Pullman called "His Dark Materials.")

On the surface, "The Golden Compass" comes across as another fantasy-filled movie like "Harry Potter" or "Chronicles of Narnia." What lies beneath, however, is a tale spun with intention of promoting antagonism against the church and Christian belief.

to read the rest of the article http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58987

 

support or not

I think every family has to decide for themselves and a little debate never hurt this board. Best to be open and listen to all sides. LOL


Lorna

 

I try not to read WND articles. Thay make my head explode.

Seriously, I tend to fact-check and research what I read and WND has been just out and out wrong too many times for me to bother with them.

 

has anyone hear actually gone to see the movie (if its out yet) and whats the real life opinon?

 

I've been readng lots of reviews, ironically quite a few on atheist blogs and the general feeling is that the movie is a bit of a mess, very watered down and really not worth seeing.

 

My issue isn't with the contents, per se.
It is with the creator's politics.

Check out this article by NY Magazine:

Philip Pullman seems, perhaps wisely, to be backtracking a little bit on the whole atheism front. On the Today show on Friday, Pullman denied to Al Roker that his books are anti-religious. "As for the atheism," he adds, "it doesn’t matter to me whether people believe in God or not, so I’m not promoting anything of that sort," he wrote in response to a question from "Kim, Friday Harbor, Wash." But what did the author have to say on the issue six years ago, when asked by the Washington Post what famously Christian author C.S. Lewis would think of his books?

"I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief," says Pullman. "Mr. Lewis would think I was doing the Devil's work."

Read entire article.....


THAT is what made the contents irrelevant to me.
I choose not to associate with this person, and I choose not to pay money to support his efforts.

Not "fear".

The other issue is that he is riding on the backs of Narnia and Potter, to entice children, it is obvious. And I feel a bit betrayed when someone markets an adult movie to children. The movie is PG13.... One step from R, which many people will roll their eyes again, saying that I fear my children seeing things.... sigh......I feel it is just as despicable as marketing cigarettes to children. Sure! Joe Camel was cute, and didn't hurt anyone, right?

I smoked for 22 years, and as of this past thanksgiving I have two years of not smoking under my belt. Do I blame Joe Camel, of course not! But I will tell you that all the messages that I did receive as a young child told me that the dangers of smoking were MASSIVELY overstated by grownups...

And anything that adds to the message, already all over the place, that Christians are simply dumb rednecks, will NOT get my money.

Every time I read someone ignorantly say that Christians "Fear" a movie, it runs the same annoyance string up my back as when people mention how SURE they are they my children will be socially retarded for being home-schooled.

And I was simply posting in a Christian folder to those who might have the same convictions as me.

 

As a side note...

I live in a VERY racially and culturally and religiously diverse area. We have a Swaminarayan Mandir (BEAUTIFUL BUILDING!) Right next door...

And I have learned a lot about understanding where other people are coming from.

I stopped going to the swimming pool with out a wrap, simply out of respect to these people. Because I understand where they are coming from, now.

While discussing this movie issue with a friend, I said, "Telling me that I "Fear" a movie, (By the way, this was not simply mentioned here, but it is EVERYWHERE, right now...) Is as ignorant as saying that our neighbors "Fear" the sight of legs when they go to the ice skating rink....

Let me explain...
My Islamic friends wish to have separate skate times for boys and girls. My ignorance 7 years ago, would have laughed at that. Now, I understand and find it refreshing when people stand their ground for their beliefs.

I do not have to agree with them, but I also do not think they "Fear" something.

When you read a post about how some religious group "Fears" something that they refuse to take part in, know that you are reading the postings of someone who may be well meaning, but who's theory has holes....

Unlike the "Elites" who out of the same mouth tell us that we should learn to "Embrace and understand" where the Islamic Terrorists are coming from, turn their heads and say that ALL Christians are dumb rednecks..... nice.

I also find Life of Brian to be a RIOT. And can pretty much quote the movie.
I still find myself humming along with Ozzy, even hough Tipper Gore swore he was from the Devil. And I do not think Harry Potter will make kids "Go bad".

I do however reserve the right and have the responsibility to investigate what comes into my home. I was simply sharing that information with others.

 

Crystal, I hope you don't feel attack, you have every right to your opinon as well as the next person. I see nothing wrong with your post, in fact I agree with them..I feel everyone jumps and judge so fast now days.. I always tell my girls we are not here to judge any person. God made all of us different for a reason.. and we should be happy with our life. There is nothing wrong with you wanting to watch the movie I see nothing wrong with it.. I am kind of like you I always want to go out and see something that everyone else things is so bad and then I never see the bad part they talk about. Weird I know.. but thats me.. Crystal, I love reading your post and think you write very well.
I hope the movie is better then what everyone says it is...

Like Harry Potter I see nothing wrong with them, yes they have magic but if we want to get real so do all the fairy stories we have been reading to our children for years and years.. so I see no different. I just think people are jumping the gun to fast now days and always wanting to find something wrong with something or someone..

 

I went yesterday and I brought my LDS friend with me. At first she didn't want to go because her church advised them to not see the movie ( but if they wanted to , to please advise others about your opinions) but she felt she needed to see for herself what it was all about.
As many of you know movies based on books get alot of facts out of place or just plain wrong. Well this movie does that. Alot of things were out of sequence ,some characters were changed around and things that didn't happen in the book were placed in the movie, but that is to be expected to some extent.

My LDS friend has read the emails and interviews on Pullman and before the movie I explained what all 3 books were about. So she had both sides of the story, so to speak, before going to this movie with me.

That being said this is a great movie for 13 and OVER!!!
It is violent ( people being killed, a polar bear ripping another polar bears jaw off in combat and huge fight scene at the end), it does show kids being hurt (kidnapped, choked) and some of the characters are very mean. Some people brought really young kids ( 6 and under) and those kids were later taken out by their parents because they got really scared!! The movie is PG-13!!!
The visuals are awesome , the acting is great..I even forgot I had a box of candy in my purse to eat during the movie because it was so good and the movie never had a boring part. I walked away very happy to have seen this and the end of the movie was left wide open for the 2nd book. Yeahhhh!! I can't wait for the 2nd movie because that book is even more visual then the 1st.
My friend said she didn't see a thing wrong with it , she even liked the witches because they didn't say spells or seem evil. FYI she does not allow Harry Potter books or movies in her house( because of the witchcraft) but she enjoyed this movie. She did say it was a bit like Narnia( which many say is Pullmans point and thats the harm to children) but she said she didn't see anything remotely anti-religion in the movie. It really protrayed both sides equally and that should be the point taken here.
She said if someone has a strong belief in their faith that seeing this movie or even reading these books should not be able to break down their faith. She thought it was very thought provoking and she said she could see great discussions on this movie and books in her group and in others. She didn't mind giving Pullman her money ( I just had to ask her that question ) because she deemed it necessary to see for herself and to let others know what it is about. With Harry Potter she didn't have to see them all ( only the first one ) to know that it was out and out witchcraft being promoted to children and that they looked evil ( the movies) to her ( we still humbly disagree about these books and movies).
I really value her opinion on many areas and her insight as a religious person ( for this movie) seeing this with me really made me smile that she got the point of these books and this movie!!
It is about discussion , on religion here, and to think about why you are religious and that you would hope that religion itself would NOT turn out like the one Pullman describes , despite what Pullman's personal beliefs are. We did have a long discussion about this movie and I found she was not as closed mind as I onced believed. She teaches a class at her church and when this movie comes out on DVD she is going to run a discussion about this movie and she is checking out the book this week at the library so the class can go into deeper discussions about Pullman's work.
That just makes me smile so so big when I think about all of the open dialogue that will happen in this class.

I loved this movie , my friend enjoyed this movie and my hope is that more people will see this ( or even read the books) and have open , polite dialogue regarding religion with others. Maybe that is Pullman's point all along.. sometimes you need to really stir the pot for something wonderful to turn out. The point being : religion openly disscussed with believers and non-believers and still being able to walk away from each other with both a satisfaction that they made their point and that they have a better understanding of their own beliefs.

 

The contents of the books or movie are irrelevant.

 

Kris,

Thank you for your post.
What you said was really what I was trying to say.

 

Chrystal why do you think I am attacking you, jus for disagreeing with you and trying to DISCUSS this with everyone that is here?

When you say that you are proud of your friend for wanting to discuss his movie, why are you not also proud of us for doing so?

When I tell you that I am not afraid of the movie "....not be able to break down their faith...".. you seem to not read that.... I too, just like your friend do not believe a movie could ever shake my faith...

I simply disagree with what the man has statede is is intent with the movie.

His words.
I disagree with the mans intent.
And I believed it was being marketed like a wolf in sheeps clothing.

Why are you so angry at me?
I love debating stuff and value your opinion.

 

Thanks for sharing that Crystal!!!

Personally I can't wait for this movie to be on DVD! I can't wait to see it! I also can't wait for the newest Harry Potter's DVD release.. The special effects in that were awesome!

 

I seem to fail at translating what I mean to say in type form. But I am trying......


I have said time and again that a movie or a book could not shake my faith, just as you said about your friend. And you return to repeat that you respect that...... Why does me saying it, seem different? :?:

I have also said that I wish to not support the mans efforts, because I disagree with his intent. Therefore the contents are irrelevant.

He could write a cookbook and I would choose not to buy it.

Just like if someone wanted me to give to a cause that supported tobacco companies... couldn't do it, regardless of what was in the movie or book. Is that being closed minded or unwilling to discuss things? I don't think so.

I would also send out a message to others, whom I thought would also like to know (In this case, a Christian folder).

It is not an issue of needing to see the movie to make an informed choice. Because it is not about the contents.

Just like if someone said they intended to harm your family, you would not necessarily choose to support that persons financial efforts.

I hope this makes sense, because I agree with what you are saying in your posts. I simply do not understand why your posts seem to attack me indirectly, as "closed minded". (Perhaps it is just a perception)

I just wish I could know that you understand that a person is not closed minded for standing their ground about an issue, just as you are not closed minded, right?

Anyway, I like the fact that we can discuss things. This forum rocks!

 

Okay JenniferErix began this thread just as a sort of "public service announcement". Now people are getting offended (why does this not surprise me?) and skipping right over and ignoring everything else.

Why is that?

 

Jen, I understand and agree with everything you are saying.

 

I think this whole thread is getting out of hand..

I see both sides well, but Crystal mostly, I understand where she thinks she is being attacked.
I think the movie has to be what we want our familes to see and what we like to watch..

I feel if you tell you children there is a Santa, or toothfairy and you let them believe they are princess then you are doing the same thing in a different way.. I think we all look for something in a different way.. if we want to believe this is a bad movie because of witch craft then we do, if you let you children believe in fairy tales then you are showing them things in a different way.. showing them it's ok to believe in that. I don't understand maybe that is why I am so confused too, why do people let there children believe in fairy tales, Santa Claus, toothfairy (who are made up magic people)
but they can't watch Harry Potter and things. I feel if you tell them one lie whats the different. Boy, I am one mix up person, I need some help..

Ok here comes the tomatoes and they will come on strong...hold on

 

JenniferErix - I think Crystal's last post was just meant to reflect her experience with her friend and her own general feelings on the issue. There was nothing in it that was oppositional or that reflected any anger or bad feelings with anyone here, let alone you.

Any other posts from Crystal are from October. Ages ago in internet time.

 

Kris, I agree with you, we're big on Santa and the tooth fairy, here. And I liked Harry Potter as well.

But I cannot seem to get anyone to understand.....
It is not the content of the movie....
It is not the content of the movie....
It is not the content of the movie....

The man could be selling a cookbook for all I care... Ya know?
Do I have anything against dinner rolls, heck no! hahahaha!
Bring'em on!
hahahaha!

It is his stated "Intention" that I disagree with and it is that intention that I wish to not support, either in theory or financially.

A man could sell a movie with Santa in it, but if the money for it went to support, let's say....tobacco sales (Something I personally refuse to support)... then once again, the contents of said movie would be irrelevant.

I'm not angry.
I loooove to discuss stuff. And that is what we are doing.