The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is the first book in his Dark Materials trilogy, a fantasy series for young adults. This winter, a movie based on the book starring Nicole Kidman will premiere. The series is an engaging story that follows a girl named Lira and her friend Will as they explore their own personal destinies.

The book and the movie have come under criticism because of the author has named himself as an atheist.
With the backdrop of a very engaging story, Pullman uses his trilogy explore the themes of atheism. Each book builds on the previous, until the third book in the series in which he takes the creation narrative and completely turns it upside down. The books also explore the themes of friendship, loyalty, community, and free will.

How should followers of Jesus Christ respond to a cultural phenomenon like this that argues against the very foundation of what and who we believe? Should we run and hide? Should we boycott? Should we convince ourselves again that Hollywood is out to get us and this is a new front in some culture war? Or, should we use this movie as an opportunity to engage in an informed and constructive dialog from a Christian worldview?

How does a Christian worldview deal with such a trilogy and movie? Is it proper to expose ourselves and children to Pullman’s writings? I believe that is a decision that needs to be made on an individual basis, taking into consideration the maturity and critical thinking skills of those in question.

In Pullman’s writings, one can expose their children to the worldview of atheism, helping them to be able to think about their own Biblical worldview and how it interacts with what Pullman is saying. Helping children to develop and learn to engage with what they are reading and seeing from a Biblical worldview now, will help them as they face and evaluate books, movies, and ideas in the future. Yes, The Golden Compass has been written by an atheist; talk about it with them. What do they agree with, what is true in his writings, what is false. Walking through this with them now, will begin to give them the tools that they need to recognize and identify worldviews behind what they engage with in the future. If they do not even understand what a worldview is, this can be a wonderful tool for education and discussion. Use Pullman’s writings as a stepping stone to learning to engage and identify other worldviews in what they see and read.