This friend doesn't know i'm an atheist now, in part because religion only seems to incite wars, and make people stupider. I guess i have him to thank for re-enforcing my disgust for religion, because here i received an email about an upcoming book-to-film adaption called " The Golden Compass".
Dear Brothers and sisters,
>
>
>
>We've just received an alert regarding a new children's movie scheduled to
>be out next month called "The Golden Compass." The movie has been described
>as "atheism for kids" and is based on the first book of a trilogy entitled
>"His Dark Materials" written by Phillip Pullman. Pullman is a militant
>atheist and secular humanist who despises C. S. Lewis and the "Chronicles
>of Narnia." His motivation for writing this trilogy was specifically to
>counteract Lewis' symbolisms of Christ portrayed in the Narnia series.
>Clearly, Pullman's main objective is to bash Christianity and promote
>atheism. Pullman left little doubt about his intentions when he said in a
>2003 interview, "my books are about killing God." He has even stated that
>he wants "to kill God in the minds of children." It has been said of
>Pullman that he is "the writer the atheists would be praying for, if
>atheists prayed."
>
>While "The Golden Compass" movie itself may seem mild and innocent, the
>books are a much different story. In the trilogy, a young streetwise girl
>becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive
>forces of a senile God. Another character, an ex-nun, describes
>Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake." In the final
>book, characters representing Adam and Eve eventually kill God, who at
>times is called YAHWEH. Each book in the trilogy gets progressively worse
>regarding Pullman's hatred of Jesus Christ.
>
>"The Golden Compass" is set to premier December 7, during the Christmas
>season and will probably be heavily advertised. Promoters hope that
>unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie, that they
>will enjoy the movie, and that the children will want the books for
>Christmas. Please boycott the movie and the books. Also, pass this
>information along to everyone you know. This will help to educate parents,
>so that they will know the agenda of the movie.
>Both the book and the movie introduce atheism to children. The story ends
>with Adam and Eve killing God. THIS IS A MOVIE THAT WE MUST PROTEST AND
>OPPOSE AS CHRISTIANS. Please check out the links below and help spread
>the word. Do not remain silent on this issue. This is a time for the
>family of GOD to stand together against such trash. Focus on the Family
>has several notices written about it. You can click on this link to see one
>of them: http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000005672.cfm You can also
>read more about it at:- www.churchtrainer.com The Golden Compass A
>movie to avoid We need to get the word out about this movie - it is coming
>out in December - an atheist produced it,it is marketed for children and in
>the end they kill God. Send this to everyone you know.
>http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
>Victor NgDevelopment Manager Special ProjectsCampus Crusade Asia Limited
>-Mass Media1 Lorong 2 Toa Payoh#01-02, Yellow Pages BuildingSingapore
>(319637)Tel : 65-6356 6063 Fax : 65-6356 6109 Visit Us at
>http://www.ccalmm.com /
>
>Real people. Real questions. Real answers. Share what you know.
I've not read the book, nor watched the movie yet, but rest assured, i will be going to do both of those tasks now.
Firstly, am i the only one who's slightly scared that somewhere in their brains, the christians seem to think that atheists are the source of evil? I mean surely its not like religion to launch crusades or jihads, issue fatwas, or subject other fellow humans to torture based on beliefs and not facts, right? Clearly atheists like me have no regard for other humans and all we wish to do is be giant flaming sources of evil. Not that me being a pacifist, or actively engaged in wiping out discrimination has anything to do with my belief, because hey! i'm atheist. Yup, big bag of evil here.
That aside, the Christian parents clearly felt it was okay to sub-consciously force their beliefs down their children's throats by taking them to watch (or read, if any child still does that) Narnia. Believing in a being that exists because you believe it to there is okay, but NOT believing in that being that exists because they believe it to makes YOU bad. (note, i'm more about tolerance, so to that extent, i treat Atheism still as a belief, not the universal truth) I don't get why religious people seem to be so strung up with intolerance. Just because someone holds a different opinion from you doesn't make him wrong (unless that opinion is backed by fact, which doesn't make it an opinion anymore imo) and that doesn't give you the right to launch wars and take lives.
Hmm i think i've ranted too much, so i'll stop here. Thoughts/Opinions anyone? I tend to go through several revisions, because i'm not always able to express all my thoughts in one sitting.
and semi-related pic link:
http://picsyard.com/ATHEISTS_GET_THE_HE ... OF_AMERICA
