Fantasy is not my favorite genre in books and movies. So I have little interest in the ongoing discussion about whether to avoid or enjoy the recently released movie, “The Golden Compass.”
Some suggest watching the movie will lead to reading the trilogy by Philip Pullman, and eventually lead young minds toward atheism. Some find it too critical of Christianity, and Roman Catholicism in particular.
Of course, a little critical analysis is often good for the church.
I recently heard witty Dennis Miller, a Catholic at least in upbringing, say when he enters a confessional booth now, he begins with: “You first.”
When any aspect of the church fails, as the church often does, there are consequences in the loss of authority to speak to moral issues.
For those interested in the movie/book discussion, however, I recommend a commentary by Jeannie Babb Taylor (in photo) who writes a weekly column for my hometown newspaper, The Catoosa County (Ga.) News, and blogs at on the other hand.
It is her take on the Bible, more so than the movie or books, that I find particularly insightful. She is one of those loyally-critical, second-level thinkers much needed in the church today where so many seem to embrace the first easy thought to come their way.
Humbly, I might add, she is also proof of what great minds come out of Ringgold High School in the lovely northwest corner of Georgia.
Director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and former executive editor and publisher at Good Faith Media.
