Fantasy, Reality, Theology

The Golden Compass, Book One from the trilogy called His Dark Materials, is a children’s fantasy by Philip Pullman. A movie version is to be released on December 7th. Christians are in an uproar, calling for its boycott because of its apparent anti-church message. I’ve been given an assignment: read the books, give a pastoral response.

First, I’d say, FEAR NOT! Understand your faith. KNOW CHRIST and act accordingly. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. 2 Tim. 1:7

We play right into the enemy’s hands by angrily crying foul play, weakly threatening a boycott, and haughtily denouncing the movie as a THREAT to Faith, the Church, Christianity, and/or religion.

Angry offendedness only confirms the preconceived notion already held by many non-believers that we Christians are nothing more than defensive, closed minded, authoritarian, and controlling fearful little people that are threatened by the least bit of criticism, unflattering portrayal, disagreeable depiction, and/or negative evaluation, of our faith.

Yes, it’s true! This fantastical tale IS hard on the church. Reading it makes one feel as if no good, honest, intelligent, person in his/her right mind would ever subscribe to the Christian faith let alone belong to the institutional church.

The church does have a stained past—we have all heard of The Inquisition! It has promulgated the crusades; the church has wielded great socio-political control and, without compunction, has freely abused its power around the world. The historical record is there. Any writer who references or alludes to such facts about the church in fiction or nonfiction stands on solid empirical, historical grounds for so doing. We AVOID NOT the truth about Christendom, Church history, and Western Civilization.

This tale confronts us with the dark side—the misdeeds—of the historical church, ever so subtly and indirectly. However, in no way do the sins of the church diminish the Person of Christ and His message. On the contrary, this fantasy may very well provide us an opportunity: to discuss with our children topics otherwise ignored: why are we here, why is there evil, who is God, is He trustworthy and Good, is there life after death, if so, what is it like, how do we know, why must we have faith, how can we tell between True Faith and Falsehood, why do we need a Savior, is there a resurrection of the dead? Etc.

I would not lightly recommend this fantasy/trilogy. But I most certainly would NOT ban, burn, or banish it either. Remember: seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened…? Depends on what one is looking for, one’s spiritual hunger, search for God, depth, wisdom.

The twelve year old heroin displays typical childish human character flaws; she’s obstinate, stubborn, disobedient, and haughty. She lies; smokes with her friends, experiments with alcohol—and gets drunk. But she’s also empathetic, brave, loving, courageous, honorable, and compassionate. Wise beyond her years, she has a heart of gold with feet of clay.

There are witches, daemons, angels, and ghosts—good and bad. Evil characters, beautiful on the outside, foul and fetid inside; and virtuous characters murderously mean and vicious on the outside with clean and true hearts inside. Everything is not as it seems. The story has the currency of all good myths, addressing universal questions of LIFE: good versus evil, love and hatred, war and peace, truth and falsehood, death and dying; subjects for which we all should be seeking answers.

Pullman has no faith in Christ. He’s antagonistic toward the Church and Christianity. Still, his fable is a doorway to questions about God. No fantasy writer escapes the great universals: Pain and Suffering, Death, Evil, Faith, Hope, Love, Truth, Fidelity, Bravery, Honor, and Courage. But his epic tale begs the question about God. He displaces the Biblical God, with an undefined animistic god—a spiritual force separate from matter—inanimate DUST having consciousness and personality. His tale embraces a form of old fashioned animism. There is nothing new under the sun!

I might ask: in whom or what do we really place our faith—is it in ourselves? We all “know” that there is a power above and beyond us, external to us. The answer is NOT IN us! That is, we are not Life’s Cause. We do not create, make, sustain, or define life. Call it Providence, the Fates, Destiny, or what not; the question’s the same: what, who is the author and sustainer of life? What is, WHO is God? Jesus Christ offers concrete answers to these questions. Christians understand this. Therefore we need not be threatened when alternative answers are given. For example, there is the age old Theodicy question: if God is good why is there evil? We are not to be threatened by such inquiries. On the contrary, we must be ready to answer them [1 Pet. 3:15]. If you are confident and understand who Christ is (note C.S. Lewis), then let your children read it; but be ready to discuss it with them. Draw out the author’s assumptions about good and evil, First Causes, sin, judgment, life, death, and God.

If we don’t want our kids to read these books—because we ourselves feel self-conscious about the fact that we have no answers to the questions they raise, or do not really believe in the answers Christ gives—they will know we are dodging, not wanting to deal with, afraid of, or uninterested in, the really big questions of LIFE. But when they ask—and they will—they’ll wonder why we’re afraid of the question(s) and why they’re not supposed to be thinking of, or asking about, such things—and we will have lost a great opportunity for us and them.

As to your child’s faith in Christ, well, if he or she is not really free to say no, when faced with the choice between yes or no to Christ, then his/her YES means very little. Think about it.

What's your Game Plan?

Keep your head in the game! That’s a title song from Disney’s popular High School Musical. Give it your all—and then some—110%! Stay focused. Don’t get distracted. Stay in the game!

Spectators watch and enjoy. Spectators are passive; they can afford distractions. Some even miss scoring moves by key players because of distractions. Yet distracted onlookers do not affect the game. But imagine a player missing a key move for lack of focus, His head’s not in the game! The outcome might be disastrous—game loss and more!—the difference between a local trophy and a World Cup Championship!

Following Jesus is all about getting IN the game. There are no spectators for Jesus; you are following—actively engaged, doing His will—or you are not.

Jesus is Spirit driven, God focused, and Kingdom minded, and so must we be. Spirit driven & God focused: Jesus did nothing willy-nilly, was not egotistical, not concerned for His own self-image, personal desires, or selfish interests. “…, then you will realize that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to Him.” John 8:28-29.

Kingdom Minded: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:32-34.

What really is most important to you and why? Where does the Kingdom of God fit into your value system & priorities; what is it worth to you? How are you cashing in its worth in terms of time, money, talents, gifts, relationships, pursuits, interests, and goals?

Jesus said, Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Matt. 6:34. What is God’s Kingdom? Are you a Kingdom Citizen? That is, are YOU in the game? Or are you merely observing, watching from the sidelines? How does one become a Kingdom citizen? What’s expected of a Kingdom citizen, a game player, a team member? What is your life’s game plan, pursuit, focus?

Restoring Justice ...

Lock him up and throw away the key! Do the crime; do the time. Prison ministry, why bother? “Guilty as hell,” hardened criminals, they deserve prison; Right!

Yes, but we also believe in redemption, salvation, changed lives. We believe that if a man confesses and repents of his sins he can be cleansed, renewed, become a new man?

Wellspring has an historical connection with Graterford SCI (State Correctional Institute). Much of the land that the prison now sits on was at one time farmland owned by Mennonite farmers who were members of this very church (then called Upper Skippack Mennonite Church).

Also, our land is contiguous with the prison. There is this vast prison land, then us, and our cemetery. It’s as if we were destined to have an ongoing “relationship” with Graterford. It seems God appointed that we should have an active, vibrant, and viable prison ministry.

And our particular prison ministry is Restorative Justice. This is all the more fitting for us—for our church is all about God’s work, which is all about reconciliation, renewal, healing, restoration, and wholeness. In Christ, brokenness and broken relationships is/are restored.

We choose not to build this church by marketing schemes, attracting middle class families by re-enforcing unquestioned middle class values, leaving all in their comfort zone in pursuing the American dream: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that amounts to abandoned materialistic self-indulgence at the expense of economic justice, world peace, and other local & global social inequities.

Rather we choose God’s higher calling, a demand for social justice, peace, transformation, and the renewal of the soul and spirit, leading to a lifestyle and value system that embraces the poor, the oppressed, the lost, hurt, enslaved, social outcast and the imprisoned (be it literal or spiritual imprisonment).

The marketer says, give people what they want and you will grow. God’s agenda is quite different. Jesus says, If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. How does one attract people by inviting them to carry an instrument of their own torture, suffering, and death? Yet, that's exactly what Jesus did!

Church Involvement: Restorative Justice Signposts (Mennonite Central Committee -- Betsy Lee & Lorraine Stutzman) ...

By God’s grace we know we are working toward restorative justice in the life of the church when we …
1. Show equal concern and commitment to all who have been harmed by empowering them and responding to their needs.
2. Focus on the brokenness within the community rather than make theological judgments.
3. Hold people accountable by encouraging them to understand, accept and carry out their obligations to those who have been harmed.
4. Recognize that obligations are not intended as punishment, but as part of grace and the ongoing journey of healing.
5. Provide opportunities for dialogue, direct and indirect, between all involved.
6. Involve and empower the affected community in any related discussions or processes.
7. Encourage collaboration and reintegration rather than coercion and isolation.
8. Give attention to unintended consequences of our actions and programs.
9. Recognize and hold the church accountable for policies, procedures and structures that perpetuate injustice and harms.
10. Provide space for truth and mercy to meet.