Does ‘The Golden Compass’ point to a new atheism?

BY REBECCA GRACE
According to CNSNews.com, leading atheist writers and intellectuals are engaged in a “scientific” quest to ultimately destroy organized religion, particularly Christianity.

Oxford professor Richard Dawkins, author Sam Harris and journalist Christopher Hitchens are some of the big names leading this “new atheism” initiative. Evidence of their agenda is seen in efforts such as the Out Campaign and the Blasphemy Challenge. CNSNews.com defines the Out Campaign as “a movement started by Dawkins to encourage Americans to proudly display their atheism.” ABC News describes the Blasphemy Challenge as a way “to challenge people to make videos of themselves denying, denouncing or blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and then post them on YouTube.” ABC News also calls it “the cutting edge of a new and emboldened wave of atheism.”

The Blasphemy Challenge targets teens while an upcoming movie that may have a similar agenda is likely to appeal to families, especially children.

The Golden Compass is a film from New Line Cinema based on the first book of a series, His Dark Materials, written by English atheist Philip Pullman. It is set to release December 7 in theaters nationwide. From watching the trailer, it’s easy to see that the film has a C. S. Lewis/Narnia feel to it, but don’t be deceived.

Pullman’s book trilogy is the story of “a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow God,” BBC News reported. The Guardian, a British newspaper, goes even further to describe the books as “metaphysical fantasies encompassing parallel worlds, the death of God and the fall of man. …”

“I don’t know whether there’s a God or not. Nobody does, no matter what they say,” Pullman said in an interview posted on his Web site.

Therefore, without yet seeing the film, AFA is alerting Christians to the potential dangers of The Golden Compass. Because of Pullman’s clearly articulated anti-Christian motives, AFA is warning all viewers to run from the film.

The Golden Compass is set in an alternative world with a sinister Magisterium. It is about a girl named Lyra who sets out to rescue her friend Roger who has been kidnapped by an organization known as the Gobblers. Roger’s rescue turns into an epic quest to save two different worlds – one in which people’s souls manifest themselves as animals. These manifestations are known as daemons, and Pullman says they help a person grow toward wisdom.

In addition, the movie Web site allows visitors to answer a set of questions and create their own daemons that journey alongside them in life.

 “One of the [book] series’ main themes – the rejection of organized religion and in particular the abuse of power within the Catholic Church – is to be watered down,” according to the Telegraph, a newspaper in the U.K. “But when the film is released in December the Magisterium will be shown as a critique of all dogmatic organizations, thereby avoiding a religious backlash.”

Although the film has supposedly been stripped of the books’ key denunciation of religion to prevent offending Catholic audiences, that doesn’t appease the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. The Catholic League still views The Golden Compass as bait for Pullman’s books, which the group says are representative of the author’s two-fold agenda “to promote atheism and denigrate Christianity. To kids.”

AFA/ACTIVISM
Ford sales drop 21% in September
The AFA boycott of the Ford Motor Company continued its effectiveness as sales for the automaker dropped 21% in September compared to that month’s sales a year ago.

Randy Sharp, director of special projects for AFA, said, “Ford sales have dropped in 17 of the 19 months since AFA began its boycott of the company. While not totally responsible for the decline in sales, the boycott is clearly having an impact.”

AFA began boycotting Ford in March 2006 when the company reneged on a pledge to stop supporting homosexual organizations and same-sex marriage. The automaker has continued to alienate  many people who reject the idea of homosexual marriage, Sharp said, and has rebuffed repeated attempts by AFA asking the company to remain neutral in the culture war.

“When the boycott began, Ford was approximately in the same financial condition as that of General Motors and Chrysler,” he said. “But because of the boycott, Ford is now in much more of a serious financial situation than the other two big American automakers.”

For more information on Ford’s support for the gay agenda, go to www.BoycottFord.com.

Mrs. Fields clarifies Christmas policy
In an attempt to avoid a misunderstanding of its advertising policy, Mrs. Fields, the popular chain of cookie and baked goods stores, has made it clear that it is not avoiding the word “Christmas” during the holidays.

An AFA supporter in Michigan said that a customer service supervisor for Mrs. Fields had told her that the company did not offer products with the words “Merry Christmas” to avoid offending anyone. The woman had called to complain that the cookie company did not have any Christmas products on its Web site.

In an Action Alert, AFA asked its supporters to contact Mrs. Fields about its policy. Randy Sharp, AFA director of special projects, received an e-mail in mid-October from the company blaming the developing controversy on a misunderstanding.

“A customer received incorrect details from our customer service center on our upcoming Christmas specific products last week, and we apologize for this miscommunication,” the e-mail said. “The communications error has been addressed.”

The company further stated: “Please rest assured that we have a complete line of Christmas and other seasonal items that will all be rolled out on November 1, and we look forward to sharing them with you then.”

Sharp said, “We are happy to take Mrs. Fields’ word on this matter and are pleased that the company obviously understands that Christmas – both the season and the word itself – is filled with great meaning for many people.”

Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. drops offensive ad
CKE Restaurants, Inc., the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. fast-food chains, pulled a TV ad that had angered AFA and other pro-family groups.

The offensive ads, which had run as a national TV spot, depicted a sexualized female teacher in a high school classroom doing a stripper-style dance on top of her desk, while male students did a rap song about her “flat buns.” The ad was for a new sandwich with flat hamburger buns.

According to Fox News, the ad was pulled and re-edited to remove the teacher, while keeping the rap song.

OneNewsNow.com reported that a CKE Restaurants company spokesman characterized the flat buns teacher ad as “missing the mark with too many people … justifying making a change.”

 Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. have been infamous for running sexually-themed TV commercials over the past few years. Whether it was advertisements involving Paris Hilton or Hugh Hefner, or commercials with scantily-clad women making the eating of a hamburger look like something out of a porn flick, the chain took sleaze marketing to a new low.

Bill Johnson of the American Decency Association said problems like the flat buns advertisement are why the Bible commands Christians to be salt and light in the culture. “Corporate America [is] concerned about dollars and cents. They’re not concerned, generally speaking, about the general health and welfare of a culture – and we’re seeing that more and more,” Johnson said. “It’s very important for Christians to be that salt, to be the light, to speak up … to make their moneys count and get the word out to other people ... [and] to talk about these concerns.”

CULTURE
American ignorance of Decalogue widespread
A recent survey found that nearly twice as many people could name the ingredients of a Big Mac as could name the Ten Commandments.

Those sandwich ingredients – two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun – were made famous by a jingle in a McDonald’s ad in 1975.

The survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by Kelton Research found that 80% knew the ingredients of the Big Mac, while 60% knew the sixth commandment, “Thou shall not kill.”

Equally disheartening, the survey found that Bobby and Peter, the least-recalled names from the 1970s TV sitcom The Brady Bunch, were more familiar to respondents than the least-recalled commandments concerning keeping the Sabbath holy and the prohibition of idolatry.

The survey was conducted in conjunction with the nationwide release of the animated feature, The Ten Commandments. Paul Lauer, founder of Motive Entertainment, the group marketing the new movie, said that although there has been much debate in recent years over the public display of the Ten Commandments, the survey showed that God’s laws are not being taught in many homes.

“I think the message is clear that we’re failing, not only on a society level, but also on a personal level, to teach and spread these most important building blocks of our faith and our morality,” he said.

He pointed out that it was ironic that God’s laws are not well known in a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values. Lauer said he hoped the movie would encourage Americans to get reacquainted with the Ten Commandments and the Holy Bible.

The Ten Commandments, which was scheduled for an October 19 release, is the first of a 12-part series, “Epic Stories of the Bible,” from Promenade Pictures.

Alcohol billboards boost kids’ desire to drink
A new study adds weight to the common-sense perception that the behavior of our nation’s youth is influenced by Madison Avenue. This time researchers said children are getting the message when it comes to outdoor advertising of alcohol.

A study conducted by the University of Florida (UF) and the University of Minnesota sought to find what effect alcohol advertising on billboards and window displays had on preteens and early teens. Dr. Kelli Komro, a UF epidemiologist who specializes in the social determinants of health among children and adolescents, was an investigator in the study.

Komro said researchers studied students in Chicago and counted the number of ads within a two-block radius of their schools, then used that data to determine the effect of those ads on students’ attitudes toward alcohol use.

“[O]ur overall finding was that the more ads, the higher the intentions for the young people to drink alcohol – and this is young people,” she said. “We assessed the young people when they were 12 years old in sixth grade, and we followed them for two years.”

“We were looking at how many ads they were exposed to when they were 12, and if that had an influence on their intentions to drink and attitudes about alcohol when they were in eighth grade – and we found that association,” Komro explained.

The researcher said they were surprised to find that it did not matter whether the ads displayed alcohol-brand logos only or had people in them, they still had the same effect on the children. Komro, who was involved in a successful school drug and violence prevention program  in Minnesota before moving to UF, said the findings prove the need to ban all alcohol advertising within the vicinity of schools.

EDUCATION
NEA paper called manipulative, dishonest
Confidential strategy directives from the National Education Association (NEA) urged the union’s field representatives involved in the collective bargaining process to “attack the chief school administrator” and “mislead” their own members.

The restricted NEA documents obtained by OneNewsNow.com carried the title “NEA Strategy Directives to Field Representatives for Difficult Negotiations.” The documents recommended strategies for field representatives who are engaged in negotiations with school districts that are reticent to acquiesce to the powerful teacher’s union.

One strategy the NEA called “Block the Boss” encouraged field reps to attack the chief school administrator by charging him with poor management, poor working conditions and poor personnel relations. The objective of the strategy, according to  the document, is to remove the school’s chief from the bargaining process, giving the field rep “a clear shot at the [school] board.”

The directives urged NEA field reps to “mislead” their own membership during the collective bargaining process, the purpose being to “begin the process of dissatisfaction,” and to “continue to mislead” the member teachers “to start to personalize the conflict in the negotiations.”

California special education teacher Jeralee Smith, one of the founders of the NEA’s Conservative Educators Caucus, said the NEA’s strategies rival the hardball tactics of the AFL-CIO. “It’s manipulative of people who are really trying to focus on helping children,” she said, “and to me it’s a wholly dishonest approach.”

FAMILY
Church motivates live-ins to marry
City of Life Christian Church, a predominantly black church in St. Louis, has launched a series of Battle for the Family conferences to encourage traditional marriage and family. Pastored by Bishop Clifford L. Frazier and his wife Pamela, City of Life began the ministry because of the high incidence of single-parent homes in the African-American community.

U.S. Census statistics indicate that only 42% of African-Americans are married while 61% of whites and 59% of Hispanics are married. Similarly, 62% of African-American homes are headed by single parents, compared to 27% of white homes and 35% of Hispanic homes. The pattern continues when looking at births to single mothers – 68% of African-Americans, 10% of whites and 7% of Hispanics.

Frazier told Charisma magazine, “A lot of [couples] are shacking up because that’s what they grew up with.” The City of Life ministries cover many issues, e.g. finances and parenting, that are critical for single parents. Frazier is determined for the church to make a difference for families in his city. The church implemented a Let’s Get Married outreach in 2004 and through it has motivated 25 cohabiting couples to marry.

“There is nothing too hard for God to do on family issues and bedroom issues,” Frazier said.

HOMOSEXUALITY
Schwarzenegger signs pro-gay measures
Californians who had been anxiously waiting to see whether or not Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign six bills that pro-family groups called “bad and harmful” got their answer in October: four of them are now law.

Schwarzenegger vetoed bills for same-sex “marriage” licenses and additional millions of dollars for abortions and birth control, but approved two pro-gay bills – SB 777 and AB 394. One mandates positive portrayal of gay and alternative sexual lifestyles in instruction and activities in public schools, and the other orders “anti-harassment” training for students, parents, and teachers that includes publications, handouts, and classroom curriculum.

In addition, the governor signed AB 102, which awards married surnames to homosexual couples. Schwarzenegger also OK’d AB 14, which provides penalties for nonprofit organizations and churches which receive state funds – and some private business operations – that do not support and affirm homosexuality and alternative sexuality.

Pro-family lobbyist Karen England with the Capitol Resource Institute said conservatives were concerned that in the year after his election, the governor might come back and sign these measures, after vetoing similar measures last session during the campaign season.

“So he turned around [and did exactly that]. And now that he doesn’t have to run for re-election, apparently he doesn’t want to be the governor of all the people – just the gay, lesbian, transgender caucus people in California,” she said. “And he’s going to force this on all of us, from north to south.”

England says in her 12 years of lobbying for the pro-family movement in California, these were the worst bills to get through the Legislature and be signed into law. She is hopeful their implementation in the state over the next year will be what finally shocks into action those conservatives who seemed doubtful about pro-family claims that the extreme measures could become law.

San Diego firefighters forced to march in gay pride parade
The Thomas More Law Center filed legal claims against the city of San Diego on behalf of four firemen who were ordered to march in a homosexual pride parade – during which, they said, they had to endure an onslaught of sexual taunts and lewd propositions.

The parade took place Saturday, July 21. The day before the parade, the four firefighters were told by their superiors they would be participating. All four protested, but were given the choice of either taking part or being disciplined for disobeying a direct order.

According to an article on WorldNetDaily, the firemen, described as “devoted husbands and fathers,” were subjected to vile, rude, and derogatory remarks and sexual gestures during the three-hour parade. As one firefighter said: “You could not even look at the crowd without getting some type of sexual gesture. If any crew member were to hang up pictures at the station of what we saw, we would be disciplined.”

Another of the firemen told CNSNews.com: “The experience left me feeling humiliated, embarrassed, and offended. …”

Brian Rooney, an attorney with the law center, said the city must be held accountable. “We know we have a very good case … on the sexual harassment grounds … [and on the First Amendment grounds],” he said. “One of the ultimate rights you have in this country is the right to speak – but as Thomas Jefferson said, ‘almost more important than that is the right not to speak if you don’t want to.’”

Captain John Ghiotto, a 19-year veteran with the San Diego Fire Department, said he told fire chief Tracy Jarman, an open lesbian, that he wanted no part in the event.

RELIGION
Study: Many Christians too busy to pursue God
Christians say they don’t have time for God because they’re too busy, according to a new report, “Obstacles to Growth.”

The study gathered information from 20,000 Christians in nearly 140 countries. The research revealed that more than 40% of Christians worldwide said they “often” or “always” run from task to task. And 60% said it is “often” or “always” true that a hectic life keeps them from going deeper in their walk with God.

Study author Mike Zigarelli, associate professor of management at Charleston Southern University’s School of Business, said he was disturbed by something else the survey revealed. “More than 50% of the 300-plus pastors in this data set say that that is usually the case for them,” he said, “and that is just tragic and even scandalous, because these are folks who need to be significantly connected to God and to be developing their relationship with God, if in fact they are going to be teachers of the Gospel.”

Zigarelli said there are steps Christians can take to overcome what he calls an epidemic of busyness. However, simply reordering one’s life does not lead to the kind of deep change called for in Romans 12:2. That kind of change, Zigarelli said, comes by the renewing of the mind. In light of that, Christians must stop conforming to the culture and adopt a Christian worldview in all aspects of life.