The Golden Compass; Freedom of Speech and Religion

I find it highly unfortunate that there is such a controversy going on about this movie. I have not seen it yet, nor have I read the books. But based on the information I have gleaned from the internet the story is thus:

The Golden Compass is a movie based on the first book of a series written by an atheist, Philip Pullman. He is very open about his beliefs and does not hide the fact that his series is about killing God. I can see how this is clearly upsetting to Christians and other believers of God. I also understand that Christians believe it is their duty to spread the Word of God and think they must speak out against these things. However....where to start?

Let's approach Freedom of Religion first.

It must be taken into consideration that we live in a world of free will where all have the natural right to believe and voice what they want to. God himself gave us that free will. He does not force us to believe in Him, but rather gives us the opportunity to do so. Yes, Christians are told to go out and spread His Word, however this should not be construed as to force Christianity upon all. Every human has their own free will, therefore they all must be allowed to choose their own path. The Christian duty is to spread the Word...that is fine, voice your beliefs out loud, in this you do your duty of spreading the Word. However do not force others to only believe what you believe for this then becomes oppression. By speaking or writing your beliefs openly, you provide the information necessary for someone to make their own decision on whether to choose the path of God. Therefore you have offered the opportunity to believe in God to others...as you should. It is then up to the individual to decide for themselves whether or not to believe in God. This also means that if someone chooses NOT to believe in God, even after we have offered the Word, then we must respect that decision. Just as we ALSO must respect that they have the right to voice their beliefs too. After all, how can someone make a proper decision without knowing both sides first?

Freedom of Speech
This goes hand in hand with Freedom of Religion. We, as humans with free will, also have the right to voice what we think or believe, no matter what those thoughts or beliefs may be. And this right applies to EVERYONE. So even though one opinion may be supported by the vast majority, and that majority is very loud...we must respect the minority's right to voice their opinions as well. We should not suppress the minority simply because it is against the majority's view. To do so is also oppression.

America's Freedoms
For those of you who bring up the point that America was built on belief in God, remember this: the founding fathers came to America to be free from oppression of religion. This then means that we should not oppress others in their beliefs. America was built on the eclectic cultures of many different parts of the world, so how can we pinpoint only 1 as the true belief?

To Each His Own
Each individual who sees this movie will come out of it with their own opinion or view. We should all enter with the idea not to judge the movie for it's author's beliefs, but to judge it simply as another fantasy adventure movie. For in all essence, that is all it is. A viewer who goes into this movie not knowing any of the background or controversy, shall come out of it as having seen another special effect filled fantasy adventure flick. Just as any who went to see Narnia without knowing its allusion to Christianity, would also come out of it as seeing another cool film. (I myself, having read the Narnia series as a child, did not even know of the correlation until the movie came out and I heard all the hubbub).

Also realize that the more controversy you create, the more likely people are going to go see it just to see what all the hype is about. Whereas if we simply allowed the movie to pass along like all the other films, everyone would just view it as a plain old movie. Then those who are knowledgable about the background can choose to voice their opinions and beliefs to their children, family and social circles, whether those views be for or against the film.

Just the let the film be a film.

Intelligence and Knowledge

All too often we automatically assume that people who work the really grimy and disgusting jobs such as the sewers, garbage, janitorial and etc., are less intelligent than ourselves. This is a gross case of bad judgement. We should not look down upon those who work the jobs that we would never touch. And we should not assume that they are any less intelligent then ourselves. Without knowing them personally, we do not know what their reasons are for being in those careers.

Even if they do not have the schooling we have had, thereby making them less academically knowledgeable, we should never declare them less intelligent. Academic knowledge is not the only way to measure intelligence. Intelligence is not how much information you have absorbed from textbooks or school, but rather how well you are able to gather information from life and the world around you. It is also the ability to use this information to benefit yourself and/or others.

As well, a person who may not speak as eloquently or fluently as the average person, should not be automatically labelled as dumb. Their brain could be working furiously even if their mouth doesn't work properly.

We all know the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover." and it's ever so true. Never judge someone until you get to know them. You would be amazed at the insights you can get from the people you'd never expect them from.

When in Power, Beware of Trust and Loyalty

If you ever find yourself in a position of power, be very wary of whom you trust. All too often in stories where kings, queens, sultans or other rulers meet their downfall...it is because they put all their trust into one loyal advisor.

Loyalty is wonderful and when you can find one person who is ultimately loyal to you, it seems like a grand thing. But unfortunately, power corrupts, and even the most loyal person can become selfish or led astray to walk the wrong paths. Imagine you are the the king's most trusted advisor. This in essence, is really the most powerful position! For if you have the ear of the king, and he ultimately does what you advise him to do...just think of the possibilities! Oh sure, it starts out innocently enough, with just small favors and tokens. But being human, emotions run rampant at times and rash decisions are made. If you have the access to do powerful things (via the king) very bad things could start happening, and all in the name of the king, or country, or people while in the truth they are in the name of your own selfish desires. And once you start down that hill, it's very hard to stop!

Imagine then that you are the king. If you put all your trust into one person, they can be feeding you anything they want you to believe. If you do not have other perspectives, opinions, or go out and see for yourself, you have no way of proving or disproving anything your advisor tells you. Of course, the relationship doesn't start that way. Oh no, in the beginning it'll be pure and true. Your advisor is loyal to you and cares about you and the country. But then as you entrust him with more and more, he begins to realize the true power he holds and starts to use it for his own purposes. He then becomes blinded to his true purpose and feeds his own desires eventually to the point where he believes his own wants are for the good of the people.

How then do you avoid such an inevitable downfall? In the world of humans it is dependent upon the people around you, and the situations.

One idea is, have at least 3 advisors. 1 whom you know if loyal only to you, 1 whom is strongly loyal to the country, and 1 who wants only what is good for the people. It may also be beneficial if they don't get along with each other. In this way, you should be able to receive information, opinions and perspectives from 3 different angles. And there is less chance that they would conspire with each other to control you. As well, you could have each one keeping an eye on the other. This could work and it could also cause discord and havoc within your information team, so it would have to be expertly executed, the people well-chosen.

So, if you are the king, don't set all your trust in one place ("don't put all your eggs in one basket")

And if you happen to be the advisor to the king, don't let him place all his trust in you, for that is just as dangerous as if you were the king.