The Magisterium

I was fortunate enough to catch the sneak preview of The Golden Compass today. For those of you who haven't read the book, I strongly recommend you go and see it. It is a fun filled, action packed adrenaline thrill ride in which humans kill humans, witches kill humans, and bears kill humans- and at one point, other bears. For those of you who have read the books, let me forewarn you before you enter that theatre: The ending you read is not what you should expect. Instead, expect it to end 30 pages before that on a balloon floating to Asriel's house above Svalbard.

The best part about this movie, however, was not what appeared on screen. Far from it, I'm afraid. The most riveting part of the experience was all of the anger flooding from the Christian church bitching about how this movie is Anti-God. I have a couple of things to say in this field:

First, if you think this movie is Anti-God, you clearly haven't watched it, or read any of the books. If anything, it is Anti-Dictatorship. The religion in question is one called The Magisterium, and it has nothing to do with organized religion today. If anything, it's more like religion of the Middle Ages, in which heresy was a crime punishable by death.

Second, if you think this movie is bad, wait until the third one. For those who don't know- the Authority (God) is in for a tough ride in the future. So Church: pick your battles. This movie is a joke compared to what's about to come. If you are some how relating the Authority to your God, which might I add is a terrible misunderstanding given the fact that The Authority is simply a being of pure Original Sin, I would suggest fighting hard against the release of The Amber Spyglass. Why? That bitch is gonna die!

Those of you who don't have a stick up your ass, however, go see The Golden Compass. It has a strong cast and a great story. If I were you, however, I wouldn't take this movie as an opportunity to pass up the book. There is no doubt that this film is simply the tip of the iceberg. This book is great for all readers, so pick it up, give it a shot, and let me know how you feel about it!