I have not yet seen "The Golden Compass," however, I have seen the myriad of emails pleading with me to boycott this movie due to the views of the author. Before I say what I think, Please feel free to check out the following article. It was written by the Minister of Children at my church. http://www.austinstone.org/current/goldencompass

A very good friend and I have been engaged in a several week long discussion about what I read, why I read it, and why I allow certain things in to my house. It has been a wonderful discussion regarding where lines are drawn, and how do we draw them. My friend is concerned about the Harry Potter books. She has not read them, and has seen only the first movie. She is concerned about bringing those in to her home as she has a very intelligent 3 year old who loves to pick up videos and put them in the DVD player. She also is cautious about bringing anything in to her home that may indicate to Satan that he is welcome into that home. My friend's mother is full blooded Japanese and has spent much of her life in that country. Worship of "spiritual" idols is rampant in that culture, and the beliefs held by her family have influenced her to be wary of items that may have spirits clinging to them. This is where our discussion became interesting. Do I believe that Satan's minions can cling to inanimate objects so they can enter our homes and cause disruption? As they are spiritual beings, do they have to cling to anything? Can they arrive in your home in other ways? What is my role as a Christian (and that of my friend as well - she is also a strong Christian) in fighting this spiritual warfare?

Yes, I do believe that spirits can enter our homes and our lives through inanimate objects, however, I also believe that they do not have to be attached to anything other than our own weaknesses. I begin to believe that my friend is more suceptable to attack in this arena because this is where she is weak. Just as I believe that other people fight a battle with sexual sin, or sin with pride...Satan will use them all to distract us from and remove us from God.

On the other hand, I also believe that God can and will help us fight any temptation we are given. He knows much better than we do how to fight spiritual warfare. He has been doing it much longer than we have. God does not ask us to fight with Satan. He asks us to have faith in HIm and He will deliver us (both in salvation, and as we live our lives).

Do I think that praying over a home will protect it for ever from evil spirits enterring and causing problems? No. Does prayer help? Absolutely. There must be some kind of balance in life. Do we cut off all things in our lives that are not directly of God? No...because then we would be cutting ourselves off from the unsaved. What is the point in that? God asks us to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. He wants us to be among the unsaved. He wants us to reach out to them. I think that means that people will be in our homes, in our environments and they will bring things with them that we would not normally let in our lives. How do we combat that? With love.

At the end of our conversation, we agreed to pray for each other, and to protect each other in the areas we know are weaknesses for us.

I apply this to "The Golden Compass" as well. I agree with everything written in the article above. I also want to say that he says it in a much more eloquent manner than I can myself.

Christa