Update on Golden Compass

I'm making good progress on the audiobook of Philip Pullman's Golden Compass. So far, I see little to get excited about in terms of a covert plot to turn our children into atheists. Maybe I'm missing something, but there we are. I would say I'm a little more than a third done and I've heard some decidedly negative things coming from his representation of the human political manifestation of faith (the church) but then I guess I agree with him on that.

Remember kids: Heresy is an imperative in this modern world.

Taking One for the Team

So I went to see The Golden Compass last night. I know it was supposedly watered down, but it didn't seem particularly anti-God to me. In order to learn more about the hubbub surrounding this release, I decided to purchase read the book upon which this movie was based. In fact, I bought the three-book trilogy "His Dark Materials" (The Golden Compass is the first of these books) and plan to read them all to see what's up. I'll report back to this blog as I make progress and will prepend all my posts with *Spoiler Alert* whenever appropriate (which I anticipate will be often).

Stay tuned and remember to keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times during the ride.

Simple Question #013a: Should Churches Have a Sense of Humor?

According to Wikipedia, Heresy is defined as, "theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Roman Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox." Simplifying this down to its essence, it means openly disagreeing with any religion. Given the historical trend of Churches falling away from the teachings of Christ, isn't it our responsibility to be active heretics when the circumstances are appropriate?

So much heresy is tied up with humor. Many Churches over the years seem humorless to me. Why is that? What is the nature of humor that is so threatening to leaders of any stripe... especially so many in charge of the world's religions?

Just in case you're completely un familiar with the idea of heresy as humor, here's one of my favorite examples: