Lisa's Musings

The Golden Compass

I'm glad the word is starting to get out in Christian circles about the upcoming movie, "The Golden Compass".  The movie is based on a novel by Philip Pullman by the same title.  The book is the first of his series "His Dark Materials"- which he wrote as an "anti-Narnia" series.  Pullman is an atheist and has always despised the Narnia books for their obvious Christian parallels.  (He dislikes the Harry Potter books for the same reason, interestingly enough.)  Whereas the Narnia books theme is to strive for Aslan and his kingdom (Aslan is a Christ figure), in the Dark Materials series, the illustratory aim of the "heroes" is to DESTROY God and his kingdom. 

One minor disturbance in this is that the movie stars Nicole Kidman, who says she is a devout Roman Catholic.  However, she also says that she finds in this movie no contradiction to her faith.  (!?!)  I understand that the movie has "watered down" the anti-Christian message, which may lead some to say, "Well, then what's the problem?"  The problem is that when kids like the movie, they will be drawn to the book.  Each book of the 3 book series grows increasingly anti-Christian, anti-church, anti-God- and ends with a dramatic cliffhanger to draw you into the next book.  And in the 3rd book- our "heroes" succeed in "killing God"- the whole point of Pullmans writing.

So here is a reasoned plea from one Christian parent to others- the emails you are getting about this movie DO have a basis in fact.  You'll be seeing a lot of Pullman in the days ahead, I'm sure.  He comes across as a kindly, gentle grandfather type- but the doctrine he presents in his books is a dangerous one.  If your kids are old enough to understand, tell them about the authors purpose in having written the stories- it's a good way to make them understand that we have to stand up for our faith.

To learn more about Pullman and His Dark Materials, follow this link:  http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

The Birth of Wonder

Have you started your Christmas preparations yet?  I have.  I'm thinking about gift, decoration, food and party budgeting-how much Christmas can I pack into my meager dollars?  Can I get days off when my brother and sister-in-law will be in town?  Planning the "perfect" Christmas can be exhausting.  I want to enjoy the process, not constantly think about how much better it would be if I a) were not a single parent and my son didn't have to "split his time"  b) if I had more time and money, or c) if there weren't so much to do!

Sigh.  It's already time to step back and refocus on the over-used phrase "the reason for the season".

You'll never guess who felt the same way I do.  Madeleine L'Engle, from "Wintersong"

The Birth of Wonder

As I grow older

I get surer

Man’s heart is colder,

His life no purer

As I grow steadily

More austere

I come less readily

To Christmas each year.

I can’t keep taking

Without a thought

Forced merrymaking

And presents bought

In crowds and jostling.

Alas, there’s naught

In empty wassailing

Where oblivion’s sought.

Oh, I’d be waiting

With quiet fasting

Anticipating

A joy more lasting.

And so I rhyme

With no apology

During this time

Of eschatology:

Judgment and warning

Come like thunder.

But now is the hour

When I remember

An infant’s power

On a cold December.

Midnight is dawning

And the birth of wonder.

On Rowling

I titled this "on Rowling" instead of "on Dumbledore" because this is really about her, not her character.  The fact that she's deemed him gay is unfortunate- what should be a peripheral plot complication (because there was nothing to really suggest the situation in the books themselves, other than a couple of "close friendship" passages that, frankly, were so vague that I have difficulty believing that anyone but the most ardent gay activist would have picked up on) is now the subject of gossip all over the world- the pontification of the gay rights movement over this revelation far exceeds the significance of it.  It's a bad thing to be sure, but Book 7 revealed to us already that Dumbledore was a flawed man- and Dumbledore himself told Harry that he, Harry, was the better man because of his pure heart. 

Christians need to be careful.  I think this will all die down in a few days- but let's guard our conversation and our hearts.  Stand up for the truth of God's word- He doesn't tolerate sin and neither should we.  But no stone casting.  The books aren't evil because of this.  Remember that Rowling herself, no matter what her thinking was, chose NOT to make this issue a part of the books.  Despite the media reports, she didn't make this announcement to a group of children.  She was with an adult group and responded to a question by a 19 year old woman who the media reported as a "young girl".  It may be peripheral to the story, but it's not in any way a major plot point.  Indeed, the more I think of it, the less surprised I am, because of it's context in the story.  Dumbledore came to regret the relationship, that IS in the books.  And the books are about living nobly in a sinful world and doing the right thing no matter how hard it is.  Dumbledore had to kill Grindelwald.  Not exactly an endorsement for the gay lifestyle.

So why did she say it?  I really don't know.  It may be interesting to examine her motives but I don't know if it's a valuable use of our time.  There are bigger battles in the world of literature than this one.  I'm saddened, but not terribly disturbed about anything but the peripheral fallout.  I'll continue to cherish the books.  They did give me a glimpse of God.  But now I long even more for the day when I won't have to look through the glass darkly- and I'll see Him as He is.

Thoughts on L'Engle's Passing

I just learned today that one of my favorite writers is now in the presence of her Savior.  Madeleine L'Engle died on September 6th of this year- but I know as surely as I'm sitting here that right now she is joyfully worshipping at the feet of Jesus.  Her writing is full of vivid descriptions of creation joining together in one cosmic song of praise to the Creator for me to ever imagine otherwise. 

These descriptions are why I love L'Engle so dearly.  I wanted to quote from what she wrote at the end of "Walking on Water"

"Last spring I was giving a series of talks at the Cathedral of St. Peter, in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was staying with parishioners who had a house right by the water.  I was unusually tired; into an already overcrowded schedule I'd had to interject trips to England and to Jerusalem, and in Jerusalem I'd fallen and bashed in my ribs ("You're wrinkled your ribs," the doctor reading the x-rays told me), and I was strapped up and in considerable pain.  One afternoon I had a couple of hours to myself, and so I limped to the sea wall and stretched out and closed my eyes and tried to let go all my aches and pains and tiredness, to let go and simply be.  And while I was lying there, eased by the cool breezes, the warm sun, bursts of bird song, I heard feet coming to me across the water.  It was a sound I recognized, a familiar sound:  the feet of Jesus coming towards me.

And then another noise broke in, and I was back in an aching body.  But I had heard.  For a moment in that hearing I was freed form the dirty devices of this world.  I was more than I am.  I was healed.

It is one of those impossibilities I believe in; and in believing, my own feet touch the surface of the lake, and I go to meet him, like Peter, walking on water.

But only if I die first, only if I am willing to die.  I am mortal, flawed, trapped in my own skin, my own barely used brain, I do not understand this death, but I am learning to trust it.  Only through this death can come the glory of resurrection; only through this death can come birth.

And I cannot do it myself.  It is not easy to think of any kind of death as a gift, but it is prefigured for us in the mighty acts of Creation and Incarnation; in Crucifixion and Resurrection.

You are my helper and redeemer; make no long tarrying, O my God."

-Madeleine L'Engle, June 1980

Harry Potter

Here comes the controversy!  Bring it on!

I just finished book 7 of the Harry Potter series, and I must say it's been an epic journey for me.  I have to thank my brother for convincing me to take the trip, because in the beginning I took all of the "anti-Harry" publicity and assumed it was nothing that a Christian had any business being a part of.  And I must confess that until I read book 6, I had reservations about whether the eventual conclusion of HP would meet my expectations and give me the Christian symbology I was looking for in it.  I even warned my son that my allowing him to read the books and see the movies was something that could stop at any time.  But after reading book 6, I knew that Rowling and I were thinking on the same lines.  Book 7 more than proved me correct.

While not an allegory, there are more than a few Christian principles on which we hang our hats brilliantly illustrated in Book 7 to a mostly secular audience, and I can do nothing but rejoice in that.  I was surprised to find 2 very obvious Scripture references as well- I didn't think that Rowling would have been that obvious- but it was evident that Rowling meant it to be more than the epic hero quest- by deliberately quoting from Scripture (and these verses are harbingers of the books conclusion) she very definitely tied the "true myth" story of Christ into her fictional mythology.

I was also delighted to see allusions to the One Ring from Lord of the Rings and also similarities to the Narnia books as well.  Rowling made clear that her reading of these stories greatly influenced her own story.  She didn't cross the line of borrowed ideas, rather incorporated them into her story, much as she has done the writing of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

I hope that I've done this without giving away any plot spoilers for those of you who have not read the book.  After reading the book I felt that the first 6 books had been all exposition and now we were really getting down to it.  As I usually do with the Potter books, I've read the book quickly, and now I plan a nice, slow re-read so I can absorb all of the rich details. 

Having said all this, let me say this.  If you are reading this and are a Christian who has problems with Harry, know that I respect your concerns and recommend the Potter books very cautiously.  If you enjoyed and gained spiritual benefit from the fantasy of Lewis and Tolkien, then I believe you will do the same, to a lesser degree, with these books.  The most compelling thing to me about them was wondering if my theories would be proved correct.  With the Lewis and Tolkien fantasies- their books were all completed and I knew that they were God honoring.  After finishing "Deathly Hallows", I must tell you that I feel that these books are as well.  However, if you are not a fantasy fan or don't like your truth presented in story form, these books will not be for you.  Some may not be able to get past the magical genre, and that's fine too.

Lastly, let me say that Christian illustrations in literature are very profitable, but no substitute for the real thing.  If Harry Potter or any other book keeps you from spending time in God's Word, then put it aside.

Giftedness

Do you remember the movie "Amadeus"?  It made a profound impression on me.  Mozart is one of my favorite composers- one of those whose music brings me to God.  He may not have been as ridiculously obscene as portrayed in the movie, but I know he didn't have the reverence for God that Bach did, yet Mozart moves me more.  That's not the case for everyone, but it is for me.  So I have to ask myself why?  Perhaps it was because Mozart seems more human to me.  Bach was so technically perfect that oftentimes I hear the precision more than the heart.

The movie wasn't really about Mozart, though, it was about Antonio Salieri.  The rivalry between them is really more of a romantic fable than based on truth.  The rumor that he poisoned Mozart and confessed to the murder on his deathbed has no basis in fact, but it makes an interesting story!

In the movie, Salieri is portrayed as a devout man who offers his life to God and desires to give him glory through his music.  He receives a lot of human recognition for his work.  But then along comes this crude, earthy, irreverent upstart, Mozart.  Mozart's genius is not so recognized by the court, but Salieri sees in his music what he himself has wanted to give to the God he loves.  He becomes insanely jealous of Mozart and vows to destroy "God's instrument".

Back to my theory that all "true art" regards man's search for God.  If you look at it, the best of all art truly depicts this.  Even my favorite rock music has this as it's basis.  I can listen to "Pet Sounds" or the Beatles and recognize the search.  It's obvious to me that the artist is pursuing God!  Some of them find Him, but most may not be looking in the right place.  Maybe they are so jaded by the institutionalized church that they no longer feel that the answer can be found there.  But they have been given the desire to find Him.  They've been given a gift that allows them to express how important this search is to them, that it is the essence of their humanity.  It points me to God, regardless of whether their search was successful in their own lives or not.  This is true for me in music, art and literature.

Madeline L'Engle says in "Walking on Water" that "a sad fact which nevertheless needs to be faced is that a deeply committed Christian who wants to write stories or paint pictures or compose music to the glory of God simply may not have been given the talent, the gift, which a non-Christian, or even an atheist, may have in abundance.  God is no respecter of persons, and this something we are reluctant to face...Often we forget that he has a special gift for each one of us, because we tend to weigh and measure such gifts with the coin of the world's marketplace."

In "Amadeus", Salieri may have thought that God was mocking his offering by giving the gift he desired to "give to God" to a course man like Mozart, but the truth was that God had gifted him differently than He had Mozart, that Salieri had his own gifts and rejected them.  The truth was that he was envious of someone else's gift, thought them undeserving, and in his selfishness did not recognize that it was God's gift to give to whomever he pleased. 

We all know that Mozart died tragically, still a young man, impoverished to the point that he was buried in a pauper's grave with no marker.  God did not bless him with worldly recompense while he was here on earth.  It was only after his death that his genius became appreciated.  Hundreds of years after his death his music still points people to God.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves"    2 Corinthians 4:7 

Walking on Water

I'm presently reading "Walking on Water:  Reflections on Faith and Art" by Madeline L'Engle.  It's a philosophy of mine that all true art, whatever the medium, has as it's basis man's search for God.  I find that Mrs. L'Engle shares my viewpoint.  It is, in her words, "cosmos in chaos". 

We must be obedient to the work, therefore obedient to God.  To do the work is a command of God, and the artist either says, "Here am I, Lord" or refuses.  But in art we are able to see a glimpse of that which was lost at the fall of man- memory of communion with God as it was meant to be, memory of all that He created us to be.

I'm a writer, therefore I'm called to be obedient in the words that I pen.  I'm a musician, therefore every note that comes out of me must be to the glory of God, an offering to Him.  I'm a church worker, therefore every contact that I make must give the person a glimpse of the God I serve.  I'm a mother, whose challenge is to raise my child to offer himself to God as a humble servant.  I'm a housekeeper, and I'm called to make my home a work of art as well: a place of security, laughter, growth and worship.

To quote Mrs. L'Engle, So whatever our own individual arts call us to do, "either as creators or as participators, we are helped to remember some of the glorious things we have forgotten, and some of the terrible things we are asked to endure, we who are children of God by adoption and grace."

More on this book and others in further postings.