There are 6 choices, 12 votes for Kazrith's debate

The Golden Compass: Worth being banned from our libraries?

As some of you well know, there has been a large uproar in what "The Golden Compass" (by Phillip Pullman) just may as well stand for. the Catholic League for Religious and Spiritual Rights has protested this book/movie and have been able to have it removed from school libraries.

now I am interested in three things:
1) is banning this book necessary?
2) is banning any book necessary?
3) what is wrong with a book being critical about religion?

  • Strange
    I actually just got back from watching the movie. Banning books is stupid. What are we Nazis now? Why not just applaud as we throw the "bad information" into the fires.

    Their reasons for banning it are awfully ironic. Ok, whatever, there's these things called daemons, so MAYBE by a stretch of the imagination, someone who's never read it would think it encourages some sort of satanic rituals. But they're also annoyed that it supposedly parallels the Church itself and makes them out to be "bad guys". It doesn't really, aside from the fact that there is an organization that seeks to stifle out freedom of thought and new ideas. So to contradict this bad light on the Church, they're going to BAN A BOOK? Good Lord...
    33%  Voted for by Weydon, petethemeat, bob2314, Molzahn.
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  • Ridiculous
    To answer your question Kaz

    1. No
    2. No
    3. Nothing

    To ban a book, any book, is unecessary and unwarranted totalitarianism, rightly analagous to, as Weydon pointed out, Nazi banning of books they considered undesirable.

    However what irks me even more is that people advocating its ban have not read the book in most cases. They hear sensitive words like daemons and think it is a book on 'how to summon the devil for kidz!'. I have read the book, it is a fine story and even though it contains strongish themes it does so with a dignity and maturity that many gory fantasies lack.

    I have absolutely no problem with a book criticising religion, or a book criticising atheism for that matter. Pressing for it's ban is probably benefitting the film through free publicity and just showing the world how crusty and irrelavent Catholicism is becoming.
    25%  Voted for by petethemeat, bob2314, Weydon.
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  • Let books live!
    Look, I'm a Christian, and I'm even a semi-conservative one at that, but BANNING BOOKS? This is NOT Nazi Germany! Let the books live! I dont' care what religion or nonreligion you are it doesn't matter, when you silence the books you silence the voice of the people. So to answer your question formally, no, absolutely do NOT ban The Golden Compass from libraries; not now, not ever.

    Personally, no, I don't think I'd like to see a movie that involves killing God, but that's my personal choice; I'm not going to forbid anyone else from seeing it. I don't know how things are run in Canada, Kaz, but I know in America if we started banning books I would heartily join in an uprising against the government on that day. We must not ban books, no matter what they say or what we believe. I would rather be surrounded by a hundred books I'd rather not read than live in a world where books are stifled. There is nothing wrong with books that criticize religion. In fact, I encourage people who have problems with the church to come out of the dark and criticize us, fire at us everything we've ever done to them, which I can assure would amount to a long, long list. Absolutely not, the book should not and must not be banned.


    Okay, I've gotten off my soapbox now. XD
    16%  Voted for by Xelgaroth, NeferMaatNetjer.
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  • hay! Tim LaHaye
    i was going to make a list of religious books every thing from soup to nuts. make a comparison of all the religious titles of books then kinda leave the golden compass sitting out there all alone. then I googled tim LaHaye do you realize this guy has written books on every religious subject imaginable. this guy can tell me how my marriage should work, how to manage my anger, why i act the way i do, (i would have bought that one for my ex wife might have saved me half a house)charting the end times and of coarse understanding bible prophecy. Our friend tim is also the author of the left behind series. chronicleing i imagine what is going to happen to heathen like me after the rapture.
    this series has ten books! now if the us. or Canada(all props to kaz) starts taking its marching orders from Rome and starts banning books and movies like the golden compass, the life of Brian, the last temptation of Christ or photos like the piss Christ. we also ban tim LaHaye if for no other reason just to free up shelf space.
    Voted for by bob2314.
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  • i didnt like the book very much
    but if you want to read it, go right ahead. i guess it's no worse than Micheal Moorcock's Elric series, which is about an albino sorceror and his demonic sword.

    personally, i think your time would be better spent on "the Belgariad" or "the Myth adventures of Aahz and Skeeve" but hey, that's a matter of personal taste.

    I too, am against banning books
    Voted for by NeferMaatNetjer.
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  • Brill Read!!
    gosh people are far too religious! Being a Christian I have to wonder about certain aspects of this book such as the daemons the children have as life guides. These are for good btw. The religious body within the story is portrayed as corrupt and a little mean but I am sure there are a couple of Godlyish charecters elsewhere. Also there is a brilliantly told trip to sheol and an excellent battle between good and evil.

    If you remember this book is a fictional write and dont start thinkin you can trvel fromworld to world at the cut of a knife I dont think this book will do anyone any harm. In fact its a really enjoyable read an I read all three in less than a fortnight (which for me is excellent)

    as for the banning of the movie the Catholic church are making themselves sound paranoid and need to posibly think about why they are believed to be this way!
    Voted for by Applehead.
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