The Joshua Victor Theory

In theaters this December 7th, there will be a new film titled The Golden Compass, marketed as a children’s fantasy story. The movie is the first of a planned trilogy of films based on the trilogy of books titled His Dark Materials by English author Philip Pullman. Previews of the movie are reminiscent of the Christian allegory The Chronicles of Narnia—recently converted to film. The storyline involves a young boy and girl, Lyra and Will, who come from parallel universes, and engage in a series of adventures involving a “battle to decide who rules heaven.” Some have raised concerns about the movie(s) and the potential interest they might drive in the book trilogy His Dark Materials. Why the concern? According to an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Pullman is a self-described atheist or agnostic, and he does not deny that his beliefs are integral to the storyline of his trilogy. Concerning the early lack of reaction by Christians against his book, he remarked that, I’ve been su...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. If you have noticed the days of the church year that are printed on your bulletin inserts, you will notice that today is the 2nd to Last Sunday in the Church year. That’s correct, the Church year doesn’t end on New Year’s Eve, but rather the church calendar ends just before the season of Advent in December. And as we draw to the close of another church year, the readings for these last few Sunday’s focus particularly on the End Times and the coming of the Final Judgment. They are at the same time joyful in expectation, and filled with sober warnings to be ready. Themes of judgment and repentance may sometimes seem to be “downers” for us—yet I hope you will see today that this is not necessarily the case. And I also hope that you will see why the Holy Spirit saw fit to make judgment and repentance such common and widespread themes throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testament, and how God calls us to repentance,...