Blogging….Health Benefits?

Well, this settles it. Scientific American has declared that blogging is good for you, and me, and people in general. So, I just have to keep at this!

Read this informative article here.

Controversy: The Golden Compass

I read with interest as the emails started flying regarding the movie, called The Golden Compass. The emails I read were on the intra-district network of the rural school district where I spend most of my waking hours five days a week. I’m sure I should pay more attention to what is going on in the media; admittedly I had not heard of this movie until I started reading the emails. I can’t do anything about what my first graders watch or read, and my own kids, thankfully, are adults now so media is just one less thing for me to worry about at this point.

Many of the emails I read were suggesting that children be discouraged from watching the movie, which is, I read, based on a book written by “an atheist author”.  There was at least one email from someone with the opposite point of view. This email discussion ended with one email in particular that spoke with a voice of reason, suggesting that children watch the movie with caring adults and then discuss it.

Sad to say, there was a time when I would have been one of those who would have said NO to this movie solely based on the fact that Christians I associated with, and/or respected, said it was evil. The fact that the book was written by an alleged atheist would have been enough “fact” for me. Yes, I was one of those radicals that wouldn’t even let my kids watch the Smurfs; poor little blue guys, I don’t even remember what evil they were supposedly promoting. I hereby publicly repent of being too lazy to think for myself and act accordingly, as well as being too self righteous to consider other points of view. Perhaps I should also repent of being so overly protective that I drove one of my children straight to some of the things from which I was trying to protect him. God, forgive me.

I love many things about the Episcopal Church, not the least of which is that I am encouraged to think and prayerfully consider multiple points of view and even, at times, admit that perhaps two or more points of view have merit. In the past two years I have acted as quite the adolescent in getting a charge out of reading things that in my past I would have considered to be heretical, or even demonic, and I know I am better for it.

What would I do today if I had children wanting to see The Golden Compass? First, I would read the book to find out for myself what all the fuss is about. Unless I deemed the kids to be too young to see the movie, we would then watch it together and talk about it later. The children would learn things, I would learn things, and perhaps we’d all be better for the experience.

For additional information, readers are encouraged to read this Review of the movie The Golden Compass.