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Xenothere — Versus
Published: 2007-11-25 05:45:14 +0000 UTC; Views: 18239; Favourites: 51; Downloads: 59
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When I first saw the previews for The Golden Compass, it looked to be a very cool movie.I also heard about the controversy: Phill Pullman, the author of His Dark Materials (TGC is the 1st book in the trilogy) created this series, partly, as a spoof against Chronicles of Narnia, where the hero's "kill God" in the end. Being a Christian, this obviously struck nerve with me (to be honest though, I haven't read either book).
That's nothing new though. Personally, I don't view the book/movie any more threatening than things like The Time Machine or Paradise Lost.
Apparently, the movie adaptation will downplay the religious satyr in place of anti-totalitarianism; b/c its an unforgivable sin in Hollywood to alienate part of your target demographic (i.e. though Narnia is a primarily Christian movie, they did manage to throw in pagan elements in there).
Either way, I want to see it.
----
I based my design of Aslan off of a Barbary Lion.
It looks" like Aslan the lion and Iorek the polar bear are headed for a showdown ...or are they...?
Please comment. I'd like to know what ya'll think.
Aslan (c) C.S. Lewis
Iorek Byrnison (c) Phill Pullman
Artwork (c) me
*Edit*
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Comments: 76
If I had to write my own book involving religion, my animal would have to be a tiger. Think about it, Lion, Tiger, Bear.
It would delve into not christianity nor atheism but rather self spirituality, to have faith in the after life but not let the order of religion itself confine you to ignorance.
My tiger would be like a maiar, a creature of spirituality like Aslan to a degree... but not all godly, and she's be more proactive and productive as a supportive character like Iroek.
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It'll be hard to take sides for me to take sides, I love both series.
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Yes...King of the Jungle & King of the Arctic!
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this would have been a good trilogy, to bad the movies had to be canceled.
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Hey, nicely done. I had a similar idea parallel to you and googled it to see if it had be done before. You beat me to it, but here's my attempt at something similar: [link]
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I am a Christian and I LOVED His Dark Materials. I really didn't see anything wrong with the books. Some religious groups shouldn't make a huge fuss about books; they're great stories. The religious groups take the books too seriously.
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In the words of Confused Matthew, "If I have to choose between the dullard and the jesus lion, I'll pick the jesus lion."
And Philip Pullman is a hypocrite.
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Just curious. How is Philip Pullman is a hypocrite?
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Simply because he accused C. S. Lewis of writing propaganda when he didn't, then turned around and wrote his own propaganda in response. I haven't actually read the series, though, so my opinion is less valid. Bu knowing what I do about it, I'm not sure if I could make it through when I'm all too aware of the author's soapbox.
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CS Lewis did write propaganda. The Last Battle is a great propaganda fest based on Revelation.
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^ Allegory is not the same thing as propaganda. The Narnia series makes no direct reference to God, Jesus, the church, the Eucharist, etc. Pullman's series, on the other hand, DOES explicitly denounce Christianity as a falsehood.
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But works explicitly in the same way. The allegory for atheists/jews in the dwarves gets to have a horrible future because they didn't hailed the cat messiah and the muslim analogues are medieval caricatures, while at least Pulman gives subtle validity to non-christian religions.
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Let's be civilized here, people. Both of these stories are simply wonderful, even due to the extreme religious differences. I say not to judge a person simply by what their faith may be; judge them on their character. Let's be fair. If you don't like a certain thing, don't bash another person simply because they like it. My two friends love Twilight and I hate that saga. Does that mean I hate all Twilight fans? No. Just the books. Allow us to be open-minded about this, shall we? And flamming others for what they like is childish. We're all different and we should embrace that.
Great art, by the way.
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Found this out on QI & thought you might be interested:
A bear would always win a fight against a lion as the lion's skull is very thin and although it is very muscular, has very little strength, so before the lion could attack the bear's neck, the bear would crush the skull first. This was proven by a man who brought a lion and a bear to California during the Gold Rush as a means of entertaining the prospectors and miners. They had bears fighting against various other animals such as bull, for example, but because the bear always won, they shipped in an African lion, but the bear still won.
I guess technically Iorek is a sentient bear so may fair better than a regular one but then again Aslan is Jesus and killing him hasn't managed to stop him before!
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The way I see it, why would these two have to fight in the first place? They're both powerful and respectable leaders who would only, from my perspective, fight if there was no other option. That may sound stupid to some people but that's how I perceive Aslan and Iorek based off what I know about their leadership qualities. I am not entirely familiar with the "His Dark Materials" series though I will soon be reading the novels for a religion course. I admit, I'm a little hesitant after hearing all of the anti-God and anti-religion statements that were allegedly made in the series, especially since Philip Pullman is an outspoken atheist. However, I'm open-minded and I love literature, so I want to give Pullman's series a fair chance. I never want to be thought of as a zealot nor do I like it when people trash my beliefs. It's a conflicting battle, it is.
However, since I haven't read much of "His Dark Materials", never seen the film and only have a Wikipedia article-based knowledge, I can't make a fair judgment of whether Aslan or Iorek would win in this depicted fight so I cannot say. I am more familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia but I really only liked the series because I liked the element of a lion that fought for justice though I perceived it more on the level of basic good-vs-evil morality rather than religion. I will say this: this picture is well illustrated. It reminds me of a pattern that might be used on a stained-glass window. I want to add this to my favorites.
Xenothere, you have done well.
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I was pretty offended after i read TGC, plus not to mention Aslan is a much better character anyway.
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I'm not religious i just enjoy them i love narnia since i was a kid and now i love the Golden Compass 
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i thought it was the god-imposter who was killed and the real god was rescued...
but so what if there's an anti-christian movie/book? there's plenty of anti-atheist ones out there, and children don't pick up on these things (I was certainly oblivious to the religion in narnia as a child)
just enjoy a good adventure story with animals in it
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Are you weaver from Lilymud...I say that because you boith have feotus's in your avvys X)
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mwhaha. i am. they're both from the same picture XD and who are you from lilymud? c:
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Agent Of Chaos or Black Mane 
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I forgot I have a signature on DA -has disabled-
and oho, I remember you c: I was actually talking to a friend IRL about you recently, just a comment in passing about how uptight lilymud is about certain things -coughhuntingcough-
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Lol, Im the laughing stock on Lilymud X) Doesn't bother me though, tis only a forum, and I agree it is taken a little so seriously plz.
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Oh, I NEVER take lilymud seriously. I honestly can't. It's a faded shadow of it's former self, a giant joke of the TLKFAA fandom!
Like, I'm seriously thinking about making a thread on fashion.
Then I'm going to talk about the fur coat that my rabbits match perfectly. I look so awesome in it holding them.
But I also know that aside from funny comments, I'd have to deal with all the whiny ones who whine and whine and give you their life story (Who cares if you play football, wtf) and if it's more than a line long why bother reading.
and then they go whine on my page which means they're in my inbox which is annoying to filter through because I've got better things to read.
Like porn! mwhahah
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I think even the most horrendously omgewgross porn is actually a lot better than some of the weird tripe that gets said on L.mud. There are some nice people on there though, and some good art projects/collabs pop up every now and again which I take part in, but some of the people on there are so..Holier than thou it's just not even funny. They think their so cool and i'm like "lol whut?" your on a LION KING site, thats instantly not cool D: but alas, it still gets taken seriously D:
And please...make that thread, ti will be epically amusing X) I have a fur coat, it would be tempting to post a picture of that. I think most of the animal rights folks on there would have a fit if they entered my room, I collect animal pelts, tails and other oddments X)
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Bah, they're all airheaded little children. It's hilariously fun to poke them.
omg, photos are a must. Yes Yes Yes
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most of them arn't children btu actually like adults D:I think they must have had sad childhoods though, to make them this serious. It makes me sad that the Politically Correct climate veil has descended on blessed Lilymud D:
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actually, i find the adults don't bother me so much. the ones who ARE really stupid annoying do turn out to be 15 or 16.
lolollol. i think it's just funny. like that really smart, sexy person in high school who is now trailer trash. sad, but hilariously funny.
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lolol I still think you should post that fashion thread, you'd certainly get a few laughs out of it X)
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Maybe in a week or so, right now I've got work every day and packing to do X_X
It'll be funny to lol at them some more though.
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Dang, busy then huh?
And yes, will be a good giggle ^^
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Are you weaver from Lilymud...I say that because you boith have feotus's in your avvys X)
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I read the whole trilogy and was very offended by the outcome personally >
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Iorek will destroy this lion! Truth and Freedom will win! Blind faith and ignorance will be annihilated! Go Iorek!!!
Seriously... both movie series sucked 
This pic is great! But I do think Iorek will win
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Aslan wins! In seriousness, I am a Christain, and did go see TGC, and I was able to find things in the movie against God. I have not, and won't read the books. I love Narnia, but honestly, when I first watched it as a child I had no clue it had "religious" roots.
Either way this is a great piece!
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First of all, I'm conflicted on what to say about the question posed in general... X3 "WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT TO ASK THE JESUS-ALLEGORY-LION?" 
No, in all seriousness, Aslan kicks ass on a regular basis, and Iorek had to sort of realy pull from down deep to win that one last fight in the movie. I haven't read the HDM books, but I was privileged to grow up with Narnia. The amount of time and energy and the sheer depth of the situations and their religious representation struck me from the very beginning.
And to finally discuss the image that has begun this very debate... X3 I think Iorek looks like a big gold pillbug here! With fuzzy polar bear legs sticking out.
Definite strong points all around then! 8D
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I am a fan of both series (chronicles, whatever) but prefer HDM because i can relate better to the story. It's funny that I decided to read the books (HDM) because i was told not to.
Amazing picture, I always wondered what would happen if they were to meet.
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Both are respectful ....er, animals, from what I've read. I'm sure they'll come to a conclusion without much of a mess. Now, if only people could do the same! ((laughs)) lovely gallery, by the way : )
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I love this picture! Two of my favorite book animals together in one picture!
And I'm with you, all Sci Fi is IS denouncing God to love machines (nonononononocomments, I didn't intend to start a contreversy!). So, if one is smart, they will read "Fantasy" on the back, and know that such idea is just that.
I LOVE Aslan here! So big and fluffy! Barbary lions are amazing! I also like the nothern light effect behind Iorek!
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I am actually not sure what religion i belong. I belive in God, but i disagree some things written in the bible. I also like to see how other religions are and how they are organizing the whole thing. Religion is interesting, but i like to keep myself at the outside of it, just belive in God on my own way. Dad doesn't like the golden compass, harry potter or any other books which is unrealistic. I don't understand him at all ;D I love fantasy and i wish i was in a fantasy-world with daimons or hogwarts or aslan
By the way! I live in Norway, where Lyra meets Iorek! Well, i doesn't live in Trollsund, but Norway is Norway
Once more, excuse my english.
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I'd love to see that battle! Iorek is easily capable of killing a simple lion not of Narnia, but Aslan isn't much at all like a lion in this world, is he?
Still, I think Iorek would win. Sadly. I love them both.
It's debatable. xD
And though I hate to shove my way into the argument on religion, I don't think that a novel and/or movie should twist your views concerning beliefs in 'God'. I'm not saying that it IS, I'm trying to say that both are excellent series and shouldn't be disregarded because of the protagonist's and/or author's state of belief.
But what do I know, really? lol.
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As I said earlier, IMO, if you don't believe in using organized religion to gain control of people, or using underhanded tactics to convert people and maintain that control, then there shouldn't be anything to be offended by in the books.
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i totally agree with you
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I think the Golden Compass is as much Anti-Christian as Harry Potter is Pro-Satan. Over zealous groups have been known to overreact and wrongfully labeling this and that.
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