I always get a kick out of Religious controversy, so when I heard about the Christian attacks on Phillip Pulman's His Dark Materials trilogy sparked by the new movie I went out and bought the trilogy. I have to laugh at interest groups like these that make a big stink about things which in turn, ends up publicizing them even more. I, for one, had never heard of the books before I heard about the controversy but now I'm a fan. It seems that any publicity truly is good publicity. Perhaps if these interest groups shut their damn mouths about things fewer people would hear about them and movies like The Golden Compass would drift off into obscurity.

Anyway, this is what they are saying:

"These books denigrate Christianity, thrash the Catholic Church and sell the virtues of atheism," said Bill Donohue, president and CEO of the Catholic League.
This is from a Foxnews.com article By Catherine Donaldson-Evans

While the books certainly do attack established Christianity as an establishment. Many of the points of the book require a profound belief in God and in the stories of the Bible. lord Asriel's war against "The Authority," for instance, is a continuation of war that Satan began against Heaven. Though the idea of overthrowing Heaven is certainly controversial, it cannot be called "atheist" as it assumes the truth of the original biblical story.

The book also upholds many "Christian" values and only attacks the aspects of the church that Pulman finds controlling and contradictory. Lyra learns to be honest and keep promises when she vows not to ask the Alethiometer specific questions about Will. And the big "Love" value becomes the central theme of the story by the end as it is Lyra and Will's love that stops the Dust from flowing out of the world. He attacks however, the church's role in censoring "heretical" ideas and discoveries and their use of torture to accomplish that task. Both of which are things the Catholic Church did by the way.

Let me know what you think!