Award winning English author Philip Pullman is once again under attack by the Catholic Church. Pullman, a supporter of the British Humanist Association and the author of the engaging children’s trilogy, His Dark Materials, was viciously attacked by the Catholic Church when the first book of the trilogy, The Northern Lights, was made into a movie and released in the United States under the title The Golden Compass. The movie did not fair well in the United States because of the relentless bashing and boycotting from Catholics.  Now, Pullman’s newest book, which is scheduled for release early next year and titled The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, is already taking heat from the Catholic Church.

Pullman’s newest book posits the idea that Paul (Saul of Tarsus) created much of the myth of Christ. Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, David McGough, has been very vocal and released the following statement:

“There is no evidence that Paul influenced the Gospels. No respectable scriptural scholar would have anything to do with [Pullman’s] theory.”
— Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, David McGough

Pullman States:

“By the time the Gospels were written down, Paul had already begun to transform the story of Jesus into something altogether different and extraordinary and some of his version influenced what the Gospel writers put in theirs. Paul was a literary and imaginative genius who has had more influence on the world than anybody else, including Jesus. He had this great ability to persuade others and his rhetorical skills have been convincing people for 2,000 years.”
— Philip Pullman

Even though the Catholic Church pretends not to know much of their own history, most honest biblical scholars would agree that Paul basically invented Christianity. I don’t know what an “Auxiliary Bishop” is – perhaps a spare that isn’t very bright? But it is apparent that McGough is very much out of touch with the history of his own cult. There most definitely needs to be more books written on the true origins of Christianity.

Pullman’s publisher defends the book properly as a work that needs to be read:

“Philip Pullman has written a book of genuine importance, a radical and ingenious retelling of the life of Jesus that demystifies and illuminates this most famous and influential of stories. It strips Christianity bare, exposes the Gospels to a new light and succeeds brilliantly as a work of literature because it is convincing, thought-provoking, profoundly moving and beautifully nuanced throughout. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ throws down a challenge and does what all great books do: make the reader ask questions.”
–Jamie Byng, Publisher, Canongate Books

Philip Pullman is a literary genius. He has provided tales of hope and joy for millions of readers the world over. It is horrible that here the United States free expression – especially good literature, is allowed to be subverted by an ignorant majority. Try explaining to a young child that one their favorite movies is not going to have a sequel and they will be kept hanging because foolish people protested the movie so much that it did not make enough money to justify making a sequel. I’ve explained to my seven-year-old daughter that she will never get to  see a sequel to The Golden Compass because  in the real world there is an evil entity just like Pullman’s Magisterium that has the power to prevent people from expressing themselves and living their lives to the fullest. It is called the Catholic Church.