Posts on the INSIGHT SCOOP Blog About Philip Pullman, the "Pied Piper of Atheism" • Archbishop Charles J. Chaput's review of "The Golden Compass" • Breaking: USCCB withdraws review of "The Golden Compass" • The lady doth protest too much. And so poorly. • L.A. Times: Christians, not filmmakers, ruined "The Golden Compass" • Pullman fans talk trash and pull back the curtain • Philip Pullman's neo-Gnostic faith • Bishop Listecki warns against "The Golden Compass" • And now this important message from Amy... • New Line Cinema uses USCCB review to promote "The Golden Compass" • If I hear one more mindless cliché... • "[H]ere is the man who killed off God." • "Question authority. Just not our authority." • A report on the "very dull and insensible" movie, "The Golden Compass" • The Pompous Polemics of Pullman's Pretentious Pals • "You don't need to be a Jesuit scholar..." • The USCCB's "unfortunate" review of "The Golden Compass" • Those nitpicking nitwits and their nettlesome facts • Why is Donna Freitas an unabashedly "Catholic" fan of Philip Pullman? • Terry Mattingly on the "Pied Piper of Atheism" • Philip Pullman, Pied Piper of Atheism • Philip Pullman's hubristic musings • Philip Pullman's childish atheism "God Killing Kiddie Flick Disappoints" | To The Source | by Benjamin Wiker | December 12, 2007 Wiker: Had either of you read Pullman's books before you had news of the movie production of The Golden Compass? Miesel: I knew of Pullman's trilogy but had avoided reading it because I was aware of its distasteful contents. Reading the books this fall was like having slow poison dripped into my veins. But I wanted to warn people so I wrote some articles about it for the Catholic press. Pete, who had been doing the same, suggested that we collaborate, resulting in Pied Piper of Atheism. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE "Is The Golden Compass pointing away from God?" | Globe and Mail | by Jill Mahoney | December 6, 2007 "You have two characters who set out to kill God--it seems obvious," said Pete Vere, a canon lawyer and co-author of a forthcoming book entitled Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy. Mr. Vere's book, which is critical of Mr. Pullman's work and his atheistic views, is being promoted on a website called http://www.atheismforchildren.com. "People say, 'You're trying to censor.' No, I'm not trying to censor, I'm trying to point out to parents what's in here." READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE "Risky Business? 'Golden Compass' Triggers Controversy" | Associated Press | by Eric Gorski | November 30, 2007 Catholic author Sandra Miesel is among those who call "His Dark Materials" the "anti-Narnia." Miesel co-authored a forthcoming book "Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy." Among her complaints: Every clergy person is evil, and their daemons typically take the form of snakes or frogs. And standing in contrast to the Christian belief in heaven, Pullman's afterlife consists of bodies breaking into particles and being recycled into the material world. But Miesel isn't a believer in protests. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE "A look at the "Pied Piper of Atheism" | Douglas Daily Dispatch | December 2, 2007 "What's really amazing is that all of those evangelical and Catholic critics have been aiming their heavy artillery at J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter books, when they could have been firing at Pullman, whose books came out first," said Sandra Miesel, co-author of the upcoming book "Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy Literature." "Pullman is brilliant at hiding what he's really saying," she added. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE "What Every Parent Should Know About The Golden Compass" | Interview With Pete Vere and Sandra Miesel | ZENIT News Agency | November 14, 2007 INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, NOV. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The film "The Golden Compass" isn't simply about using fairy-tale magic to tell a good story, it corrupts the imagery of Lewis and Tolkien to undermine children's faith in God and the Church, says Catholic author Pete Vere. In this interview with ZENIT, Vere and Sandra Miesel discuss the movie adaptation of the fantasy novels written by Philip Pullman. The film, staring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, will be released in the United States in early December. READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW "A look at the 'Pied Piper of Atheism'" | by Terry Mattingly | Scripps Howard News Service | Wednesday, November 14, 2007 ... "What's really amazing is that all of those evangelical and Catholic critics have been aiming their heavy artillery at J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter books, when they could have been firing at Pullman, whose books came out first," said Sandra Miesel, co-author of the upcoming book "Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy Literature." READ THE ENTIRE COLUMN "Atheism for Kids" | by Pete Vere | The Washington Times | October 25, 2007 J.K. Rowling sparked headlines this week by declaring that a major character in her Harry Potter book series is homosexual. Christian critics, meanwhile, are paying more attention to Britain's second-most-popular children's author. His name is Philip Pullman, whose best-known work is the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, which has won critical acclaim, but Mr. Pullman's critics charge that the books undermine the Christian faith and promote atheism. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE "Anti-Catholic Compass: Catholics Warn Against New Film" | by Tim Drake, Senior Writer | The National Catholic Register | November 18-24, 2007 ... In the fantasy, set in an alternative world, a girl name Lyra searches for children who have been kidnapped. Along the way, she is pursued by the "Magisterium"--evil agents of the Church--and is aided by an adolescent boy, witches, a talking polar bear, a cowboy and others. "It's really insidious," said veteran Catholic writer and science fiction and fantasy critic Sandra Miesel, who has read all three books. "No one who doesn't have to read the books should read them. I felt like I was having poison dripped into my veins." "The books get distinctly nastier as they go on," said Miesel, who compared Pullman to an up-market Dan Brown. "They're filled with blatant, ridiculous propaganda. It's militantly atheistic." READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE (subscription required) Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy will be available in mid-December 2007. Paperback. 100 pages. $9.95.