Pullman On God; Coyne On Justice

Some Friday quickies, because my workload has actually increased over the holidays. I curse you, Xmas spirit!

Simon Owens notes that Philip Pullman's comments re "killing God" have been significantly juiced to make his "Golden Compass" seem even more anti-Christian than it is. As well, Catholic Magesterium attempts to suppress sales of the book by arguing that it is darkly subversive have gone swimmingly, and the reviews of the movie I've seen are decidedly mixed.

As an aside, I've read all three books in the series. "The Golden Compass" I thought was very good. "The Subtle Knife" was good, but by the end of it I was already beginning to feel that Pullman's imaginary world was becoming over-stuffed. "The Amber Spyglass" is an unholy mess (gay angels?) and I skimmed more than read the last 100 pages.

Meanwhile, as several of my commenters noted, Andrew Coyne, known far and wide as "the Conservative writer that can add", did seems to have done very litte research for his column on Maclean's troubles with the CHRC. If he had done some, he probably would not have written:

Not content with tossing around incendiary charges of religious bias, the CIC has enlisted the force of the law to press its case. It has done so, what is more, not through any of the traditional legal means by which freedom of speech may be limited, nor with any of the legal system’s usual requirements of due process, but through a new and seemingly open-ended mechanism: the human rights commission .

As JS writes:

Human Rights Commissions are only "new" mechanisms in the way that any other 46 year-old mechanism can be considered to be new.

Looks like Steyn's effect on other writers is to drag them all down to his level.

Yer Pullman My Chain!

Those nutty Catholics are at it again:

CALGARY — The Roman Catholic school board in Calgary has followed the lead of a Catholic school board in Burlington, Ont., in pulling the children's fantasy book The Golden Compass off school shelves.

Off course they're not all going over the top:

Calgary Bishop Fred Henry said there are more pressing issues facing Catholics than debating a children's fantasy novel.

In fact here's one of 'em, also on the literary front: Catholic coloring book warns US kids of pedophile priests.

But you know the most offensive thing?

The book has been out since 1995 and is part of a trilogy written by self-described atheist Philip Pullman. Some people believe it is anti-Catholic and anti-religion; others say it is merely anti-establishment.

It was voted the best children's book in the last 70 years by one survey of readers from around the world.

No, it freaking is NOT the best children's book in the last 70 years. That honor rests with Richard Adams' classic first novel, Watership Down.

Stupid readers!

Whatever Happened To Rejecting Satan?

While it doesn't approach the idiocy of jailing someone for naming a teddy bear, you can sure get into trouble in The West if you diss the Catholic hierarchy by...wait for it...giving two thumbs up to a kids' movie:

WASHINGTON, DC, December 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Bishops of the United States are being asked to fire the chief movie reviewer for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Harry Forbes, the Director of the USCCB Office for Film and Broadcasting, has reignited scandal by praising the film "The Golden Compass" which is based on an anti-Catholic novel.

My favorite bit from the Lifesite story is where Peter Vere, author of "Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy", demands that:

...future movies are reviewed within the context of the good of souls - which in our canonical and theological tradition is the supreme law - and not merely on their artistic merit.

Make sure to fill the kiddies with pious crap, in other words.