Mr Pullman's Movie

For the past month or two the religious corner of cyberspace has had quite a bit to say about "The Golden Compass", the movie made from one of Phillip Pullman's children's books. No one much seems to like it. The religious folk don't care for it because if its anti-religious bias. The secular reviewers find it unrelievedly tedious. The only article I saw in its favour was the infamous one by the that poor demented soul from the USSRCB, or whatever the U.S. bishop's apparat is calling itself these days. Alas, one has learned not to expect too much from the hapless bench.

What I find astonishing is that everyone seems to agree that Mr Pullman is an atheist. So far as I can see that is the last thing he should be called. Take a look at this piece from a recent number of The Atlantic, for instance. It does not describe an atheist. The man described there is clearly someone who believes in God; he just hates God. It seems to me that if a one-word description is needed, then "satanist" is a much better fit than "atheist".