Pullman Accuses St Paul of 'Fervid Imagination' for Faith in the Risen Christ

Philip Pullman, the man whose suspicion of the Catholic Church is so deep, so fervid, vivid and imaginative that he's spent his adult life writing children's stories about it, has accused St Paul, Evangelist, Martyr and Saint of the Church, of a 'fervid imagination' for his proclamation of the Divinity of Christ.

The Times article says... 'Although full details of the plot are being kept under wraps, the book’s title, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, gives a strong indication of Pullman’s views.

“For every man or woman who has been led to goodness by a church, and I know there have been many, there has been another who has been inspired by the same church to a rancid and fanatical bigotry for which the only fitting word is evil,” Pullman said.

Time to put the kettle on, Philip. The one always so often criticised by the pot on the basis of its perceived colour. Only a 'fervid imagination' could come up with Pullman's idea of characaturing the Church and blackening Her name insidiously with rubbish about golden compasses, giant polar bears and an all-pervasive 'Magisterium'.

Not only does Pullman blaspheme the Most Holy Name of Jesus and slander one of the Church's greatest Saints, but he, by default, suggests that anybody who believes in the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ must suffer then also from the same delusion. Which sounds awfully like bigotry and fanaticism to me, if not wholly offensive.

According to the article, 'Pullman accepts the existence of a holy man called Jesus, but argues that Christ, or the Son of God, was “an invention” of St Paul. “By the time the Gospels were written down, Paul had already begun to transform the story of Jesus into something altogether different and extraordinary,” he said.

“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.”'

Okay, Philip. The account of the conversion of St Paul takes place in the Acts of the Apostles, which is not a letter belonging to the pen of St Paul, as far as I know. In the account, a man named Saul was present at the murder of St Stephen and is more or less egging on the men who stoned the Proto-Martyr to death. Saul, who was to become St Paul, on the road to Damascas is converted by Christ from Heaven who says to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me." St Paul is a central figure in the spread of Christianity but not the only figure. St Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, in his letter, also claims the same Faith in the Divinity of Christ, as does St James, another Apostle. Also, so does St Jude. Also, so do the Four Evangelists, St Mark, St John, St Matthew and St Luke, who penned the Gospels. A great many of these men were martyred for what they proclaimed, victims of, dare I say it, 'a rancid and fanatical bigotry for which the only fitting word is evil'.