"not the true Church"
Over at ClownHall, Paul Edwards asks "Who's Afraid of The Golden Compass?" In doing so, however, Edwards falls prey to the "No True Scotsman" fallacy:
Pullman is not completely wrong when he characterizes the Church as an organization obsessed with holding power by suppressing and controlling. But such a Church is not the true Church as defined by Scripture.
Edwards admits that "Throughout history people who have identified with the Christian faith have done horrible things in Jesus' name," but tries to distance his religion from those same "horrible things." Calling the perpetrators "people who have identified with the Christian faith" rather than simply "Christians" performs no absolution for their deeds, although it may soften the blow for some readers.
His piece, whatever its flaws, ends on a fittingly optimistic note:
We should be willing to read the books and see the movie with our children (of the appropriate age and level of maturity), engaging the difficult issues raised by Pullman... [...] If true followers of Jesus Christ boycott "The Golden Compass" we run the risk of validating Pullman's thesis that Christians suppress and control, rather than engage in open and honest debate in a vibrant, passionate and intelligent defense of the faith.