Aside from those voices who allege that a “pro-atheist stealth campaign” is being mounted by Philip Pullman and New Line Cinema, other bloggers have spoken out to defend Pullman and His Dark Materials. Today, the official film blog posted an open letter by Philip Nel, a professor of English children’s literature at Kansas State University, in response to Snopes’ page on the Golden Compass.

Donna Freitas, a blogger at the religion and pop culture blog Idol Chatter, writes two articles on meeting Philip Pullman on his American tour and why Christians shouldn’t fear the trilogy. Freitas is a professor of religion and is co-authoring a new guide book on His Dark Materials with Jason King. The book, entitled “Killing the Imposter God: Phillip Pullman’s Spiritual Imagination in His Dark Materials,” will look at the series’ religious themes and challenge its notions of God. Read more.