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British novelist Philip Pullman, who is the best-selling author of a trilogy of fantasy novels, His Dark Materials, which angered the Vatican, is all set to launch another assault on Christianity, a story that denies Jesus was the son of God. Pullman raised the ire of both Anglican and Catholic churches through His Dark Materials, which was set in a parallel universe, where the protagonist of the book falls victim to a brainwashing organisation called the Magisterium, which many readers equated with the Vatican. Though full details of the book, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, is being kept under wraps, it reportedly claims that Christ emerged from the "fervid imagination" of St Paul, the apostle, and spawned a religion that has inspired some to "fanatical bigotry". "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," The Times quoted Pullman, as saying. "The more [power the church] has, the worse it behaves- without exception," he added. Canongate will publish the book and it is believed that the book will retell the story of Jesus, and will refer to the Bible for characters, locations and events. "By the time the Gospels were written down, Paul had already begun to transform the story of Jesus into something altogether different and extraordinary," Pullman 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," he added.

UK novelist Pullman to write another critical book on Christianity