NickStallman.net Where the Cheater prowls

If you haven't read the His Dark Materials series then you really should.
The trilogy (at the moment) includes The Northern Lights aka The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

Its a sci-fi fantasy series written by Philip Pullman and they integrate a wide range of issues including religion.
The books have won numerous awards. The Northern Lights was selected by judges for the Carnegie Medal to be one of the ten most important children's novels in the last 70 years.