This is part two of a somewhat humourous critique that I will be doing on the audio version of Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. This is the second part and still barely gets into the opening chapter of the first book. I explain further why I am doing this to begin with and why, although I am handling this is a joking manner, infantile reduction of Christianity in American Christianity is a major problem.
Issues Discussed
- Immature depiction of the roles of men and women with juvenile suggestive names.
- Being obsessed with the “End Times” and the “Rapture” – i.e. the Rapture is not the Gospel nor is it our calling to wait around to be snatched out of the world.
- Christianity is about death and resurrection, not about Jesus coming back to get us before we die.
- Using scare-tactic eschatology as a witnessing tool.
- Nonsensical eisgesis.
- Sensationalism.
IMPORTANT: I quoted another author’s critique in my introduction. It is possible that some listening may think I was claiming that LaHaye and Jenkins are not Christians or that the Gospel is not presented at all in the book. I absolutely have no reason to believe that LaHaye and Jenkins are not brothers in Lord, and yes, there are times when the very basic Gospel is presented, but the doctrines stressed in Left Behind are not the Gospel and can distract from any true Gospel messages.
Links and Resources
- Slacktivist: Left Behind . The arrangement of the pages is somewhat odd, rather than hitting “next” to move forward, hit “previous.” Think of it as reading from right to left rather than left to right. Also, you will need to read from the bottom entry on the page to the top. Don’t blame me, that is the way the material is set up.
- Left Behind home page
- The Fiction Behind Left Behind by Gary Demar (pdf file)
Other Episode Credits and Information
- I Wish We’d All Known Better, a parody of I Wish We’d All Been Ready by Glenn Peoples of the Say Hello to My Little Friend podcast.
- All My Tears by Jars of Clay
- Jack Van Impe’s Got Some Crazy Hair by an anonymous TheologyWeb member performed on Paltalk
I am supriesed you read the entire series Dee Dee I couldnt even listin to the entire The Indwelling cd the writeing was so wooden. Really The best book in the sereis is the first one it’s all down hill form there.
I read all the ones that were out by three years ago and listened to them all two times before give or take a few books. This is my third listen. They are much more entertaining to listen to because the poor writing is comical.
Did you write me an iTunes review yet? I am old and forget.