NYT, p. 1: In 12th Book of Best-Selling Series, Jesus Returns

[DeepModem Mom]

In 12th Book of Best-Selling Series, Jesus Returns
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

Published: March 29, 2004


....Over the last nine years, the "Left Behind" series, which is based on Dr. (Tim) LaHaye's literal, bloody interpretation of the Book of Revelation, has become one of the biggest surprise hits in American popular culture. The first 11 novels have sold more than 40 million copies. The authors have unseated John Grisham as the best-selling novelists for adults and, in some places where evangelical Christians are common, the books rival the Harry Potter series in sales. Along the way, the "Left Behind" books have drawn sharp criticism for elements like their emphasis on the conversion of Jews and their focus on the brutal rule of the Antichrist, who happens to head the United Nations.

"Glorious Appearing" is the most anticipated and potentially most controversial "Left Behind" novel yet: it is the installment in which Jesus himself finally returns....

***

Some theologians call the novels a dangerous distortion of Scripture. In an interview, Joseph C. Hough Jr., president of Union Theological Seminary in New York, warned that the novels' preoccupation with the suffering that many evangelical Christians foresee for unbelievers "leads people to think that Christianity is about cosmic fire insurance."

Dr. Hough argues that the novels misconstrue Revelation to mean that there are only two sides to every question, God's and the Devil's.

"It's the same sort of vision of the world that is reflected in some of our recent presidential administrations, that there is the world of good and the world of evil, like `the axis of evil' and `the evil empire,' " he said. "The enemies of America are the enemies of God. It is very dangerous, because it leads you to do things in the expectation that everyone who is against you is evil."...

***

(LaHaye) acknowledged the novels reflected the conservative Christian ideology that made him a political activist earlier in his career. As a pastor in San Diego 40 years ago, he became convinced of a brewing "battle for the mind" pitting atheists on the one side against evangelical Christians on the other, he said....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/29/books/29BOOK.html?h

[Dogmudgeon]

1. The next series after "Left Behind"

LaHaye is already hard at work at his next series of religious books -- which he calls a "dodecalogy" -- about life on the Earth without sin, atheism, or liberalism.

The successor to Left Behind will be called Right Buttock.

--bkl

[DeepModem Mom]

2. LOL!

[spinbaby]

4. That book's been written

It's called The Handmaids Tale.

[soup]

7. Too funny!

Needed that laugh this morning. Thank you! :D

Turn the other cheek. ha

[mac56]

11. I think there was a parody out late last year.

Called "Kiss My Left Behind".

[Sugarbleus]

31. LOL...

[leesa]

3. Funny. Do the Fundies murder him?

[truthisfreedom]

5. the left left behind? or the right left behind?

[truthspeaker]

6. sure, give away the ending

j/k

[hatrack]

8. And Jesus will drive a Hummer and drink Coke and smoke Marlboros . . .

I mean, given the degree of consumer-culture realism so prevelant in these misbegotten books, why stop with the protagonists?

OTOH, look on the bright side - it's OVER!!!! ;-)

[54anickel]

12. Wasn't there a car ad or something - What Would Jesus DRIVE? I sort of

remember something like that. :shrug:

[nodehopper]

15. it's an anti-SUV bumpersticker

[loftycity]

9. These books have shaped US policy .....sad but true

First book one of the main lines is "Make no Mistake." Who made that line a household phrase?

[DeepModem Mom]

10. "No Child Left Behind"

[loftycity]

13. You know this is what Bush reads...it's written at 6th grade level.

I had visited one of the authors web sites and this whole right wing crew belongs to the "Left Behind Club."
They make a mess of the world and think Jesus is going come and make it all better.
Now, I waiting for the Bush Mis-Administration to move the UN to Baghdad. That's in the Left Behind Books.

[nodehopper]

16. what was the website?

this i gotta see...

[progressivebydesign]

36. NCLB? WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!!!!!!

Hey.. call me paranoid, but don't you think that it's NO coincidence that Bush's stupid education plan uses the phrase "left behind"?? More code words for the religious right? All NCLB has accomplished is destroying the public school system, so that the religious schools will have their coveted voucher system, so they can make more money off of the taxpayers?? Paranoid? I think not!

[yardwork]

39. OMG!

I never saw that particular connection before!

[lostnfound]

23. And still shaping votes. Friend: 'will vote for * because of these books

'I know they're just fiction, but it .. seems so REAL..everything is happening just like in the books..'

[Khephra]

14. I only wish

That the series books I read came out as quickly as these books. Sigh...

[Shadder]

17. Yeah, same here

Can't wait for J.K. Rowling to get the next book finished!

[bleedingheart]

19. The books you are reading take some thought and creativity to write

:evilgrin:

[bleedingheart]

18. There are only about 4 million people reading these books

out of 280 million people living in the US and some of those 4 million may live outside the US.

I hate how they keep saying that 40 million copies of the last 11 books were sold... clearly that doesn't mean there are 40 million people reading this Biblical/SciFi crap. Most likely the first book had the most sales and then those repeat customers bought the remaining books...However when NPR and other newcasts have been advertising this "literary" series they have been using the 40 million figure to somehow impress people...it gives the impression that perhaps loads of people are reading this fantasy book.

[tom_paine]

20. And I'm sure he helps kill liberals and torture witches

These Taliban types believe in such a HATEFUL God.

But that is just the projection of their own Monstrosity.

[noonwitch]

21. These books just underline the psychology of a lot of fundies (not all)

There are a lot of fundamentalists who have stronger beliefs in hell and the suffering of their enemies than they do in Jesus and his abilities to heal or transform life as we know it.

These are people who need to envision the suffering of those they have disagree with or dislike. I consider that to be very psychologically unhealthy.

[Zolok]

22. No-no-no...

Lyndon Johnson returns and stalks up to the White House bellowing "what have yew bastards done with' mah great society!???"
:)
Jesus comes back...gimme a break!
LeHaye doesn't realize but Jesus DID NOT die for anyone's sin...and he isn't coming back neither.
Frankly he took the cross simply as a way to ESCAPE!
:)

www.chimesatmidnight.blogspot.com

[AJ BENDER]

24. The Only Ones "Left Behind"

Are these Fundy-Christian-Hypocrites with their heads up their asses !
These fascist shit stains take great delight in the fact that all "Non-Believers" will be perish under the brutal circumstances the imagine will occur.

:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

[renaldo]

25. I read that

these books are CIA/Mossad disinfo.

[newyawker99]

29. Hi renaldo!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Kool Kitty]

26. You gotta love the way the Times put this on

their front page. Soooo newsworthy. At least they printed it below the fold.

[Love Bug]

27. Fundamentalist revenge fantasies

Never read these--never will. I spent years as a Fundy--I already know the drill. I'm not going to waste my "beautiful mind" on this stuff anymore!

[Sugarbleus]

32. Me too Love....... Before I got a clue, I picked up a copy of the first

series of books, thinking it was a thriller series, not religious propaganda. Yes, if one subscribes to the fundie thought process, the books, while only fiction, can persuade them to believe that things will come down that way.

Since WAKING UP, I've thrown my books out. Actually, I wanted to burn them and send the ashes back to LaHaye. :evilgrin:

[daleo]

28. This seems vaguely sacrilegious to me

I mean, fictionalizing Christ's return, as an entertainment - that seems to be pretty close to breaking some commandments, not that I am any kind of expert in the subject.

[0007]

30. This will open the door to the biggest shit debate, I don't

have ears for. What a joke!

[jmowreader]

33. What's not in "Glorious Appearing"

Chapter 1: Jesus returns to the firmament.

Chapter 2: Jesus gets his own version of a Queer Eye makeover.

Chapter 3: Jesus visits another kind of retailer.

Chapter 4: Jesus joins the Democratic Party.

Chapter 5: Jesus smites the entire Bush Administration.

Chapter 6: Jesus smites the entire God Squad, including Falwell, Robertson and LaHaye, for twisting His word into something completely unrecognizable.

Chapter 7: Jesus starts preaching a gospel of peace, love and charity. The Christian establishment, who had long abandoned this gospel in favor of one revolving around worshiping the Devil because the Devil's better for the bottom line, puts out a contract on Jesus.

Chapter 8: The second-tier God Squad captures Jesus and shoots Him in the head with a framing nailer. Christians the world over abandon the cross as the symbol of their religion, replacing it with the framing nailer.

[bleedingheart]

34. now that is a book I would buy!

[gauguin57]

35. if jesus comes back anytime soon ...

he'll probably bitch-slap Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, Rummy, etc. etc. for waging war, abridging civil rights, etc., with the whole Onward Christian Soldiers motif underlying everything they do. And I'll put money in the collection plate to SEE that Holy Bitch-Slapping live!

We're all going on the "NO-CARB" DIET in 2004 ...
That means:
No
C-heney
A-shcroft
R-umsfeld
B-ush
in 2004!

[progressivebydesign]

38. NO Carb.. love it! N/T

[progressivebydesign]

37. I had the misfortune of reading part of the kid's version...

..besides being extremely graphic and violent.. it was, in my opinion, very, very badly written. Oh. the obvious exposition in every paragraph. It was a horrid scare tactic of a book.. Kids who read those are saying things on AMazon.com's reviews like "I loved these books! But now I want all my non-believer friends to believe too, so they won't be left behind to die!". The premise is that these poor kids are left on earth to be tortured by other non-believers, all because they didn't accept Jesus the right way, but instead went to Sunday school irregularly... seriously! The kids read that their parents will leave for heaven, and they'll have to fend for themselves while the public school teachers turn into demons and try to kill them. No lie. It's the biggest piece of crap writing ever...

I think the reason the lemmings.. I mean, the people who flocked to Mel Gibson's bloodfest, is that they were primed by these ultra-violent books.

I'd rather be in hell with Ghandi (according to them), then in heaven with all of them!

[yardwork]

40. I grew up in a community with many fundamentalists

and their whole focus was on satan, evil, fire, destruction, revenge, suffering, hell, did I mention hell? more hell, and hell.

People grow up in these families who are terrified of everything. Just thinking the wrong thoughts can get you a one-way ticket to hell, according to their reasoning.

I'm sorry for the children who are raised in these psychologically and emotionally abusive families, and I'm sorry for the adults as well, but first we need to save the country. We need to get the fundamentalists out of the White House and Congress.

It's like those old ads against drunk drivers. "Sure, let's get him help. But first let's get him off the road."

[eridani]

41. Rethugs treat their whackjobs with tender consideration

These creeps are the reason that Rethugs lead Dems in all fundraising categories, even the lowest level donations. Rethugs want them in the party, and they take care to throw them a few bones like Asscrack (though they don't get into the meetings for their bosses sending their jobs overseas.)

Unlike the Dem leadership, which seems to be totally uninterested in participation by their crazy lefties, who merely want fair trade and universal health care.