Click here (oneplace.com) to tune into free audio renditions of the mega-famous 'Left Behind' series (c.65 million book sales, & counting), a premillennialist tour de force...
Are popularized notions of apocalyptic scripture (such as this series) religiously helpful? harmful? neutral? What are their social impacts?
4 comments:
I have met Tim LaHaye personally. His concern with these books and movies are how everyone is taking them as the truth when in reality this is a book series that is purely fiction. He is a bible scholar but Jerry Jenkins writes fiction. So they just combined the two. Granted the books and movies are very good. But he would prefer people read and study the bible for themselves. It is all fiction people.
I have heard people out of their own mouth say I have read the entire series and as soon as I finish reading the last book I start over. I am sitting there thinking you should take the time to read the bible like that. It would improve your life more.
Lisa
I too have met Tim LaHaye and like Lisa states he wishes people would realize that htis series and teh movies, although very good, are only fiction and should not be misconstrued into thinking that this is the way the end times will take place. I think the most dangerous thing to come out of the spread of such materials is that people will follow them insted of following the Bible and the word of God.
Bob
I’m not exactly sure how I feel about apocalyptic ideas being presented as part of pop-culture, such as in pop-lit. I guess they really don’t affect me any more than other literature I haven’t read, so I can’t really from a strong opinion.
One possible impact of the novels is to introduce the ideas of apocalypse, specifically Christian apocalypse when it comes to Left Behind, to a younger audience who may not be able to fully comprehend scripture off which it is based or find the source material boring. Children and can be quite impressionable, so these books could possibly have a large impact on their future worldview. I would argue that these books are a bit different from traditional fiction in that they combine fictional narratives with beliefs that many people hold to be true. As Bob and Lisa mentioned, the author of the Left Behind series is concerned with everyone interpreting his books as fact rather than fiction. Will this turn out to be problem that will have long-term effects on the readers?
Max Hesser-Knoll
I remember reading Left Behind books when I was a kid. There were really good, I bought and read them all. When I was a kid I didn't read much of the bible, wasn't super interesting as it is now. Guess it really just was above my reading level. But this like much of pop culture makes the end of the world, really awesome. I wouldn't say its intentionally anything, like all books its the reader that chooses what the words are going to mean to them.
Scott, the guy who wants to go read more of Grimm's fairy tales for some reason.
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