These guys were on TV yesterday

[serryjw]

They have sold 10's of thousands of their first book. I have no idea how you fight this...any ideas?



quote.....
The second prequel continues the story of the rise of the Antichrist and the journey of the other main characters as, unknown to them, time hurtles toward the Rapture. Readers will want every possible soul saved to avoid the seven-year Tribulation, and they will see why characters such as Rayford, Chloe, and Buck fail to believe. Events in Israel will be heating up, and some main characters like Rayford and Buck will be thrust into the thick of the drama. Read more.
end quote.....
http://www.leftbehind.com/

Left Behind Celebrates 10 Years!

It was 10 years ago that the landmark apocalyptic thriller, Left Behind, hit Christian bookstores. Since then, the Left Behind series and its related books have sold over 62 million copies and have cumulatively spent hundreds of weeks on every major best-seller list in America, including the New York Times list.

But the real impact of the Left Behind series is on souls. Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins receive many letters each month from readers who have had their relationship with Christ strengthened after they read the books. The authors also receive letters from those who were led to Christ because they read the books. The writing duo estimates they've heard from more than 3,000 readers who have made decisions of faith after reading Left Behind.

Read letters they've received, and then write to tell us how the Left Behind series has impacted your life. We'll use some of your responses in an upcoming newsletter, and we'll forward some of them to Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye.

Also, be sure to check out the special 10th Anniversary Limited Edition of Left Behind. You'll find these exclusive features: full-color end-times timeline; behind the scenes with Jerry Jenkins; compelling testimony of a life transformed by the series; and more!

[CatholicEdHead]

1. Second Prequel? This could go on for a long time

if they are going to go into each character's long history and maybe even then previous genrations of the main characters. I can see this be a near endless stream as they want to cash in as much as they can.

[catbert836]

26. Don't worry

I'm sure the authors give all the money to good Christian charities. :sarcasm:

[democrat_patriot]

2. Fight what? They can write fiction like anyone else.

I don't like it, it's not my cup of tea, but they have the right to write.

[Maraya1969]

3. When they put the first Left Behind into a movie they had kids giving

away tickets in front of the movie theaters. This girl came up to me and said she bought a ticket and couldn't use it and would I like it. After I said "No thank you" I looked and she had a stack of the things in her other hand.

I'd say fight it with a good John Grisham book.

[serryjw]

4. Fiction???

They have million of followers..the RW that thinks Bushit is god

did you link over to the letter?

http://www.leftbehind.com/channelfree.asp?pageid=1227&channelID=175

The have taken the place of John Grisham as the #1 franchise!

[Maraya1969]

8. I don't believe it. I think if you look close into Tom Delay's money

laundering stacks and stacks of "Left Behind" books somewhere.

I wouldn't put it past the diamond financier either to buy up a few million just to push the numbers up.

(That's Pat Robinson - the diamond mine guy)

[LSparkle]

5. Check out latest Vanity Fair ... these guys have Jesus all wrong

They make him out to be a warrior, when the only people Christ was violent with were the moneychangers in the temple (W's "have-more" base). These guys are playing with fire if you ask me. Reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw back in the '60s: "Jesus is coming, and BOY is he pissed!".

[LA lady]

6. 75 million sold

The series has sold 75 million altogether.
Hard battle to fight.

[serryjw]

7. 65 million don't have to get it right

They just believe

[LSparkle]

9. And I believe in the "Prince of Peace" not a man of war ...

They've perverted their (and my) faith as seriously as bin Laden has perverted Islam.

[serryjw]

10. No doubt

I am not a Christian but I think he was a man of God and is turning over in his grave listening to how they have distorted his beliefs

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Maraya1969]

12. Don't be afraid of these people. Islam is the fastest growing religion

in the US. And from 1990 - 1920 Christianity only increased in numbers, (I think it is for this country), + 5%. All others combined and averaged out equaled about + 58% if I remember correctly.

So in 20-30 years Christians are not going to have the majority. They MAY still be the largest religion but the combination of all other religions will surpass them.

(I don't have the links right at hand but you can look it up easily on GOOGLE - religious trends.)


And this is not mentioning that most Christians are not those nutty people. The Methodist Church I grew up in was not anything like a Pentecostal or Fundamentalist church. Plus you have the Catholics who don't just jump of the fundamentalist band wagon. They get to go to confession instead. :) Oh and don't forget the Episcopals. Robin Williams refers to them as "Catholic light" :rofl:

The moral "majority" thing is a marketing tactic. And the more they scream about being abused and taken advantage of because of their faith the more they turn people off. Well that is my take on it.

Don't' forget that they did not win the last 2 elections. They stole it in the name of Jesus. All we have to do is keep the election process from being tainted this time and we are a shoe in.

[lazarus]

13. Actually

I'm seeing Wicca, Sikhism, Baha'i, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc., all growing much faster than Islam.

One problem with the stats is that they still list Mormonism as a protestant religion. Many religious scholars believe it's on the verge of becoming a major religion in its own right. May well be growing faster than all the rest.

As for these Left Behind people, they're all over El Cajon, a suburb of San Diego. The mega-churches are the primary reason San Diego county is so right wing. They all turn out to vote in huge numbers.

[trotsky]

16. The stats are misleading.

Yeah, Islam is the "fastest growing" but consider this: suppose you start your own religion this year. Next year, you recruit a follower. You've grown 100%! Holy crap, at that rate, your religion will take over the country, right?

Islam was a tiny minority faith in the US for a long time. Since it had such small numbers, it was not difficult to see large percentage increases in recent years. But in raw numbers, Islam and all other religions are dwarfed by the sects of Christianity, and probably will be for many years to come.

[Maraya1969]

17. When I did the calculations I considered the number of people in the

US. That is how I came up with 2025 or 2035. I confused myself in the middle of it all so I'm not sure which date is more correct.

Also I found another site that came up with the same conclusion.

[Bill McBlueState]

21. jesus as warrior

"Jesus as warrior" isn't anything new. It was Constantine who first figured out in the fourth century AD that you could get a lot of mileage by saying Jesus gave his stamp of approval to your military adventures. If there really is a Jesus in the sky who doesn't like this sort of thing, he's had plenty of time to do something about it!

[kwassa]

14. It is a fantasy adventure book, like Harry Potter

People need some magical entertainment in their lives, whether it be fantasy Jesus or Harry Potter or science fiction or dungeons and dragons. Or Lord of the Rings.

Nice escapist entertainment.

[trotsky]

15. Problem is, I doubt most of those 75 million copies

were bought by people who know it to be fantasy.

It's dangerous thinking that leads people to judge and hate, and they believe this is all TRUE and WILL HAPPEN.

[serryjw]

19. I pray that was sarcasm

n/t

[funflower]

23. According to my fundy relatives, it's the "Word of God" with a few fun

details thrown in to flesh things out a bit.

Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, on the other hand, are a dark and dangerous influence on children.

[Midwest_Doc]

18. Do You Remember the Bumper Sticker?

"When the Rapture Comes.....Can I Have Your Stuff?"

[MikeH]

20. The One Salient Feature

The one salient and striking feature of this Left Behind business, and this business about the rapture, which is supposedly from God, is that it appeals to some very base, selfish, and juvenile desires and aspirations. Definitely not to anything noble, mature, or what one would think of as being authentically Christian or Christ-like.

Like the idea of having God's plan figured out, and being one of those special people who is going to be raptured away while the rest of the world literally goes to hell.

And God and Jesus have a character basically like that of Adolf Hitler if those people are right; if a person is not one of the "saved", whatever the reason or circumstances, then that person is condemned to hell for all eternity.

Perhaps one might want to say that to any person who would seem to buy into this garbage.

[On the Road]

22. The Best Way is Church History

Each generation of fundamentalists develops its own eschatology, which eventually becomes an embarrassment. Dispensationalists only survive by hiding the past.

To sow some doubt in people's minds, try this list of candidates for the AntiChrist:

Paul of Tarsus
Nero
Peter the Great
various Popes or the office of the Papacy
Muhammad
Martin Luther
Mussolini
Adolf Hitler
Henry Kissinger
Milkhail Gorbachev
Bill Gates
Charles Prince of Wales
Napoleon Bonaparte
Sam Walton
Michael Jackson
Joseph Stalin
John Lennon
Nelson Mandela
the World Council of Churches
Osama bin Laden
Saddam Hussein
George W. Bush
John Whiteside Parsons
Secretary-General of the United Nations
Chinese Communist Party


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antichrist#Identity_of_the_Antichrist

IMO, all of these except Nero or another emperor are silly. Multiplying the candidates can make even fundamentalists buy into the current trendy candidate too readily.

[funflower]

24. Don't forget the Clintons and the Kerrys. Antichrists all!!!

:scared:

[catbert836]

25. I read all of them.

Sort of as a project into what the other half was thinking. What I found disgusted me. But if you read them, then you will finally understand what the Christian Right's ultimate goal is.