Left Behind: Samantha Bee Examines the Plight of Persecuted Christians

I'm consistently amazed that The Daily Show with Jon Stewart John Oliver is able to line up guests for their roving reports. That they have yet to discover that they are the joke, I don't know. Such is the case with reporter Samantha Bee's mock sympathy over anti-gay Christians who feel persecuted because it is unfashionable to openly malign gay people. It's both hilarious and a bit disturbing. These are nutty people.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

Book Report: Feed by Mira Grant

Image from ShadesOfSentience,
who also reviewed Feed

The problem with zombie stories is always the ending. The king of zombie movies, George Romero, has produced--at last count--six movies, all of them with bleak endings. The problem is, most zombie apocalypses are just that: effectively the end of the world. Humanity is all but wiped out, and there is no hope of renewal. The Walking Dead mostly avoids this trope by having a continuing story, with humanity continuing, though in a ravaged state. It's still not a sunny future.

The Newsflesh trilogy of books by Mira Grant (a pseudonym of Seanan McGuire) avoids the trope by showing that humanity did survive after the "rising" of zombies. It was a hell of a mess, and it continues to present major challenges, but there is still a United States of America, with law and order, a CDC, FBI and presidential politics. After finding out about this series, I quickly reserved Feed, the first book, at my local library. I thought it would be right up my alley, and I was not disappointed.

I was immediately drawn in by Grant's snappy writing, and ability do fully create this world, in 2040 America. The rising occurred decades ago, and a generation of adults has known nothing else. Complicated procedures are required for daily life, with lethal security systems, constant redundant blood testing, and the threat of "amplification" of the dormant virus in any mammal over 40 pounds. Death by any cause--other than brain trauma--results in zombification, sometimes very quickly.

**Minor Spoilers Ahead**

The story focuses on citizen bloggers who have supplanted the traditional media, and seen as more trustworthy. The bloggers are categorized as newsies (straight news reporters), irwins (zombie engagers), fictionals (poetry, story telling) and stewarts (commentators). Obviously, Steve Irwin and Jon Stewart are influences, as is George Romero, whose zombie movies provided instructions for humanity to deal with the apocalypse! Yes, Feed is genre-savvy!

Of course, I thought of this. . .

Much of Feed deals with the development of Georgia and Shaun Mason's blogging enterprise, and their eventual assignment as official press for a moderate Republican presidential candidate. The brother and sister team have a network of subordinates and partners in their After the End Times blog site, striving to keep their ratings up through thick and thin. As the campaign goes on, saboteurs cause dire problems for the candidate and the blogging team, leading to a major tragedy that sets up the ending (and sequel books).

The book is very enjoyable, though I did have a few issues with it. The intricacies of the After the End Times enterprise is more detailed than it needs to be, as is the amount of time focused on the campaign. If I were writing a screenplay based on the book (and I did picture it as a movie), I'd have trimmed some of that down, thrown in a little more detail on the sabotage and the zombies (who actually recede to an afterthought for much of the book). Also? The blood tests. I get it, they're important to the story, and in a movie they would be a quick zap, but reading about them got repetitive.

Another thing that made me stop and think was the technology being used, and the whole concept of blogging and computers, keyboards, cameras, phones, PDAs, the works. It's always hard to predict what the future holds. Trying to imagine technology 30 years in the future--even with an intervening zombie apocalypse to slow things down--is nigh impossible. Grant does posit some interesting things, micro cameras, ear cuff phones, and other things. But I still kept wondering about blogs being a "thing" in 2040, about MP3s still being around, particularly MP3 recorders. I suppose we've had CDs for 30 years now, so maybe. . .

Also, and **This Is  A Major Spoiler Alert**, there is a trope used in the book that I know bothers a lot of people. It bothered me a little bit, enough to take me out of the story for a minute (swipe your mouse over the black to see it): the protagonist of the story is also the first-person narrator, and she dies before the book ends. The narration picks up using a different character, but wait! This chick's been talking to me for 4/5 of the book and now she's dead? How did she. . .I mean. . . Oh, forget it, I know. Mary Alice on Desperate Housewives narrated the whole series from the grave.

All of that said, I really enjoyed Feed, and will be reading the other two books in succession. I'd also really like to see an adaptation, and hopefully not as a SyFy special, but on a real network or movie screen. Given the popularity of The Walking Dead, there is hope!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I've always been a fan of dystopian future types of novels, and that this  one put me in the mind of the Left Behind series of apocalyptic (seriously) religious books. Not that LB is anywhere near as good, ore even worthwhile reading (it's not, it's terrible). But Mira Grant could teach Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye a thing or two about how to create a post-disaster world, how to build tension, and how to write distinct and fully-rounded characters.

My score: Recommended

National Organization for Marriage Recruits Kirk Cameran as Spokesman

Still cute. But sooo dumb! Image from Salon.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is a typically badly-named arch conservative group that more accurately is against marriage equality.  They could even more accurately be described as anti-gay period, more than just anti-gay marriage, if their NOMBlog.com posts and commentary are to be believed. And, they are a hate group, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

They've been behind several successful state ballot issues to ban same-sex marriage. The people behind NOM are a little more difficult to figure out, and they continue to flout election laws about that, but that's not the point of this post. They are also quite ham-handed as an organization, electoral victories or not. For instance, a while back they got busted for hatching a plan to exploit and foster a rift between the LGBT and the black communities.  And after they got busted, they followed through with the plan undeterred, regularly posting divisive, race vs. sexuality articles. They also now feature people of color in their various stock photos pictures of happy NOM members.

They also were discovered to be seeking a spokesperson (or spokespeople) for NOM, to combat all of the high-profile celebrities who are on board for gay marriage. But remember when I said ham-handed? Here was their description of what they wanted:

"Hollywood with its cultural biases is far bigger than we can hope to be. We recognize this. But we also recognize the opportunity - the disproportionate potential impact of proactively seeking to gather and connect a community of artists, athletes, writers, beauty queens and other glamorous non-cognitive elites across national boundaries. (This is applying the Witherspoon and IAV model to non-intellectual elites.)"

(emphasis added)              [Source: GLAAD]

Non-cognitive! Which I can only interpret as "non-thinking," "unintelligent," "gullible" or "stupid." And the really, really funny part? They got somebody! And I'll grant them, Kirk Cameron--onetime teen heartthrob and costar of Growing Pains--fits the description. I don't know about "glamorous" or "elite" but he's still cute. And he's starred in all of those hilarious terrible Left Behind movies!

I'm guessing the gay stuff all somehow
links back to this picture. Image from
StayOnFountain.

Ever since Growing Pains, Cameron has been something of a church fart. He got involved in the dogma-heavy, thinking-light kind of Christianity that actually believes in the Tim LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins Armageddon nonsense. He thinks bananas are obviously divinely designed, because they fit in your hand and mouth so perfectly. Ahem. And he doesn't like gay people very much.

Which is perfect for NOM, because though they like to claim that they have nothing against "the gay," per se, they very clearly do. I can only hope that Kirk Cameron is one day discovered grabbing a banana in Griffith Park. . .while he's still employed by NOM!


[Excerpt]


Hey, Kirk Cameron, learn your Bible

Today in things you hadn’t heard about for a few months, we bring you a double-header: Kirk Cameron and the National Organization for Marriage. .  .


Read more at (with video!): Salon

Picture of the Day: Kirk Cameron & Joe The Plumber at CPAC

Cameron's prayer to be hidden in shadow was apparently successful.

I kind of feel bad for the attendees of this year's CPAC (and by the way, doesn't it seem like CPAC happens two or three times a year?). They've got a man they imagine to be a demon in the White House, and yet they can't get excited about any of their candidates. I mean, if somebody told you six months ago that Rick (don't Google me) Santorum would be the front runner for the GOP nomination?

I have heard a few nasty things about this year's convention, and I might get to those later. But this picture just sort of encapsulates the sad state of affairs in Right-Wing World right now. Kirk Cameron, late of the dreadful film series (based on the even worse book series), Left Behind, and Samuel "Joe the (not really) Plumber" Wurtzelbacher. Cameron has taken being a publicly apocalyptic Christian to ridiculous lengths, and Joe? Well, Joe just seems to hang around conservative events and people. I never would have dreamed when I first covered that character 3½ years ago on this blog, that he'd still turn up. Anyway, there you have it. A washed up church fart actor, and a nobody non-plumber: GOP super stars!

Source: Wonkette

The World Ends Today, Sorry

James Van Der Beek expresses my reaction to
Harold Camping's prediction.

Harold Camping, the soothsaying preacher with a .000 batting average at doomsday predictions says that Friday, October 21 is the end of the world. Or at least the beginning of the end. Or something. Plan accordingly.

[Excerpt]

Harold Camping Revises Apocalypse Prediction For Friday 

Like every other doomsday prophecy throughout history, the May 21st rapture promised by Oakland-based Family Radio network owner Harold Camping never materialized. The 90-year-old, self-styled prophet now claims the world will end by this Friday and not with a bang, as previously predicted, but rather with a whimper. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Potential Energy Committee Chairman Wants to Leave it to God

Ugh. Elections have consequences, as they say. And true to form, the very worst candidates for any given committee chair in the House of Representatives are gunning for them. Honestly, we don't have to worry about global climate change, because God promised he wouldn't murder us all with weather again?  Well shit, why worry about anything then? Jeebus is coming back soon, right? So we might as well just do nothing and wait for the rapture! 

[Excerpt]


Energy Committee Chairman Candidate Says God Promised no More Catastrophic Climate Change after Noah





Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who will seek the Energy and Commerce Committee chairmanship maintains that we do not have to worry about climate change because God promised in the Bible not to destroy the world again after Noah’s flood. . .

Read more at: JuanCole

Thanks to my friend Tracy for the link.

Featured Site: Shelf Monkey's Review of Left Behind

Photo from source, Wikpedia

There isn't much reason for this particular post at this particular time, other than to show you how my mind works. Today, my friend, co-worker and fill-in editor, Stupid Monkey Planet were talking, as we like to do. I mentioned that the cloud moving over the mountains made me feel like The Langoliers were coming. More accurately, I was probably thinking of a similar story, The Mist. Both are Stephen King short stories with a vaguely similar vibe.

We started talking about The Langoliers, a story about an airline flight where many people suddenly vanish from the plane, leaving various items behind, and those left behind have to figure out what's going on. It's a gripping story, with a suspenseful setup. Then, I wondered aloud if the authors of Left Behind--an apocalyptic Christian story which started in much the same way--stole the initial premise for their enormously profitable and spectacularly badly written series of books and sundry spin offs.

After a little Googling, I stumbled upon this review of Left Behind, also mentioning The Langoliers. Aside from the "Monkey" reference in the blog's name (which was a shoo-in for this blog on that basis alone), the review is hilarious, and spot-on. I wrote my own review some time ago, which was much shorter and not nearly as funny. Shelf Monkey has picked up a fan in me, and I wanted to share. Here is an excerpt from the post that hooked me.

[Excerpt]

Critical Monkey Entry #4 — Left Behind: Ouch! My soul!

In his collection Four Past Midnight, author Stephen King wrote a tight little novella entitled 'The Langoliers.' It concerned itself with a small group of people who had fallen asleep on an aircraft, only to awaken and discover that everyone else on board had mysteriously vanished. . .

The scenario is absurd, but over 200 or so pages, King achieves a surprising amount of gut-clenching suspense over the predicament. His characters are strong, the dialogue is heightened yet believeable, and the plot device (waking up abandoned and alone) is so universal that a suspension of disbelief was easily achieved.

. . .Flash-forward five years, when Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (hereafter L&J) release the first volume of their Rapture epic Left Behind. Like 'The Langoliers,' it begins on an airplane where a segment of the passengers have mysteriously vanished. However, rather unlike King's pulpy good time, L&J take an astounding, brain-shattering event and treat the disappearance of passengers with all the astonishment of passengers not wanting a second helping of peanuts. That is to say, there is zero tension in the narrative from the get-go. And it does not get better. . .

Read more at: Shelf Monkey

The Origin of Stupidity: Darwin, Cameron and Comfort

Oddly enough, I don't often delve into my own religious beliefs, or rather lack thereof, on the blog. I'm an agnostic, but not--usually--radically so. But every once in a while, a story or video clip comes along that just screams blogworthy!

The subject of this video is a free giveaway of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin on the 150th anniversary of its publication. The catch is, a creationist named Ray Comfort has shoehorned in a 50-page "introduction" to the book. It is an attempt to debunk Darwin with "creation science" In addition to this secular blasphemy (heh!), actor Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains, Left Behind) is helping him promote the special giveaway as earnestly as his acting ability allows. Kirk, whose most famous role was as a amoral, Lothario teenager (scrubbed squeaky-clean, 80s-style) has become one of the most outspoken actors-for-Jesus in the industry.

Needless to say, the sales pitch is sort of goofy. But, the girl in the video below, Christina, offers an outstanding and entertaining critique of the whole idea. Her Romanian accent is rather thick, but no harder to understand than Arianna Huffington, and she's surely saner than Orly Taitz. Thanks to The Ex-Roommate, Rich for the link. This girl is a hoot!

Economy a Sign of ARMAGEDDON?

Until recently, we as a nation lived under a policy of fear. "Be afraid, be very afraid" could easily have become our national motto. What works out for politics also seems to be one line of attack in religion as well.

We know why. Because fear sells. It works on all of us at times, but some people seem to be masochists for it, dreaming up rich conspiracy theories that show they're out to get us! And religion--it claims--offers a solution. But the scary thing is, some religions seem to be eager for the scary stuff to happen. They're really itching for Armageddon, because it means paradise after. Or something.

Look, I've read the doomsday religious series, Left Behind. Nearly as scary as the terrible writing is the "tribulation," the nasty stuff those of us who aren't "raptured bodily into heaven" will have to live through before the "glorious appearing" of Jesus. And then it gets even worse.

Jesus isn't the warm, loving being we learned about in Sunday school, if you believe these stories (and way too many do). He's apparently a slaughterific, blood-n-guts, friggin' destroyer of souls! And you don't even have to be a bad person. You just have to not be a believer.

But it's trickier than it sounds. You have to be a particular kind of believer.

Being Catholic won't save you. Even being a protestant won't save you. You have to be a believer in the tribulation and rapture and all that comes with it. To make matters worse, there are at least three schisms even in that: Pretribulationism, Midtribulationism and Posttribulationism. Yikes!

I of course pick none of the above. It's all rather gruesome and hard to square with the rest of the religion. Plus, if I did throw in with them, the kind of people who are believers aren't the sorts of people I really want to hang around with anyway.

Which is a long way to go to show you these scans of an invitation I got in the mail from a group called "Creation to Revelation." They're having a big gig this week tying the current economic crisis with the end of the world!!! The creepiest part is the last photo of the jubilant children with the notice, "Bring the whole family!" Worse, the event is being held at the Boy Scouts Resource Center. Which is a whole 'nother level of creepy.

Crazy Sen. Michelle Bachmann Strikes Again

Photo from source, Think Progress

It's interesting how widespread the use of the phrase "batshit crazy" comes up when Googling Michelle Bachmann's name. She has replaced Katherine Harris as the first Congressperson that comes to mind with that phrase. It might have something to do with the fact that every time her name pops up in the press she has said something. . .well. . .batshit crazy.

Two separate things have come up in this category. One has to do with some fantasy she has about a "one world currency" to replace the dollar. I don't think it's unreasonable to wonder if she's a Tim LaHaye/Jerry B. Jenkins Left Behind believer, as that is one of the main portents of Armageddon.

The other crazy item is that Bachmann talked to Sean Hannity. Not that she just talked to him--that would just be stupid--but what she said to him on his radio show. She's actually calling for revolution. "Orderly" revolution, whatever that means. Considering she's talked about people taking up arms, one has to wonder if her craziness has crossed over into incitement to violence.

[Excerpt the First]

Touting Her Currency Conspiracy, Bachmann Insists: ‘This Is Not Michele Bachmann Being A Kook’

Earlier this week, right-wing fanatic Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) started peddling false conspiracy theories that the world was moving toward a unified global currency — and that the U.S. might join in as early as next week’s G-20 conference. The myth was started when China’s central bank governor suggested replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Though the suggestion has nothing to do with a unified global currency, Fox News’ Major Garrett decided to ask President Obama whether he supported the fictional prospect of such a move. (Obama, for the record, does not.) . . .

Read more at: Think Progress

[Excerpt the Second]

Bachmann Blasts Obama's "Economic Marxism," Calls For "Orderly Revolution" To Save Freedom

Wow. Just plain wow. This past Wednesday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) appeared on Sean Hannity's radio show, and sharply reiterated her calls for revolution in America, warning against the imminent dangers of tyranny under Barack Obama. . .




Read more at: TPM

Left Behind Author Miffed at Rachel Maddow

Jerry B. Jenkins, one of the authors (the other being Tim LaHaye) of the awful apocalyptic fiction series Left Behind is miffed at Rachel Maddow. Last Friday, Rachel aired an edited portion of an interview with the two men, and Jenkins took issue with the presentation.

Now, I saw the interview, and the only potentially negative thing I saw was that Jenkins barely said a word. Well, beyond the inherent ridiculousness of the whole "end times" belief system. But Rachel isn't one to gloss over something like this, and--in a very classy move--has posted the entire interview on her web site, and acknowledged that she's sorry that Jenkins didn't like the interview.

[Excerpt]

Full video: 'Left Behind' authors join Maddow

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Since 1995 there has been a massive cultural phenomenon that has pretty much taken place under the radar of the secular media. It started with the release of "Left behind: A novel of the Earth's last days," an apocalyptic tale of good and evil - a fiction book, but based on the Bible's Book of Revelation. . .

Read more at: The Rachel Maddow Show

Post-Apocolyptic Warnings from the Future!

Apparently, there is still a faction of the religious right that is convinced that Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. I know, it's stupid. And they also seem to regard the very (very, very) bad fiction series Left Behind as literal truth. Scary. But also a little funny.







Fair warning: if you take the bait, and check out the Left Behind series, be prepared for a lot of wasted hours, and some dreadful writing. Read my review, and save yourself some time.

Found at: Jesus' General

Sarah Palin's Church: Alaska a Refuge from Armageddon?

Image from source, Raw Story

OK, I've read (most) of the apocalyptic Christian book series, Left Behind, and I don't recall there being any refuges, excepting perhaps Israel, and that was quite temporary and for a select few. I did wonder what might happen during the "tribulation" to astronauts on a space station, or other outer space base, since the Bible only talks about what happens on Earth. And Earth is pretty much devastated everywhere, at least according to Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkens, alleged experts on the Rapture and all that follows.

So how is it that Alaska could be some sort of safe harbor during apocalyptic hell fire? Oh, and full disclosure: I find all of this end of days stuff a load of hooey anyway.

[Excerpt]

Palin church: Alaska will be a 'refuge' for Armageddon

Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has attended a number of different churches over the years, but for most of her adult life, she belonged to the Wasilla Assembly of God, which has attracted attention for its unorthodox beliefs and practices. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

CNN Asks if Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ

Image from source, Raw Story

After the ridiculous "The One" anti-Barack Obama attack ad was released by the John McCain campaign, I wondered in this space if they were trying to win over the Left Behind crowd. The message would be at best subliminal to an ordinary viewer, but to a rapture rightist, all the cues are there: Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?

Now, my piece was not posing the question seriously, only if that was what McCain was going for. I believe I was right, and have lots of company out in the blogosphere. CNN has now, quite some time later, entered the fray. Only their angle on the story seems less focused on the believers and more interested in asking the actual question!

[Excerpt]

'Obama the Antichrist?' CNN actually asks

Just so we're clear: Barack Obama is in fact not the Anti-Christ, sent here to feed on the souls of the innocent, resume Satan's reign over earth and bring about the apocalypse as foretold in Revelation.

Not. The. Anti-Christ.

Read more (with video) at: Raw Story

Greenlee Gazette Psychic: Exxon-McCain!

Much of my blog, like many others, consists of links to other people's work. That's the nature of blogging, though I do try to editorialize, and occasionally write posts that are entirely or mostly my own. It gets weird when something I think I thought up--like the McCain attack ad "The One" being a Left Behind allegory--has been thunk by others already.

Other times, I'm pretty sure I thought of something first. Or at least earlier than some of the mainstream press. I've been surprised on many occasions to see something I've editorialized about turn up a couple of days later on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, for instance. That always gives me a smile, because I feel a little psychic.

But in this case, I plum missed the boat. In this post, John McCain "In the Tank" for Big Oil?, from July 24, I created an "ExxonMcCain" graphic to accompany the post. Little did I know, it could have been a money maker! Damn!

[Excerpt]

Exxon-McCain '08 Site Launches Today

John McCain has been having great difficulty with his Vice Presidential shortlist, as those on it keep either complimenting Barack Obama, falling mute when asked to defend McCain, or locking themselves in mortal combat with the denizens of Hades. It appears that McCain has chosen a novel solution: To appoint himself the running mate on a ticket headed by Exxon. . .

Read more at: AOL News

More on John McCain's "Obama as Anti-Christ" Ad

This weekend, after the latest ridiculous John McCain attack ad had sunk in to my subconscious, it occurred to me that a subliminal (or maybe not so subliminal) message might be encoded there. That message could have been aimed at the readers and believers in the Rapture, Tribulation, Glorious Appearing--you know, the Left Behind crowd. I was not--it turns out--the first to have this thought. The blogosphere is abuzz with speculation.

Today, Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann devoted a good chunk of his radio show to the topic. Later, so did Nova M's Randi Rhodes. I guess I'm in good company. What no one could agree on is, is this good, bad, funny, scary, what? It is unlikely that anyone from that particular crowd would have voted for Barack Obama in the first place. But what John McCain lacks right now is a hook that will motivate his crowd to get out and vote en masse.

Could stirring up the Rapture Right accomplish that goal? Are they really that gullible? Oh wait, yes of course they are. They already think the voluminous (horribly written) Left Behind series is what will happen. Jesus as the ultimate movie monster. So why not Barack Obama as Devil's Advocate? Jesus, save us from your followers. . .

[Excerpt]

Obama Anti-Christ? McCain Ad Touches Off Religious Debate

A number of progressive religious figures are angry over the McCain campaign's recent ad "The One," which they believe paints Barack Obama as a kind of anti-Christ, specifically to conservative evangelicals:

On Beliefnet.com, Mara Vanderslice, founder and director of the pro-Obama religious group Matthew 25 Network, writes:

I found this McCain campaign ad "The One" to be one of the most offensive ads we have seen in American politics to date. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

McCain's "The One" Targeting Left Behind Readers?

As noted here in several posts, John McCain has had a series of back-to-back attack ads, all attempting to portray Barack Obama in a negative light. In large part, they are all based on Obama's perceived image (or at least that which the right wishes to portray). Like the PUMA Hillary Clinton supporters, they are projecting the way that Obama is talked about in the press, and the behavior of some of his more ardent supporters onto Obama himself.

They are doing so with a lot of distortions, out-of-context quotes, and sometimes outright lies. But that isn't the point of this post. I'm more interested in what McCain hopes to illicit from these ads. In the recent Paris Hilton/Britney spears ad (seriously), bloggers and cable news speculated that the intent was to portray Obama as an empty, airy celebrity. Famous for being famous and nothing more. And a hint of race-baiting with two hot white chicks and a black man.

But what about the new ad, "The One?" This ad--stealing Rush Limbaugh's current theme--casts Obama as a self-proclaimed messiah. His supporters are his adoring flock, and Obama will deliver us. Is the ad trying to paint Obama as conceited and self-important now? Or is there a more insidious aim, as with the race-baiting?

Then I got to thinking about the fabled Republican base. Family values. God, guns and (no) gays. The Heartland. Left Behind readers! In that apocolyptic Christian fiction series of books, a charismatic, self-proclaimed messiah captures world adulation. On his charisma (and help from the Devil), he changes the world--and ushers in the rapture and the tribulation! Is this what McCain is getting at? Is he trying to portray Barack Obama as the Anti-Christ?

Just wonderin'! Here's the ad again. Make up your own mind.




Turns out, I wasn't the only one wondering. From Daily Kos: McCain's Left Behind Attack

Tell Your Hellbound Friends They've Been Left Behind!

Photo from source, Wikpedia

Speaking of doomsday cults, there is a very large one right out in the open in the US of A. They're the believers in the rapture, a time when God draws all "true believers" up into heaven bodily, with the rest of us sinners left behind! It's a much wider-spread belief these days after the mysteriously successful Christian sci-fi fiction series, Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Not wanting to go along trashing this series of badly-written books, I actually read them to see what all the fuss is about. Save yourself the trouble, by the way--feel free to criticise them any way you see fit, because you couldn't possibly give a worse review than they actually deserve. Unfortunately, a lot of mushy-brained Christian readers bought the whole scenario, even though it was only dreamt up in the 1800s.

But let's assume they're right for a second. Rather than watching your unsaved loved ones burn in the lake of fire (something lots of Christians are apparently eagerly awaiting), what if you could give them one last chance, after you are zapped to heaven? This site aims to let you do just that--for a price, of course.

[Excerpt]

Post-Rapture document delivery

You've Been Left Behind is a company that stores electronic documents for later delivery to your heathen loved ones after you get swept off to heaven during the Rapture. The idea is that there will still be time to save them too. The company claims to provide secure storage, but Bruce Schneier is suspicious.) . . .

Read on at: Boing Boing

Book Report: Left Behind

Image from Wikipedia.org

I spent a good chunk of last summer reading the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Why would a heathen like me do such a thing? Well, I felt there was a hole in my pop-culture knowledge, and Left Behind has been read by millions of people, so I thought it might be nice to at least read the books before forming an opinion.

It was a mistake. And a huge waste of time. I must confess, I could not read the whole series. I read books 1 - 8, and then skipped to book 12. I missed nothing. You might think that is an uninformed opinion, but you'd be wrong.

You see, after 8 books, it became clear how this thing works. Roughly a quarter or more of each sequel book is spent rehashing what went before. It's like the old Friday the 13th movies that spent large chunks of movie time reliving previous installments. Let me just say that even the thin plotting of those movies easily surpassed the quality of writing in the Left Behind series.

But they have nothing on the gore!

Much lip-service is given in the books to how loving, perfect, all-powerful, glorious and wonderful God/Jesus are (the books treat them interchangeably and as a unit). But you never see any of that godly goodness in them. You get famine, war, pestilence, locusts, creatures, destruction, disasters, blood and guts. You have to take the goodness of God/Jesus on faith, because none is ever displayed.

The writing style is sub-eighth grade level. The characters are poorly drawn and somewhat interchangeable. The "good" people never have sex outside of marriage, and even if married never get much romance either. If they ever have the bad taste to curse, it is referred to obliquely, such as "Rayford swore." And then Rayford felt bad about it.

All of this is based on the book of Revelation, a very slim and confusing volume of the Bible, indeed. There are a few other books taken out of context to make the story work. And it's all very Earth-centric. All of this disaster and turmoil is happening on Earth. What if you're on the international Space Station, on the space shuttle, or we've colonized the moon or Mars by the time of the Rapture? Are those people going to be spared?

The series is being milked for all it's worth, with countless spinoffs, movies and tie-ins. It is quite obviously all about the money. And middle-America is now convinced--by extremely bad fiction--that this is mainstream religious fact.

If you get the urge, like I did, to see what all the fuss is about, do this: read books 1 and 12. You'll get the gist, and you'll wonder what's wrong with people.

The only good thing about this series? It inspired (and I do mean inspired) a classic The Simpsons episode, with a parody called Left Below.

Left Behind: Avoid at all costs

The Simpsons: Highly recommended