Posted on 02/02/2005 6:26:01 AM PST by Ryan Bailey
LaHaye's Tribulation Left Behind coauthor challenges Tyndale over Last Disciple. By Jim Jones | posted 01/20/2005 09:00 a.m.
Tim LaHaye, coauthor (with Jerry Jenkins) of the Left Behind series, is publicly airing his displeasure with his publisher. Tyndale House is selling The Last Disciple, a novel with a distinctly different take on the Book of Revelation than that of the Left Behind series. LaHaye says he feels betrayed and told The Dallas Morning News, "They are going to take the money we made for them and promote this nonsense."
The Last Disciple was coauthored by Hank Hanegraaff and Sigmund Brouwer, and teaches that most prophecies in Revelation have already been fulfilled. The Left Behind series, however, is grounded in a premillennial, dispensationalist view of the end times, which includes a pre-Tribulation Rapture. "I guess you would say I am disappointed, perplexed, and confused," LaHaye told Christianity Today.
Ron Beers, Tyndale's senior vice president and publisher, said his company wants to promote healthy dialogue on eschatology. Beers said, "We haven't come up with a consensus on end-times issues."
LaHaye is continuing the Left Behind series with Tyndale, having agreed with Jenkins to produce three more books. LaHaye also signed a lucrative deal with Bantam Dell, a division of Random House, to write a four-book biblical adventure series, with Babylon Rising being the first installment. LaHaye said press reports that the deal was worth $45 million were exaggerated. "It is less than 60 percent of that amount," LaHaye told CT.
The controversy has been covered in Time and on Good Morning, America. The fuss has helped sales of The Last Disciple reach 60,000 in hardcover over the first two months, Beers said.
Hanegraaff, radio's "Bible Answer Man," said LaHaye's reaction was a surprise. "The goal of our book is to tell a good story and to recognize that Revelation is a great and glorious book that gave Christians hope in the midst of persecution."
Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information. February 2005, Vol. 49, No. 2, Page 27
We should be thankful that these books place our Faith in such prominent view.
However these authors sometimes overlook the fact that they are publishing fiction ( Dan Brown, Tim LaHaye and others ). As such it makes no difference whatsoever to the Christian faith whether Tyndale publishes a novel with a Preterist soteriology constructed into it.
The popular media has been silent on theological issues of late, and we have frequently opined here that most portents for the future are negative; i.e. the DaVinci Code posing an opportunity for pagans of many stripes to unite against the Church, as indeed they are with the upcoming film and many efforts on campuses nationwide.
The point in danger of being missed here is that it should be no offence to the doctrinal sensibilities of Dr. LaHaye that Dr. Hanegraff has published a work of fiction. This is because Dr. LaHaye's work, The Left Behind Series, are likewise published as fiction, although based on fact. All fiction is indeed based on fact and the validity and interest of the facts make for good reading.
Also of importance would be a time honored tradition within our Anglican heritage of ministry professing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a language "understanded of the people". There are some who clearly believe that this would include fictionalized tales of what may be, according to individual styles of eschatology. It certainly does not.
While every aspect of the Christian man's life is an indicative arrow pointing to Christ and His Church, published works of fiction, while good and uplifting perhaps, do not in any wise take the place of Gospel Preaching. As such it is with great distress that we have observed the dispossession of Scripture in the wake of fiction works. The primary literary piece which we may categorize as such would be 'the DaVinci Code' which has been utilized to the detriment of the Faith with expert precision thus far. This writer has observed first hand the effects among the laity. This phenomenon, the dire effects of fictional literature, which has been an amazing equal for lifetimes of dogmatic indoctrination, is to our thinking a symptom of poor historical instruction within the churches at the most basic levels.
Take the example of the Nicene Council Controversey.
The Churches must redouble their efforts in the instruction of basic church history and doctrinal precepts. This would effectively decimate the trouble over the oncoming Magdalenist-Merovingian Messiah Paganisms which currently prey on an ignorrant laity.
The sum and continent of this argument is that works of fiction must not be mistaken for missioning or evangelizing, by their authors or their readers. Although Fiction is in this day paraded often as fact, true scholarship must segregate the two.
The Preterist Parousia is of tremendous importance to students of theology. As such it is my hope that the publication of the "Last Disciple" will generate more discussion on the true nature of the Apocalypse of St. John the Divine, and the divers manners in which it has been interpreted throughout the years.
First, I have little use for Hank Hanegraaff. That's fodder for another thread.
But I've read the "Left Behind" series. At least the 12 that are out. I won't be reading anymore. Regardless of one's doctrinal position, they are very poorly written.
IMHO LaHaye is just worried that another Christian author will actually be able to write...
**IMHO LaHaye is just worried that another Christian author will actually be able to write...**
LOL! So true!
So, whose money is it, Mr. LaHaye?
No one can say you didn't give it a chance.
I'm not sure if I respect you or fear you. I couldn't get past the first chapter of "Left Behind" without leaving it behind. It was some of the most atrocious writing I have ever seen. It read like the output of an eighth-grade Creative Writing student.
You deserve an award of some kind.
You are absolutely right. I read one of the books in the series, at least part of of it, and could not stand any more. Just because we are Christians, do we have to read books written at a third grade level? Ever read George MacDonald?
I don't know about Hanegraaff. I listen to him and agree with most of what he says. He has made money attacking certain Christian leaders, one of whom I knew personally. I didn't care for that. On the other hand, some Christians have set themselves up for it by their excesses and ridiculous statements.
***hangs head in shame***
Yes, I'm afraid I did. For the most part, they're quick reading, and I did it because I initially wanted to see how they treated the subject (I'm still in the I-don't-know-millenial category).
I got thru probably the first 4-5 without much trouble. After that, some of them, particularly one of the last ones, were rather painful to get through.
I started one of his once. Can't remember why I didn't finish it. I need to see if I still have it.
I'll admit to sneaking a peek at "Glorious Appearing" on the store shelf. Yeeecch! (Although to be honest, I'm not sure how one would write about those events in a way that does them justice. Even John, given the grace to see them, wrote of them very cautiously and circumspectly.)
It was more of a rhetorical question.
The Scottish dialogue can be heavy slogging in books like "Robert Falconer".
"The Princess and the Goblin" and "The Princess and Curdie" are good for adults and children, like "The Chronicles of Narnia".
Yeah, that one was bad. BUT, at least for that one, regardless of how they interpret it, they did base more of what happened on their reading of Scripture. Moreso than the previous 11.
But I did have the sense that Jesus would be embarrassed to come back in that book.
If this series gets extended much more, the entire audience is gonna get "left behind."
THREE MORE BOOKS! What in the world can be left to lead up to???
Those have to be the slowest draggin books in history.
I'm a premil, but they probably brought in Haanegraf just to see if there's anyone around who can conclude a story!
My understanding is that one is a "prequel."
"prequel"....Is that sorta like the DemonRats "prebuttal" the other day?? LOL!
Prequel --- So we're just getting up to the point where we're gonna lead up to everything!
Can anyone say: CASH COW!
***After that, some of them, particularly one of the last ones, were rather painful to get through.***
Are you aware that flagallation is not a Protestant tradition?
***After that, some of them, particularly one of the last ones, were rather painful to get through.***
Are you aware that flagallation is not a Protestant tradition?
Well, after some of the covered dish dinners I've been too.
Oh wait, you said flagellation...nevermind...
****Are you aware that flagallation is not a Protestant tradition?****
Nor is mindless repetition for that matter!!!!
(Cursing FR double post)
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