Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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68 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Take on End-Times Books, November 23, 2001
With all the end-times novels on the market it's probably useful to see a comparison from someone who has read most of them. So here's my take on the matter.LEFT BEHIND is an action adventure written primarily for Christians with a huge cross-over into the secular market. It sticks very closely to scripture and to prophecy of the time during the Tribulation. There is never any doubt of the authors' position and which characters are good and which are bad. Beyond that, there's been so much said about Left Behind that probably every possible opinion has been expressed. Some love it. Some hate it. Personally, I like the Left Behind series a lot. THE LAST DAY makes no attempt at all to adhere to scriptural prophecy. It is, in fact, less accurate scripturally than The Omen movies or End of Days. If you want a fun read and don't care whether the story has any connection to scripture, it's probably okay. THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY, my definite favorite among the list, is written for a secular audience with a big cross-over into the Christian market. Through most of the 3 books you don't know what the author's position is or which (if any) of the characters speak for him. Only in the last book do you find out he is a Christian and that he is using his story telling ability to reach the lost with the Gospel and the danger that faces them if they do not accept it. WE ALL FALL DOWN is a story of a man forced to make decisions about himself and God when faced by undeniable evidence (living through the Tribulation) that the Bible is true. It's an interesting exploration in character but the author's development of the events of the Tribulation is muddled and very thin. The thing most Christians object to about We All Fall Down is the non-stop use of extreme profanity by the main character. It was hard for me to get past all the f-words, and I certainly would not say I enjoyed it, still it made me think.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Makes me kinda wanna be left behind..., November 18, 2002
By A Customer
No offense meant to the devotees of this series, but if those who love the kind of (in my opinion as a reviewer) narrow-minded, egotistical, twisted version of Christianity and eternity that LaHaye pushes are those with whom I'd be spending eternity, the thought of being left behind doesn't seem quite so bad...
I checked the series out after one of my students claimed that it was a revolutionary book that was claiming the world for Christ. I respect her opinion, but if that's the case, I'm rather concerned. I'm a Christian, by the way. I've studied religions of the world for years, from many perspectives. This book series worries me on several levels.
First, readers should understand (and I think many don't know - it's not widely promoted) who the author is and what his agenda entails. Tim LaHaye was one of the founders of the Moral Majority. His wife heads the ultra-conservative group Concerned Women for America. LaHaye is one of the earliest and strongest leaders in the radical, right-wing conservative movement. An article by Tom Sine in Sojourner states: "He (LaHaye) wrote the blueprint for how conservative Christians could "take back America" around a conservative political agenda in his most important work, The Battle for the Mind. This book was a huge bestseller, but interestingly is not listed in any of the Left Behind books."
If you share LaHaye's philosophy, fine, but I think a lot of people read this series without knowing this. In my opinion, LaHaye is using the extreme scare tactics and easy answers in Left Behind to further promote and further his political agenda. Fear and easy answers make for great and frighteningly effective propaganda - especially in troubled times.
Second, many scholars believe Left Behind is less than accurate in biblical terms, yet many readers are seeing it as the Bible itself. This really concerns me. It concerns me that many of the people who write glowing reviews of this series start out by saying things like "I usually don't read books," "Reading usually is boring," "I don't study religion except for these books," etc. This scares me. This book was written at a simple level for a reason. Don't let this be the only series you read. Don't let this purposely simplistic (in my opinion) fiction be your version of the Bible. It's not as easy or "fun," but try studying the Bible itself - in proper context (i.e., read the entire book or at least the New Testament, not just the apocalyptical text alone out of context). I read several reviews in which people said they became Christians after reading Left Behind. I would say, don't embrace Christianity just based on these works of simple fiction. Study the real faith. Go to the church of your choice. Read the actual Bible. Christianity is much richer, more beautiful, complex, accepting and harder to practice than these books may have you believe. (Note: a fan of this series questioned what right I had to say what brings someone to Christianity. My response is that I'm just giving my opinion as a reviewer and have as much right as any reviewer on this site to give my opinion about the books and their impact. I have no problem with this series creating an interest in Christianity. My thought is that if you don't go much beyond reading these books in shaping your practice of Christianity, you are shortchanging yourself in the study of this beautiful, rich religion. You're practicing LaHaye's political dogma, not Biblically-based spirituality, in my opinion. Study further - that's all I'm suggesting.)
If you agree with LaHaye's political philosophy, fine. No problem. But readers should understand what it is, that many people question its biblical accuracy, and that this series may be LaHaye's tool for furthering his ultra right-wing agenda. By the way, it also concerns me that some people have chastised the Christians that don't wholeheartedly support this series. I can be Christian without being a devotee of this fiction.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not impressed, May 6, 2002
Someone I work with recommened this book, praising the fight of good v. evil and the incredible depth of the characters. I disagree.The premise: The Rapture. Our heroes, both white, both male, are among those left on earth when an unnumbered percentage of the population suddenly vanishes. Hattie and Chloe, the women we are permitted to get to know, are both young and beautiful. Hattie looks to be the series Eva Braun and the epitome of shallowness. Chloe, like Eve, questions authority and thinks for herself, to the consternation of her loving father. The inevitable conclusion is they were taken to Heaven. There isn't a child left on the planet. LaHaye and Jenkins take a moment to push their belief of life beginning at conception by having fetuses vanish from their expectant mother's wombs. The innocent and the Saved are the only ones who have gone, we learn. If the book were written on a reading level higher than junior high school, it might encourage me to read more of the series. The simplistic language seems to necessitate keeping the story and the characters shallow. Both main characters, Rayford Steele, commerical airline pilot, and Cameron "Buck" Williams ave a lot of potential, but it isn't seriously explored. The story teases of a journey of self-discovery, but instead lets the characters cop out and be forgiven by Jesus because they are Saved. While they could take this new love and beauty and make their lives around them richer by deeds, that isn't what happens. Ray spends his time proseletizing. Buck gets involved in a transparent plot of the new AntiChrist (though he isn't named such in the first book) as he rises to the top of the political arena. Their lives continue along the same selfish paths that denied them heaven in the first place. Ray's conversion is almost instant, as his wife--who goes from annoying nag to sainted martyr quickly enough to give one whiplash--had been Prepared. In fact, she'd been driving him nuts with her enthusiasm about her new church. Buck's takes a bit longer, as the poorly veiled foreshadowing unfolds. A budding romance with Chloe, Ray's collegiate intellectual daughter, seems like either an afterthought or a last-minute addition to keep the younger reader interested. Several valid points are made about those who call themselves Christians, but do not act on the tenets of their faith (Roman Catholics will appreciate a nod to their pope). Ray's history with the church has been that of using it as a social outlet to glorify his own ego. Buck had turned away because he didn't see the principles he'd been taught in church in practice within his family. Just going to church on Sundays doens't make you a Christian. In this ficton, Israel has become a paradise, thanks to a fertilizer compound that has made lush of the barren desert. In an Old Testament nod to the Jewish belief in being God's chosen, when attacked by the Russians (how typical, evil Russians)they do not defend themselves, but fire blows their attackers out of the sky. The story of that country's new peace and prosperity has much potential and it's wasted as the background of Buck's turn towards belief in God. The use of Revelations as backup is not overdone, though the overall tone of the book is one of preaching to the choir. If I were to recommend a book for those who enjoy a good fight of good
v. evil, this wouldn't be it.
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