Timothy F. LaHaye is an American
evangelicalEvangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
ministerIn Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
,
authorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and
speakerPublic speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
. He is best known for the
Left BehindLeft Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
series of
apocalypticAn Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
fiction, which he co-wrote with
Jerry B. JenkinsJerry Bruce Jenkins is an American novelist and biographer. He is best known as co-author of the Left Behind series of books with Tim LaHaye, Jenkins has written over 150 books, including romance novels, mysteries, and children's adventures, as well as non-fiction...
. He has written over 50 books, both
fictionFiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
and
non-fictionNon-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
.
Early life
LaHaye was born in
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. His mother was the former Margret Palmer. and his father, Frank LaHaye, was a Ford auto worker. He died of a heart attack in 1936 and his death had a significant influence on LaHaye, just nine years old at the time. He had been inconsolable until the minister at the funeral said "This is not the end of Frank LaHaye; because he accepted
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, the day will come when the Lord will shout from
heavenHeaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and descend, and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we'll be caught up together to meet him in the air." LaHaye later said that, upon hearing those remarks, "all of a sudden, there was hope in my heart I'd see my father again."
LaHaye enlisted in the Army
Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
in 1944 at the age of 18, after finishing night school. He served in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as a machine gunner aboard a bomber.
LaHaye received a
B.A.A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from
Bob Jones UniversityBob Jones University is a private, for-profit, non-denominational Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina.The university was founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr. , an evangelist and contemporary of Billy Sunday...
in 1950. He also holds a
Doctor of MinistryThe Doctor of Ministry degree is, according to The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada , a doctoral level degree oriented toward ministerial leadership often in an area of applied theology, such as missions, evangelism, church leadership, pastoral psychology or the...
degree from
Western SeminaryWestern Seminary is an evangelical, non-denominational theological seminary with campuses in Portland, Oregon, as well as in San Jose and Sacramento in California. The seminary offers Master’s Degrees in Divinity, Counseling, Intercultural Studies, Leadership and Theology along with Doctoral...
. In 1958, the LaHaye family moved to
San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, where he became pastor of the Scott Memorial Baptist Church (since renamed
Shadow Mountain Community ChurchShadow Mountain Community Church is an evangelical Christian megachurch located in El Cajon, California, a suburb of San Diego, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention...
) in El Cajon, serving there for almost 25 years. In 1971 he founded Christian Heritage College, which is now known as
San Diego Christian CollegeSan Diego Christian College is a private, evangelical Christian college located in El Cajon, California, in suburban San Diego, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.-History:In January 1970, Tim F...
.
Political activism
LaHaye has promoted or started numerous groups to promote his views, having become involved in politics at the
Christian VoiceChristian Voice is an American conservative Christian right advocacy group. In 1980, this group had 107,000 members including 37,000 pastors from 45 denominations. It is a project of the American Service Council...
during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1972 he helped establish the
Institute for Creation ResearchThe Institute for Creation Research is a Christian institution in Dallas, Texas that specializes in education, research, and media promotion of Creation Science and Biblical creationism. The ICR adopts the Bible as an inerrant and literal documentary of scientific and historical fact as well as...
at
Christian Heritage CollegeSan Diego Christian College is a private, evangelical Christian college located in El Cajon, California, in suburban San Diego, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.-History:In January 1970, Tim F...
in
El Cajon, California-History:El Cajon is located on the Rancho El Cajon Mexican land grant made in 1845 to María Antonia Estudillo, wife of Miguel Pedrorena. In 1876 Amaziah Lord Knox , a New Englander who had recently moved to California, established a hotel there to serve the growing number of people traveling...
, doing so along with
Henry MorrisHenry Madison Morris was an American young earth creationist and Christian apologist. He was one of the founders of the Creation Research Society and the Institute for Creation Research...
. In 1979 he encouraged
Jerry FalwellJerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
to found the
Moral MajorityThe Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying...
, and sat on its board of directors.
Then in 1981 he left the pulpit to concentrate his time on politics and writing. That year, he helped found the
Council for National PolicyThe Council for National Policy , is an umbrella organization and networking group for social conservative activists in the United States...
(CNP) a lobby group in which membership is only available through invitation; it has been called "the most powerful conservative organization in America you've never heard of," and should not be confused with the liberal
Center for National Policythumb|The Center for National PolicyThe Center for National Policy is a non-profit, "non-partisan" public policy think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C...
. In the 1980s, LaHaye founded the American Coalition for Traditional Values and the
Coalition for Religious FreedomThe Coalition for Religious Freedom is a religious right organization founded by Tim LaHaye and Robert Grant to lobby against government regulation of religion...
. He founded the Pre-Tribulation Research Center along with Thomas Ice in 1998. The center is dedicated to producing material that supports a
dispensationalistDispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
,
pre-tribulationThe rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
interpretation of the
BibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. He and his wife have connections to the
John Birch SocietyThe John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
, a conservative,
anti-communistAnti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
group.
He has also taken more direct roles in presidential politics. He was a co-chairman of
Jack KempJack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
's 1988 presidential bid; he was kicked off the campaign after four days when his
anti-CatholicAnti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
views (see below) became known. LaHaye played a significant role in getting the religious right to support
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
for the presidency in 2000. In 2007, he endorsed
Mike HuckabeeMichael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
during the
primariesA primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. Huckabee reportedly found the
Left Behind books to be a "compelling story written for nontheologians."
Left Behind
LaHaye is best known for the
Left Behind series of
apocalypticAn Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
fiction that depict the
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
after the
pretribulationDispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
raptureThe rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
which LaHaye believes will occur. The books were LaHaye's brainchild, though
Jerry B. JenkinsJerry Bruce Jenkins is an American novelist and biographer. He is best known as co-author of the Left Behind series of books with Tim LaHaye, Jenkins has written over 150 books, including romance novels, mysteries, and children's adventures, as well as non-fiction...
, a former sportswriter with numerous other works of fiction to his name, did the actual writing of the books from LaHaye's notes. LaHaye has said, "I write the best I can. I know I'm never going to be revered as some classic writer. I don't claim to be
C. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
. The literary-type writers, I admire them. I wish I was smart enough to write a book that's hard to read, you know?"
The series, which started in 1995 with the first novel, includes 12 titles in the adult series; as well as juvenile novels, audio books, devotionals, and graphic novels. The books have been very popular, with total sales surpassing 65 million copies. Seven titles in the adult series have reached #1 on the bestseller lists for
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, USA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, and
Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
.
Jerry FalwellJerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
said about the first book in the series: ""In terms of its impact on
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, it's probably greater than that of any other book in modern times, outside the Bible." The best-selling series have been compared to the equally popular works of
Tom ClancyThomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
and
Stephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
: "the plotting is brisk and the characterizations Manichean. People disappear and things blow up."
LaHaye indicates that the idea for the series came to him one day about 1994 while he was sitting on an airplane and observed a married pilot flirting with a flight attendant. He wondered what would befall the pilot if the Rapture happened at that moment. The first book in the series opens with a similar scene.
Recent activities
In 2001 LaHaye co-hosted with Dave Breese in the prophecy television program
The King Is Coming. His book
The Rapture was released on June 6, 2006, in order to show a
6-6-6The Number of the Beast is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the first Beast of Revelation chapter 13, the Beast of the sea. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the Beast is...
connection.
In 2001 LaHaye gave $4.5 million to
Liberty UniversityLiberty University is a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty's annual enrollment is around 72,000 students, 12,000 of whom are residential students and 60,000+ studying through Liberty University Online...
to build a new student center and School of Prophecy, which opened in January 2002, was named after LaHaye. He also serves as its president. LaHaye also provided the funds for the LaHaye Ice Center on the campus of Liberty University, which opened in January 2006.
Personal life
LaHaye, married activist and fellow author
Beverly LaHayeBeverly LaHaye is an American Christian conservative activist and author.-Biography:Beverly LaHaye is best known for The Act of Marriage, a Christian sex self-help bestseller she co-authored in 1976 with her husband Tim LaHaye, and for founding Concerned Women for America in 1979 in San Diego,...
in 1947. They have four children, Linda, Larry, Lee, and Lori, along with nine grandchildren, and live in the
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area. His hobbies include skiing, jogging, motorcycling, and golfing.
Homosexuality
In 1978 LaHaye published
The Unhappy Gays , which was later retitled
What Everyone Should Know About Homosexuality. The book called
homosexualsHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
"militant, organized" and "vile."
The Unhappy Gays also argues that gays share 16 pernicious traits, including "incredible promiscuity," "deceit," "selfishness," "vulnerability to sadism-masochism" and "poor health and an early death." He speculates whether those who accept gays even though they are so unhappy or "those who practiced
Old TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
capital punishmentCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
" on gays are more "cruel and inhuman." He has called the book "a model of compassion." He believes that homosexuality can be cured. However, he says that such conversions are rare.
Global conspiracies
LaHaye believes that the
IlluminatiThe Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
is secretly engineering world affairs. In
Rapture Under Attack he wrote:
I myself have been a forty-five year student of the satanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
ically-inspired, centuries-old conspiracyA cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views and/or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
to use government, education, and media to destroy every vestige of Christianity within our society and establish a new world order. Having read at least fifty books on the Illuminati, I am convinced that it exists and can be blamed for many of man's inhumane actions against his fellow man during the past two hundred years.
The Illuminati is just one of many groups that he believes are working to "turn America into an amoral,
humanistHumanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
country, ripe for merger into a one-world socialist state." Other secret societies and liberal groups working to destroy "every vestige of Christianity", according to LaHaye, include: the
Trilateral CommissionThe Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded by David Rockefeller in July 1973 to foster closer cooperation among the United States, Europe and Japan.-History:...
, the
American Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
, the
National Organization for WomenThe National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
,
Planned ParenthoodPlanned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
, "the major TV networks, high-profile newspapers and newsmagazines," the
State DepartmentThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, major foundations (
RockefellerThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
,
CarnegieCarnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
,
FordThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
), the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, "the left wing of the Democratic Party",
HarvardHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
,
YaleYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
"and 2,000 other colleges and universities."
Eschatology and Left Behind
LaHaye has been criticized for his apocalyptic beliefs, in which he asserts the end of the world is near. Other believers in
dispensationalDispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
premillennialismPremillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...
, who believe that the
return of JesusIn Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
is imminent, criticize various aspects of his theology, saying he has "some real problems with his prophetical teachings in the
Left Behind series." It is noted that "in books 8 & 9, LaHaye and Jenkins teach that [non-willing] recipients of the mark of the beast can still be saved." However, in
The Mark, "the
ChangChang Wong is a fictional character of the Left Behind series of books. A brilliant young man with skills in computing, 17 at the time of Global Community Supreme Potentate and Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia's temporary death, he is groomed by David Hassid to replace him as the Tribulation Force's...
scenario" is developed, whereby a character receives both the mark of the beast and the sealing of the Lord. In
Desecration, his dual-marking was justified in the storyline." This has led some readers to wonder "how a Christian can have the mark of the beast and still be saved" has been asked many times by perplexed readers on the Left Behind messageboard, and was addressed on the FAQ page at LeftBehind.com.
Many mainstream Christians and other evangelicals like Tom Sine have broader disagreements with the series as a whole, pointing out that "most biblical scholars largely reject the
eschatologicalEschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
assumptions of this kind of pop end-times literature." Others say that LaHaye portrays the
Book of RevelationThe Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
with a selective literalism, choosing to take some things literally (such as the violence) and others as metaphor (the Beast) as it suits his point of view. In
The Rapture Exposed, a number of criticisms are raised regarding the series, particularly its focus on violence.
Anti-Catholicism
LaHaye has been a harsh critic of Roman Catholicism, which he has called "a false religion". In his 1973 book
Revelation Illustrated and Made Plain, he stated that the Catholic Church "is more dangerous than no religion because she substitutes religion for truth" and "is also dangerous because some of her doctrines are pseudo-Christian." Elsewhere the same book compared Catholic ceremonies to
paganPaganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
rituals. It was these statements that were largely responsible for LaHaye's dismissal from Jack Kemp's presidential campaign. It was later revealed that the San Diego church that LaHaye had pastored throughout the 1970s had sponsored an anti-Catholic group called Mission to Catholics; one of their pamphlets asserted that
Pope Paul VIPaul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
was the "archpriest of Satan, a deceiver, and an
antichristThe term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
, who has, like
JudasJudas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, gone to his own place."
The issue of anti-Catholicism also comes up in regard to the
Left Behind series. While the fictional
PopeThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
John XXIV was raptured, he is described as having "stirred up controversy in the church with a new doctrine that seemed to coincide more with the ‘heresy’ of
Martin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
than with the historic orthodoxy they were used to," and this is implied as the reason he was raptured. His successor, Pope Peter II becomes
Pontifex MaximusThe Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
of
Enigma Babylon One World FaithEnigma Babylon One World Faith is a fictional world religion in the Left Behind series that ostensibly seeks to harmonise the remaining faiths on earth after the Rapture as portrayed in the novel....
, an amalgamation of all remaining world faiths and religions. In Book 9 of the series,
The Desecration, Carpathia, the villain, specifically refutes all happenings at Jesus' crucifixion that are part of the Catholic stations of the Cross but not in the canonical gospels, further undercutting the Catholic traditions. Other Catholic writers have said that while the books aren't "anti-Catholic per se" they reflect LaHaye's other writings on the subject.
Despite his anti-Catholic views, he praised Roman Catholic director
Mel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
film
The Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
, saying that "Everyone should see this movie. It could be Hollywood's finest achievement to date."
Sun Myung Moon
In the 1980s he was criticized by the evangelical community for accepting money from
Bo Hi PakBo Hi Pak is a prominent member of the Unification Church. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a major leader in the organization, running projects such as newspapers , schools, performing arts projects, political projects such as the anti-communist organization CAUSA International, and was...
, a longtime
Sun Myung MoonSun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
operative. He was additionally criticized for joining Moon's Council for Religious Freedom, which was founded to protest Moon's 1984 imprisonment. In 1996 he spoke at an event sponsored by Moon.
Tributes
Time magazineTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
named LaHaye one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America and in the summer of 2001 the
Evangelical Studies Bulletin named him the most influential Christian leader of the preceding quarter century.
Left Behind
Left Behind SeriesLeft Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
- Oct. 1995, Left Behind
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days (ISBN 0-8423-2912-9)
- Oct. 1996, Tribulation Force
Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind is the second novel in the Left Behind series, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.-Plot introduction:...
: The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind (ISBN 0-8423-2921-8)
- Oct. 1997, Nicolae
Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist is the third book in the Left Behind series. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 1997.It takes place 18 months into the Tribulation, and at the start of the book 2 years since the rapture-Plot:...
: The Rise of Antichrist (ISBN 0-8423-2924-2)
- Aug. 1998, Soul Harvest
Soul Harvest: The World Takes Sides is the fourth book in the Left Behind series. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 1999.-Plot summary:...
: The World Takes Sides (ISBN 0-8423-2925-0)
- Feb. 1999, Apollyon
Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed is the fifth book in the Left Behind series. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 1998...
: The Destroyer Is Unleashed (ISBN 0-8423-2926-9)
- Aug. 1999, Assassins
Assassins: Assignment—Jerusalem, Target—Antichrist is the sixth book in the Left Behind series. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 1999...
: Assignment: Jerusalem, Target: Antichrist (ISBN 0-8423-2927-7)
- May. 2000, The Indwelling
The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession is the seventh book in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, published in May 2000...
: The Beast Takes Possession (ISBN 0-8423-2929-3)
- Nov. 2000, The Mark
The Mark: The Beast Rules the World is the eighth book in the Left Behind series. It was published in late 2000 by Tyndale House. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 32 weeks-Plot summary:...
: The Beast Rules the World (ISBN 0-8423-3228-6)
- Oct. 2001, Desecration
Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne is the ninth book in the Left Behind series. It was published in 2001 by Tyndale House. It was on The New York Times Best Seller List for 19 weeks, It was the best selling Novel in the World in 2001....
: Antichrist Takes the Throne (ISBN 0-8423-3229-4)
- Jul. 2002, The Remnant
The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon is the tenth book in the Left Behind series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins and published in 2002...
: On the Brink of Armageddon (ISBN 0-8423-3230-8)
- Apr. 2003, Armageddon
Armageddon: The Cosmic Battle of the Ages is the 11th novel in the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. It was first published in 2002 and covers the final year of the Tribulation leading up to the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ...
: The Cosmic Battle of the Ages (ISBN 0-8423-3236-7)
- Mar. 2004, Glorious Appearing
Glorious Appearing: The End of Days is the 12th book in the Left Behind series. Released on March 30, 2004, this book sees the surviving believers awaiting the return of Jesus Christ as the war of Armageddon and the seven-year Tribulation period draws to its climax...
: The End of Days (ISBN 0-8423-3237-5)
- Apr. 2007, Kingdom Come
Kingdom Come: The Final Victory is the sixteenth and final book of the Left Behind series, released on April 3, 2007.-Just after the Glorious Appearing:...
: The Final Victory (ISBN 0-8423-6061-1)
Left Behind PrequelsLeft Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
- March 2005, The Rising
The Rising: Before They Were Left Behind is the thirteenth novel in the Left Behind series and the first prequel. It was written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 2005...
: Before They Were Left Behind (ISBN 0-8423-6056-5)
- November 2005, The Regime
The Regime: Evil Advances is the second prequel novel in the Left Behind series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 2005. This book covers more events leading up to the first novel Left Behind.-Plot introduction:...
: Before They Were Left Behind (ISBN 1-4143-0576-1)
- June 6, 2006, The Rapture
The Rapture: In the Twinkling of an Eye / Countdown to the Earth's Last Days is the 3rd prequel novel in the Left Behind series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in 2006. This book is the final of the three prequels and covers events leading up to the first book Left Behind...
(ISBN 1-4143-0580-X)
Babylon Rising
Babylon RisingCurrently, there are four novels in Tim LaHaye's fiction series Babylon Rising . Each novel has to do with the hero, Michael Murphy, a college professor, and his struggles to find an artifact that could prove the Bible correct...
series:
- October 2003, Babylon Rising
Currently, there are four novels in Tim LaHaye's fiction series Babylon Rising . Each novel has to do with the hero, Michael Murphy, a college professor, and his struggles to find an artifact that could prove the Bible correct...
(ISBN 0-553-80322-0)
- August 2004, The Secret on Ararat (ISBN 0-553-80323-9)
- September 2005, The Europa Conspiracy (ISBN 0-553-80324-7)
- August 29, 2006, The Edge of Darkness (ISBN 0-553-80325-5)
The Jesus Chronicles
The Jesus Chronicles series:
- November 21, 2006, John's Story: The Last Eyewitness (ISBN 0-399-15389-6)
- 2007, Mark's Story: The Gospel According to Peter
- 2009, Luke's Story: By Faith Alone
- 2010, Matthew's Story: From Sinner To Saint
Other
- The Beginning of the End (ISBN 8423-0106-2 Paper; Tyndale House Publishers; Wheaton, IL; 1972)
- Revelation: Illustrated and Made Plain revised (Zondervan, 1975 {first printing 1973})
- How to Study the Bible for Yourself (Harvest House, 1976)
- No Fear of the Storm (Zondervan, 1977) Re-released as Rapture Under Attack (Multnomah 1998)
- The Power of the Cross (ISBN 1-57673-212-6, Multnomah 1998)
- The Merciful God of Prophecy (First Warner Books 2002)
Non-fiction
- The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love
The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love is a self-help book, written by Christian writers Tim and Beverly LaHaye.-Introduction:The Act of Marriage is concerned with helping couples, mostly women, to achieve sexual satisfaction. The book was first printed in 1976 and boasts a readership of...
1976; revised 1998
- The Unhappy Gays (Tyndale House Publishers 1978)
- The Battle for the Mind (Fleming H. Revell, 1980)
- Life in the Afterlife (Tyndale House, 1980)
- Spirit-Controlled Temperament revised (Tyndale House Publishers 1993)
- Mind Siege: The Battle for Truth in the New Millenium, co-written with David A. Noebel
David A. Noebel is an American religious leader and writer. He is the current director of Summit Ministries, in Manitou Springs, Colorado in the United States...
(Word Publishing, 2000)
He has also produced many self-help titles, some co-written with his wife, on topics such as sexuality, marriage, self-control, etc. His bibliography in this area far overshadows the
Left Behind series in number.
See also
- Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
- Left Behind
Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
- Babylon Rising
Currently, there are four novels in Tim LaHaye's fiction series Babylon Rising . Each novel has to do with the hero, Michael Murphy, a college professor, and his struggles to find an artifact that could prove the Bible correct...
- Mind Siege: The Battle for Truth in the New Millenium
- Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
- Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
- Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
- Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences
- Coalition for Religious Freedom
The Coalition for Religious Freedom is a religious right organization founded by Tim LaHaye and Robert Grant to lobby against government regulation of religion...
- Christian Voice
Christian Voice is an American conservative Christian right advocacy group. In 1980, this group had 107,000 members including 37,000 pastors from 45 denominations. It is a project of the American Service Council...
- Conspiracy theorists
- Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
- Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
External links