Left Behind, pp. 97-98 Chapter 6 of Left Behind begins with a promising sentence: It had been years since Rayford Steele had been drunk. It's about time that somebody reacted to the horrifying opening pages of this story with the wholly appropriate and reasonable (if not necessarily constructive) response of drinking himself into a stupor. When Jenkins writes, "If ever there was a moment that called for a stiff drink, this was it," I'm inclined to agree. I really don't... Read more
So if a smoking gun fires in the woods and nobody bothers reporting on it, does it still prove the president lied? Eight months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq — when President George W. Bush was still publicly saying things like "We're doing everything we can to avoid war" — Bush had already predetermined that the invasion would occur. The case for war, however, was recognized as "thin" since Saddam Hussein was not an actual threat to the U.S.... Read more
If you're in the Philadelphia area this weekend, you may want to check out a staged reading of "Cakewalk," a new play by Tom Minter. It's the very funny (and perhaps also very sad) story of a young man who finds himself pregnant (or, maybe, dying, depending on whether you view it as a fantastical story or a story about fantasy, or something like that): What do you do when you know you’re pregnant and everyone else thinks you’re not?... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 92-96 Left Behind is filled with moments of accidental honesty in which L&J admit that the Christians aren't just "raptured," they're dead. We find two such passages in this section, first in Buck's phone conversation with Hattie Durham, and then again in his talk with the late Lucinda Washington's teenage son. Buck pulled out the number the beautiful blonde flight attendant had given him and chastised himself for not trying again to reach her earlier. It took... Read more
One of the friends I sometimes borrowed a car from during college had put one of those fish symbols on it. This made me uncomfortable and nervous whenever I drove that car. I'm a relatively courteous and careful driver — for someone who grew up in central Jersey, anyway, Driving in New Jersey is a Hobbesian war of all against all. Rush hour in central Jersey is actually about 18 hours long and is governed by two apparently contradictory rules:... Read more
By now you've probably heard about this story: WAYNESVILLE, N.C. — Nine members of a local church had their membership revoked and 40 others left in protest after tension over political views recently came to a head, church members say. About 20 members of the 400-member East Waynesville Baptist Church voted the nine members out at a recent deacon meeting, which turned into an impromptu business meeting, according to congregants. Chan Chandler, pastor of East Waynesville Baptist, had been exhorting... Read more
In comments to this post below, Todd points us to this George Will column, in which the bespectacled one bemoans that "The state of America's political discourse is such that the president has felt it necessary to declare that unbelievers can be good Americans." The president had to make such a statement, Will notes, because so many other things he has said and done have strongly implied that skeptics, freethinkers, Episcopalians and other nonevangelicals cannot be good Americans. In Will's... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 89-96 Toward the end of Buck's long reverie in the airport men's room stall, he writes up a to-do list: Despite the incredible capablilities of his laptop, there was still no substitute for the pocket notebook. Buck scribbled a list of things to do before setting off again: Call Ken Ritz, charter pilot Call Dad and Jeff Call Hattie Durham with news of family Call Lucinda Washington about local hotel Call Dick Burton. As always, for Buck,... Read more
Left Behind, pp. 89-96 The good news: Buck Williams is finally out of the men's room stall. The bad news: He spends the next five pages in a phone booth. Thanks to Long Story, Short Pier, I came across Kurt Vonnegut's "Eight rules for writing fiction." It's a good list, the value of which becomes clearer when applied to a book like Left Behind, in which each of these eight rules is repeatedly, egregiously violated. LaHaye and Jenkins seem to... Read more
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." — Matthew 5:10-12 In many times and in many places, Christians have faced persecution because of their faith.... Read more
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