The "Left Behind" books: How the Christian Right Uses Jews and Israel.

Salon.com (via Alternet) ^ | August 2, 2002 | Michelle Goldberg

[RAT Patrol]

Don't get me wrong here, I love Jews and their religion and history, but they might consider looking at their own religion for a minute. They don't think anyone else is "clean." They think God is only interested in Jews. I am not bothered in the least by that so they need to just chill when they learn Christians think Christianity is the only right answer. So what. Truth does not depend on interpretation. If you think you have the truth why should you care that someone else thinks you don't? If truth depends on others agreeing with you then it stands on pretty shaky ground.

[Commie Basher]

Well, I never said that the Crusades and burnings were an accurate interpretation of Jesus' words, merely that it resonates with much that's in the Old Testament and Koran.

As for it being a "Catholic concept," that's only partly true. While Protestants were burning in Spain and France, Catholics were drawn and quartered in England, Ireland, and othewise being killed in the Holy Roman Empire and Scandanavia.

[hoosierham]

Well, finally someone sums it up.

[Commie Basher]

I love Jews and their religion and history, but they might consider looking at their own religion for a minute. They don't think anyone else is "clean." They think God is only interested in Jews.

Certainly true of some Jews. I hate to sound polyanna, but I think there are tolerant folks among Jews, Christians and Moslems -- and less tolerant ones in all three groups too.

You're right -- all groups can do well to look in the mirror, yet all seem to prefer finger-pointing. What Christ said about "seeing the spec in another's eye, while there is a plank in one's own."

[William Terrell]

How is it that the Southern Kingdom has only about 15 million decendents, and the Northern Kingdom has about a billion (remember, many Europeans also settled in Latin America and Australia, etc.)

The Southern Kingdom was tiny to start with and the Northern Kingdom was huge to start with?

[RAT Patrol]

Yeah, you're right. But my main point is that I don't see believing your religion is the only right one as intolerant. The folks over at Jewish World Review think I'm dead wrong about my Christianity; they are entitled to that opinion. They support my right to believe what I believe and I support theirs. I love those people and we have so much in common politically. I've even donated money to their website. At the same time I believe religiously pretty much exactly what LaHaye believes. Still, I'd do anything and everything I could to help support and defend JWR, and Israel for that matter. The guy that runs JWR (I never can spell his name right) has been awesome in defending Christians.

The conflict is much more about conservative vs. liberal than it is about Jew vs. Christian.

[berned]

The Left Behind books are not Christian right - they are shameless Christian commercialism in the form of very poor fiction - and they are wrong.

Quite a bold ad hominem attack. Care to back it up by actually EXPLAINING yourself? Specifically HOW are they wrong?

[Commie Basher]

I use the word "intolerant" for brevity. The issues on this thread require many qualifers and much context, and I just don't want to write thousands of words per post, :-)

[ValerieUSA]

No, I don't care to go into so many excrutiating details. It is a fair criticism of this over-priced rip-off scam.
I am amazed at the people who defend the books as if they believe this hideous fiction is actual prophecy and who think anyone who fails to be entralled by it or demands VALUE for his money is not really a good Christian.

[tophat9000]

Wouldn't you be hostile to a religion that believes you are going to hell?
According to Christians... Jews and Moslems (and other non believers) will spend an eternity together because they haven't accepted Jesus.

Come one lets be honest ...Any one of the three religions,when you get down to the core beliefs of each, has to think the other two are going to hell.

I would assume, that bottom line, from the Jewish perspective....Christians follow a false god so I am pretty much screw for the afterlife.

(I would however like to know from any Jewish freeper out there what the teaching are on this)

[dighton]

White House's craven decision to cut off aid to the United Nations Family Planning Fund to America's surreally casual mobilization for an invasion of Baghdad... / When I encounter a (leftist barf alert) line like this one in an article, I just stop reading -- the author loses all credibility with me.

Same here: life is short.

[berned]

No, I don't care to go into so many excrutiating details. It is a fair criticism of this over-priced rip-off scam. I am amazed at the people who defend the books as if they believe this hideous fiction is actual prophecy and who think anyone who fails to be entralled by it or demands VALUE for his money is not really a good Christian.

And I am amazed at people like you who post ad hominem attacks on something they know nothing about and then don't even have the intellectual integrity to back up their attacks with honest discussion.

[thathamiltonwoman]

I don't like the Left Behind series because it's not good writing, but I love the fact that the number one fiction book series in America was written by two Christians. Book reviewers and the media have deliberately ignored the series for years now. It's interesting that now they choose to attack it.

[jejones]

I have a hard time not laughing when I see the "Left Behind" series books on the shelves, because I can't help thinking of a caption cited in one of those Columbia Journalism Review books of news copy howlers, Police Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim, which went something like this:

Weight Watchers awards Jane Doe with certificate for losing sixty pounds, going from 180 to 120 pounds--a third of her left behind!

[RAT Patrol]

and I just don't want to write thousands of words per post, :-) a rule I need to practice more, lol! Good point.

[F16Fighter]

Michele (who??) Goldberg apparently, in the immortal words of Chris Farley, has been "rollin' doobies in a van down by the river".

[D-fendr]

Pop fiction, pop culture, pop journalism and pop religion all in one article.

[Texas_Jarhead]

Nice clock in that first frame..

[ValerieUSA]

sheeeesh - "ad hominem attacks"
Translated from Latin to English, "Ad Hominem" means "against the man" or "against the person."
I am against this series of overpriced trashy fiction being defended as if it is prophecy.

[ghostkatz]

Becuz...the northern tribes, house of Israel, consisted of 10 tribes as opposed to 2 (or 3 tribes, depending on how you count them, Judah, Benjamin and Levi.)So there were probably more of them to start with. As they were carried away to other parts of the world, the 10 tribes pretty much lost their identity. This is the story I have heard. Freeper LOST TRIBE, can, will you comment??