Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times: Exploring the Left Behind Series / Edition 1

by B. Forbes, J. Kilde

Overview

An indispensable exploration of the runaway bestselling series! From Left Behind to Glorious Appearing, the books in the Left Behind series have sold over 60,000,000 copies worldwide and their popularity continues to grow. What makes the books about the apocalypse so popular? What is it about the end times that fascinates millions around the globe? And what does the Bible really say about the end of the world? In Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times, six experts gather to answer these provocative questions and more, guiding readers through the different Christian millennialist views and how they developed. They explore the historical, biblical, social and political issues raised by the Left Behind series' religious perspective, present broad questions that curious readers might ask, and encourage us to reflect on the issues the series raises. An entertaining and informative book for fans as well as skeptics, this is a top-notch resource you won't want to be without! Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times answers some of the most often-asked questions about this fascinating series of books: * How popular are the Left Behind books . . . and why? * What does the Bible say about the end times? * How did Left Behind's particular vision of the end times develop? * When do Christians think the end times will happen? * How are other religions treated in the Left Behind series? * What social and political messages appear in the Left Behind books? This MUST-HAVE book also includes a READER'S GUIDE with: * Reader's Group Discussion Questions * Full Glossary of Religious Terms * Suggestions For Further Reading from a Variety of Perspectives This book has not been approved, licensed, or sponsored by any of the writers, publishers, or distributors of the books in the Left Behind series nor by any person or entity involved in the creation, production, or distribution of any media based on the series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403965257
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	06/12/2004
Edition description:	2004
Pages:	219
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.99(h) x 0.04(d)

About the Author

Bruce David Forbes is the Arthur L. Bunch Professor of Religious Studies at Morningside College. He is the co-editor of Religion and Popular Culture in America. He holds a Ph.D. in American Religious History from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Jeanne Halgren Kilde is the author of When Church Became Theatre: The Transformation of Evangelical Architecture and Worship in Nineteenth-Century America. She currently teaches in the Religious Studies Department at Macalester College, where she also co-directs their Lilly Project in Work, Ethics and Vocation. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Preface

• How Popular Are the Left Behind Books, and Why?—Bruce Forbes

• What Does the Bible Say About the End Times?—Mark Reasoner

• Have Christians Always Believed in the Rapture?—Jeanne H. Kilde

• What are the Social and Political Messages in the Left Behind Books?—Amy Johnson Frykholm

• Judaism and Left Behind—Yaakov Ariel

• What are the Various Interpretations of the End Times?—Stanley Grenz

Editorial Reviews

While the apocalyptic worldview of Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's "Left Behind" series is not new, the popularity of the series and the growth of evangelical Christianity have helped bring it into the mainstream. Both of these books question the series, an approach its readers-mainly evangelical Christians-may not appreciate. Both books identify the series' appeal as speaking to people's desire for certainty in uncertain times by offering a view of good and evil, saved and damned. Forbes (religious studies, Morningside Coll.) and Kilde (religious studies, Macalester Coll.) present essays addressing the series' popularity, the history of millenarian thinking, and the series' viewpoints as seen through religious, political, and sociological frameworks. Frykholm (literature, cultural studies, & religion, Colorado Mountain Coll.) looks at the series' readers through interviews, which she places in a religious and sociological context. She finds that the acceptance of the story line is often unquestioned and even unrecognized by readers. Yet readers are not passive, as their beliefs require action. Nor are they simplistic, even though they may be accepting a simplistic view. Similar but complementary, grounded in academia but accessible, these provocative books are a rich addition to contemporary thought. Recommended for all libraries.-Nancy Almand, Weld Lib. Dist., Greeley, CO Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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