Left Behind Series - False Profit

False Profit - Money, Prejudice, and Bad Theology is a very good article with references on Karl Keating's Catholic Answers website written by Jimmy Akin that is about the Left Behind series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. I have been curious about the success of the series, but have never really looked into it before. This article helps me to see one side of the issue. As a practicing Catholic, it definitely makes me wary of reading any of the books.

Here is the thesis of the article: "Left Behind leaves many Catholics scratching their heads. They may know that it has something to do with the end of the world. Some Catholics have even had Evangelical friends try to get them to read the books as a subtle (or not so subtle) attempt to evangelize them. But few have a clear idea of what the books are about, who is behind them, and how they relate to the Catholic faith. This is a problem. There is nothing wrong with having a successful publishing franchise, but when that franchise contains anti-Catholic prejudice and bad theology, that is a problem. Matters are worse when the franchise is so profit-driven that it puts making a buck over the spiritual and psychological well-being of children."

Here is the conclusion of the article: "Two motives are at war in the pages of the Left Behind franchise. The first is a sincere desire to advance people's knowledge of God's prophetic words, what we may call a "prophet motive." The second is the simple desire to make a buck - plain, old, ordinary profit motive. Tim LaHaye may be credited with a genuine desire to help people better understand the prophetic aspect of the Bible. The trouble is that his understanding of Bible prophecy is seriously defective. As a result, he spreads more error than knowledge. He leads people to needlessly obsess about and fear the future. And, however sincerely, he leads people away from true Christian faith. What about the second motive? There is nothing wrong with financial success, but when the means by which one achieves it involves spreading error and fear, it is shameful. Worse, the profit motive of the series sometimes seems to be the stronger of the two. This is illustrated by the hack writing quality of the novels. (Would God really send an angel to pilot an airplane for the heroes, as happens in The Remnant? Would the United Nations turn over power to the Antichrist just because he gives a speech in which he affectingly reads the names of its member countries, as happens in Left Behind?) The profit motive is also on display in the slap-dash nature of its non-fiction add-ons, but it most clearly comes out in Tyndale House's suggestion of (and the authors' acquiescence to) the Left Behind: The Kids series, which will disturb the spiritual and psychological well-being of countless children."