Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Ecco perche' lo 'scimmione' sis ta comportando cosi'...

Se si analizzano le cause e gli effetti dell'opera di bush si ha la netta
impressione che ci siamo avvicinando verso la fine del mondo... Dopotutto
basta che qualche esaltato come il maialone di sharon o qualche stronzo
estremista usa un nuke ed il gioco e' fatto...
Qualcuno di voi sicuramnete dira' che sto esagerando e che sono un
paranoico...
Ma questo non lo dico io... non sono io il paranoico ma....:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/04/01/ftrev01.xml
E poi qualcuno ha il coraggio di offendersi se dico che le religioni
dovrebbero essere abolite...
'The end of the world? I can't wait'
(Filed: 01/04/2004)
Christian fundamentalist Tim LaHaye preaches Armageddon, makes millions from
religious novels - and counts George Bush a fan. Oliver Poole meets him
The last thing one might expect to discuss with one of the most
influential - and, some say, one of the most dangerous - Christian
fundamentalists in America is the possibility of getting laid in Heaven. But
after an hour spent talking to the Reverend Tim LaHaye about the imminent
nature of the Second Coming and how to spot the Antichrist in a crowd, the
conversation moves seamlessly to the matter of whether there are likely to
be singles' clubs in the afterlife.
LaHaye: 'I write fiction because it's the best way to communicate with the
upcoming generation'
LaHaye, 77, a former Southern Baptist minister, is a preacher with a
populist touch and a gift for communicating his message to the masses. He is
the author of the "Left Behind" series of novels, a publishing phenomenon
that, like Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, proves that religion is
an enormous seller in post-September 11 America.
Based on the Book of Revelations and St Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians,
the 12-book series, four of which topped the New York Times bestseller list,
has sold 58 million copies, including a children's version and spin-offs.
The ninth book in the series was the biggest selling book of 2001 in
America, ousting John Grisham from the top spot for the first time in seven
years.
The books - the last of which, Glorious Appearing, has just been published
with a first print run of 1.9 million copies - are good old-fashioned
adventure stories. But their core is utterly theological, inspired by
premillennialism: a teaching that emerged in the 19th century and which
prophesies, bluntly speaking, that things are going to get much worse before
they get better. Disasters and wars are good things; signs that the Second
Coming is approaching.
When the big day comes, Christ will descend from Heaven and summon all "true
believers", who will disappear instantly in an event called the Rapture.
Left behind will be the unbelievers - not just atheists, but also Roman
Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and everyone else.
They will suffer seven years of catastrophes (the Tribulation) before Christ
reappears and defeats the Antichrist in the final battle between good and
evil, after which, finally, he will rule in peace for a thousand years.
No wonder that when we meet at his condo amid a golf course in Palm Springs,
Florida, I am expecting a certain amount of aggressive fire and brimstone.
Instead, a smiling septuagenarian with dyed brown hair greets me - the
fleshy right hand that shakes mine is dominated by a large gold ring with a
crucifix emblazoned on it - and quickly puts me at my ease.
"Some people are scared of anything religious," he says, in a soft,
Mid-Western accent. "But people in this country are starting to realise how
many Christians there are. These are the beliefs that many millions share.
We want to open people's hearts to salvation through Jesus. How is that a
negative thing?"
For the Rev LaHaye, his analysis of the Second Coming is simply a retelling
of the rock-solid facts that are clearly stated in the Bible. For each of
his pronouncements, he has a book and verse he cites in support. What amazes
him most is how the prophets, writing thousands of years ago, could have
predicted so accurately the circumstances that he believes we find ourselves
in now.
"We're living in very scary times," he says. "I've studied the signs and I
can tell you that our generation has more reason to believe that Christ will
return in our lifetime than any generation in the history of the Church."
So when could the Rapture happen? "It could happen right now. With no
warning."
And what will happen after the Second Coming? "If you're alive, your body
will be transformed, as it's a corruptible body that needs to be made
incorruptible for Heaven. Remember when Jesus rose from the dead? He still
looked the same and could eat food, but he could walk through walls. He had
an incorruptible body. Scripture says that we will be like Jesus. He was 33,
so we assume that everyone will be transformed to their appearance at that
age."
But what will everyone do? "The thousand years of the Millennium Kingdom
will be magnificent. We know from the Bible that there'll be trees that,
each month, will grow a different fruit. It will be familiar to this world,
but more perfect. Sheep will still be sheep. Grass will be grass. But they
will be perfect. What happens after that, none of us can imagine."
A thousand years seems an awfully long time to watch perfect sheep and eat a
wide variety of fruit. What if, like myself, you are unmarried? If the
Rapture does happen tomorrow, will I be single for a thousand years?
"There will probably be singles' groups," says LaHaye, who once published a
self-help book called The Act of Marriage, which claimed that Christian
women have better sex lives than atheists. "I've had such a fun life serving
the Lord for these 57 years, so I trust him completely that I'll be happy
doing so for a thousand. We've been told that we will be able to travel at
the speed of thought. Personally, I plan to go planetary exploring."
Even before his foray into fiction began in 1995 (LaHaye outlines the plots
and themes while novelist Jerry Jenkins throws in the action), he had for
decades been a prominent proponent of the Rapture beliefs and a leading
figure of the fundamentalist Christian right.
LaHaye, who grew up in a poor area of Detroit during the Depression and
served as a machine gunner aboard a bomber during the Second World War,
began his ministry while he was still at university, becoming a pastor at a
small church in South Carolina. Over the next decade, he built up an empire
of churches and schools and set up Family Life Seminars, a ministry that
delivers lectures on sex, marriage and Christian living, and he has written
dozens of books. In 1979, he established Californians for Biblical Morality,
a church-based political group that planted the seeds of the American
Christian Right movement.
Critics have labelled him "the most dangerous man alive" for using images of
Armageddon to frighten people into adopting more conservative lifestyles. He
has described homosexuals as "vile", and breezily tells me that gay people,
on average, die at the age of 42 as a result of their sins. He has
previously suggested that it would not be a bad thing for them to receive
"Old Testament capital punishment".
His outspoken views don't end there. He is anti-evolution, anti-Freud,
anti-Catholic, anti-pacifism and anti-feminist. He has even described the
Harry Potter books as the work of the devil, as they promote witchcraft. His
wife Beverly also gets in on the act; she heads the Concerned Women for
America organisation, which today has 600,000 members and has campaigned
against abortion, pornography and sex education in schools.
Fans and opponents agree that LaHaye is an extremely influential figure. His
Left Behind books have been so successful that he is reported to have made
$50 million from them. He recently signed an estimated $42 million deal for
a new series of Revelations-inspired novels called "Babylon Rising", though
he insists he keeps only enough money to live on and donates the rest to
charity.
The Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals has called him the most
influential Christian leader - ahead of Billy Graham - in the United States
in the past 25 years. Rolling Stone magazine describes him as the man who
helped "coronate" George Bush as the leader of the Republican Party at a
meeting with a dozen evangelical leaders in the run-up to the last election.
LaHaye laughs off the claim, but says he met the President ahead of the
election and has been told that Bush is a supporter of his work.
"I would think that he is a believer [in the Rapture]," he says. "He said he
had a personal faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, and that he
prayed on a regular basis."
Many millions of Americans share LaHaye's views on the Second Coming. A 2002
survey revealed that 59 per cent of the population believe the prophecies of
the Book of Revelations. Seventeen per cent believe the end of the world
will happen during their lifetimes. In another poll, a quarter of Americans
said they believe the Bible predicted the September 11 attacks.
It's little wonder, then, that the Rapture is doing a roaring trade. As well
as LaHaye's novels, there are DVDs, CDs and internet chat sites on the
subject. A range of clothes sports a "Rapture" logo and there is even a book
for those who are worried about missing the great event called Oops, I Guess
I Wasn't Ready. So popular has the issue become that bumper stickers sported
by non-believers ask: "In case of Rapture: can I have your car?"
But LaHaye's Left Behind novels lead the way. The first book begins with a
flight over the Atlantic during which half of the passengers suddenly
disappear in the Rapture. The plane's pilot and a journalist find themselves
leaders of a force opposing the Antichrist (a Romanian, as warned in Daniel,
LaHaye explains) who also happens to be the head of the UN, and whose troops
are called Peacekeepers, based in Iraq.
"I write fiction because it's the best way to communicate with the upcoming
generation," says LaHaye. "We'd like to make a film. The Passion of the
Christ has shown Hollywood that there is an audience. Hopefully, we can take
this chance to spread our message."
One event that affected him profoundly was the death of his father, when
LaHaye was 10. "When the minister talked at his graveside, he said: 禅his is
not the end of Frank LaHaye. The day will come when Christ shall come from
Heaven and all the dead will rise and we will be together in the clouds.'
"That was when I realised that I'd see him again and that blessed hope has
characterised my thinking throughout my life. Now I get to share it with
millions of people. That's the greatest of all blessings."

 be singles' clubs in the afterlife.
Ops...Mi sa che questo articolo ha avuto un effetto indesiderato ma
comprensibile sul De Cesari... Si e' convertito...
K