Left Behind in Ratings (JHELDENBRAND)

## Introduction

The end of times is something that fascinates and inspires wonder, awe, and horror in most all who partake in imagining it. Authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins realized this and took to the task of co-authoring a

book series dealing with the end of the world through the lens of the Christian dispensationalism. In Left Behind, a book series amassing 16 volumes, the sequence of events leading up to and through the end of times is written through the character Rayford Steele, an airline pilot, who with the help of several others assembles a “Tribulation Force” to “help save the lost and prepare for the coming Tribulation”. A peculiar characteristic of the series was the order in which the books were released. The books were released 4-13, then 1-3, then an added 16th
volume. From beginning to end, tens of millions were able to experience the fictional approach to the end of the world.

### **Imagination**

Looking at Plato’s *Phaedrus*and its analysis and prediction
of the affects of writing, his character Socrates asserts that writing will weaken
the mind. In *Reading At Risk Report*,
Dana Gioia commands that “reading a book requires a great deal of active
attention and engagement … that depends on years of education and practice.” Through
the mediation and remediations of *Left*
Behind *we see an abundance of imaginative capability that began with the*
authors. Literature as such is quite to the contrary of Plato’s stance and
shows a well-exercised mind and, when read, creates a well-exercised mind. As
Gioia points out, reading the written word strengthens the mind rather than
weakens it. It is through literature in such grandeur as the *Left Behind* series that we open our mind
to an incredibly large story and exercise the mind and refine its imaginative
capabilities.

### **The Website**

When searching for information on Left Behind, I found that
they have their own website dedicated to the series. On this web page there are several sections and subsections that tell
you everything you need to know about the book, the author, and the other forms
of remediation that LaHaye and Jenkins tackle to spread their story. However,
upon my arrival on the website the first thing that I first noticed was

the
saturation of links, images, videos, icons to social media accounts, and much
other clutter. They took advantage of the several different tools of the
internet to connect you to as much as information as they can, a form of
hypermediacy if you will. In “Is Google Making us
Stupid,” Nicholas Carr describes my interaction it the website perfectly saying
that it “Injects the medium’s content with hyperlinks, blinking ads, and other
digital gewgaws, and surrounds the content of all the other media it has
absorbed.”

### **Project Overview**

The rise of internet and
mass-marketing tools has led to the Left Behind series selling almost 80
million copies and being translated into different languages including Japanese
and Chinese. Since beginning the series in 1995, this series has thrived
through its literature and being remediated in several different ways keeping
it alive for its fan base to experience more of what they dearly enjoyed.
Despite the enjoyment of its fans, the Left Behind series also drew scorn from
its audience with concerns of its theological accuracy. Furthermore, I will
investigate and explore the responses of readers and theologians to the Left
Behind series via online forums, blogs, and Q&A pages to gather a broader
reception of the audiences’ feelings towards this series.

## Remediation

 Modern technology has worked to increase the success of the
Left Behind series. Left Behind has been remediated in several different forms
finding itself to inspire three (plus a remake starring Nicholas Cage), several
spin-offs, a video game, a graphic novel series, and even be reinterpreted into
a teen’s series. Left Behind has also found itself to be parodied by authors
such as Nathan D Wilson, and television shows such as The Simpsons.
Additionally, Left Behind has found renewed success when released on audiobook
on CD and Cassette as well as E-Books available on Amazon.

### **Movie Adaptations**

The Left Behind books had such wide acclaim that the a Canadian Christian Movie Producer, Cloud Ten Pictures, produced and released three films based on the series. The first move *Left* Behind: The Moviewas basedthe first released book of the series and was released in 2000. Starring Christian-Actor Kirk Cameron*, Left Behind* was initially released on VHS and DVD before going in to theaters where it fared rather

poorly, yet they agreed to produce another. A sequel soon followed in 2002 titled *Left Behind II: Tribulation Force.* This movie was based on the first four hundred pages of the second book of the series also titled *Tribulation Force*. This movie did quite
well in theaters and peaked at number one on Amazon for several days. A third
installment was released in 2005 titled *Left*
Behind: World At War *and was “based loosely on the final 50 pages of* Tribulation Force*. Altogether the movies* were criticized highly for poor production value. In 2014, they decided to remake the first movie and managed to secure Nicholas Cage to play the leading

role. Despite the celebrity, the film flopped worse than the original and was hated by fans of the book series. One reviewer, Amazon Freak, felt that the film abandoned its Christian roots in favor of drama. A second review, Bob Lamprecht, echoed Amazon Freak asserting that it was “truly awful, and it wasn’t worth even the [$5.50] I paid” and that the writers turned it “into a pseudo-Hollywood action flick. The remake fared even worse with critics amassing a rating of 1% on the Tomatometer of film-review company Rotten Tomatoes

### **Video Game**

In 2006, a video game was developed titled *Left Behind: Eternal Forces.*  It is a real-time strategy game where you can
either place as the Tribulation Force or the Global Community (the
Anti-Christ’s faction) to defeat the other side to either save or take over the
world respectively. It drew much controversy being a “Christian Game” that involved
violence, killing, and conflict. It was released as a PC game that could be played in single player mode or multiplayer mode. Reviews were mixed and the
game fell mostly in the middle.

### **Graphic Novels**

In 2002, a series of graphic novels was released that
contained the events of the first two books of the series. There was expected
to be three to five graphic novels released per book, but after the fifth novel
for *Tribulation Force* was released,
the novel series was discontinued.

## Interpretive Disputes

Left Behind finds both praise and criticism among the
knowledge community regarding end-of-times theology. In an interview, author
Tim LaHaye insisted that the *Left Behind*
Series is the “first fictional portrayal of events that are true to the literal
interpretation of Bible Prophecy”.

### **The Offense**

Plato’s antagonism towards writing as inspiring misinformation and providing a medium for deceit find a home in the thoughts of readers critical of the Lahaye’s and Jenkins’ interpretation of Biblical prophecy. In Plato’s

*Phaedrus,* Socrates states that “you might think they spoke as if they had intelligence,” and “ a man know the truth about all particular things of which he speaks or writes” lest he should not write at all and it is a disgrace to do so. One author, David A. Reed, was so concerned with the theology of the Left Behind series he wrote a book titled *Left Behind Answered Verse By Verse* in which examines the whole of the theology promulgated by LaHaye and Jenkins.

### **The Defense**

Despite the contention over the theology of *Left Behind*, one online writer, Anton Hein, begs us to consider that “as a work of fiction, Left Behind does not present the bible or theology in a systematic way. It is informed by a number of biblical passages, but it is, in the end, fiction.” It is quite common to find disagreements of theology especially regarding end-times prophecy. Despite this, people exhaust themselves in the theological knowledge community over this series, but as Hein states, it is important to remember that it is fiction regardless of LaHaye's assertion of its truth to literal interpretation.

## HATERS

As with any subject matter involving religion, there is a
large community of haters, and the Left Behind series is no exception. From theologians
who deem this series to be full of false theology to atheists who criticize the
series as “right-wing awfulness,” there are many who find grievous faults with
Left Behind. While there are those mentioned above who have interpretive
disputes, there are also those who abandon respect to denigrate Christians,
those who like the book, and those who have agreements with its theology.

### **The Haters**

An
example of the those who denigrate Christians, Amazon commenter Marooned
elected to say that “listen you
fanatical christians, you were born when you were born, and you can't be born
again” who also called the authors “fear-mongering Christian fanatics." An example of a commenter denigrating those who liked the books,
another commenter named John Jernijen told readers to “turn your brain on and
learn some science instead.” Lastly, there are the kinds of haters
that denigrate those who agree with the books

theology. Blogger Jason Mitchell
pens “10 Problems with Left Behind Theology,” and in it states that *Left Behind* “depends on and feeds fear.” Surprisingly enough,
the most hateful haters I have found target the writers and the book. I discovered comments such as Melvina: “Not worth the paper it's
printed on, what a piece of shit, I couldn't even finish it. It is THAT BAD. If
there was a 1/4 star I would give it that” and  Julie: “I derive a sort of masochistic
pleasure in reading them" As you can see, there are
several people who find grandiose problems with all things *Left Behind*. Fortunately, these haters are largely in the minority.

### **What This Means**

Through everything I could find on *Left Behind*, the favorable comments seemed to be much more present than the negative. However, of the negative, there were far more hateful denigrative comments than genuine reasonable displeasures. That being said, you do not find this much pure hate in reviews of things that are of secular works. As I began, the *Left Behind* series is no exception to the realm of hate over its religious grounds.

## Resource List

1. ↑ Left Behind WIKI https://tinyurl.com/ycdph9fw
2. ↑ Plato, “Phaedrus.” Course Readings, HUM211
3. ↑ Gioia, Dana. "Reading At Risk Report." Class Readings.
4. ↑ Left Behind Website: http://leftbehind.com/
5. ↑ Class Presentation on Remediation
6. ↑ Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Class Readings
7. ↑ Left Behind Wiki
8. ↑ Quotes from Amazon Product Reviews
9. ↑ Left Behind: Eternal Forces Wiki: https://tinyurl.com/y7e4qxkk
10. ↑ God And Science Webpage: https://tinyurl.com/y95f24ae
11. ↑ Apologetics Index: https://tinyurl.com/ya9wab5e
12. ↑ Amazon Product Review Page: https://tinyurl.com/y93weaup
13. ↑ GoodReads Product Review: https://tinyurl.com/yc3ad7ew