Interesting article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-420765,00.html
" Meanwhile, volumes 2 to 10 trace the adventures of an intrepid band of yuppie-ish, clean-cut and mostly white American goodies during the intervening Tribulation, as they race round the world in fast cars and helicopters, trying to fight the evil forces of a slimy Romanian monster called Nicolae Carpathia. It soon becomes apparent that Carpathia is none other than the Antichrist himself. The fact that he is also Secretary-General of the United Nations, and that his wicked stormtroopers are called �Peacekeepers�, tells you rather a lot about what Bible-Belt America thinks of the UN and its peacekeeping operations. Oh yes, and did I mention that his headquarters are in Baghdad? Spooky coincidence, or what? Cities get blown up, armies zapped. And our heroes make amazing escapes on almost every page � none more startling than the episode in the latest book where, pursued by the forces of darkness, they leap into a plane piloted by the Archangel Michael (who turns out, not surprisingly, to be rather good at flying). So is it all harmless pseudo-theological bunk � Batman meets Billy Graham? I am not so sure. The insidious thing about the Left Behind novels is that, lurking beneath the thrills and spills, they promulgate a distinctly disturbing world view. All international organisations, from the UN downwards, are regarded as fronts for secular humanists who do �the Devil�s work� (quite literally, of course, in these novels). Even the Roman Catholic Church is castigated, which isn�t surprising since, in his nonfiction writing, LaHaye has declared Catholicism to be a �false religion�. Also lambasted or ridiculed are liberals, ecumenicals and everyone else who is �hoodwinked� by the notion of global peace, harmonious co-existence or disarmament � all regarded as con-tricks perpetrated by the Antichrist. Women in authority are crudely caricatured as stupid or sadistic. Europeans generally are unreliable and untrustworthy. The message is: it�s up to right-minded Americans to get out there and show them, at gunpoint if necessary (and it usually is), that God is boss. " Religion Delenda est! _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
