Catholic bishops condemn Left Behind series
The Roman Catholic bishops of Illinois are condemning the best-selling, Christian-themed Left Behind books as "anti-Catholic."They cite story lines they say are offensive--including one that involves an American cardinal who becomes the right-hand man of the Antichrist. The Illinois bishops plan to issue a statement to Catholics next week calling the series of novels by fundamentalist Christian authors Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins anti-Catholic.
They also plan to urge Catholics not to confuse the apocalyptic stories in the Left Behind books with Catholic teaching about the Second Coming of Christ.
"Our main point . . . is to make sure people who are teaching the Catholic faith are not relying on Left Behind books," said Zach Wichmann, associate director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, which represents all 16 Roman Catholic bishops in the state.
My only problem is the inclusion of the idea of "offensiveness" in the statement. Even the slightest hint of victimhood is not only wimpy, but unnecessary. The books embody a theology that is inauthentic and a skewing of Scripture. The books' implications that Catholics aren't real Christians and LaHaye's rabid anti-Catholicism (despite his protestations) shouldn't be condemned because they're offensive. They should be condemned because they're wrong
Oh, they should just usee my article on the series
Here's a link to Carl Olson's book, Will Catholics Be Left Behind: A Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers
