I’ve linked to Fred Clark’s scathing analysis of what he plausibly identifies as “The Worst Books Ever Written” before (digressive additional link (stop smirking, students of mine): Fred’s post yesterday on despair and suicide. I’d want to argue with him on several points, but only in the friendly, appreciative “Don’t you want to say. . .” way); now, it seems, Cross Currents editor Charles Henderson joins the chorus.
I wish I had room in my teaching schedule to lead a group through the Book of Revelation. As I read responses to Left Behind, I can’t help thinking that the most effective counterargument to LaHaye and Jenkins’ weirdly anti-literal interpretation would simply involve reading the texts carefully. As Fred’s most recent post shows in painful detail, there’s nothing “obvious” or “literal” about the prophetic fulfillments that LaHaye et al. purport to discover. But if you’ve been reading Revelation attentively all along, it’s hard to imagine that you find any of L&J’s snake oil convincing anyway.