Left Behind

In class, I got the feeling that a lot of people were put off by the Left Behind book. I definately understand that, but I think I see the book differently from most people in our class.

This book represents people's beliefs (though a Christian friend defensively told me upon hearing that I was reading the book, "Please just know that not all Christian's believe that!"). It doesn't matter if I believe the values or the story or the prophecies made in the book, the fact remains that some people do believe it. I find it very important, for that purpose, to not laugh at it. I wouldn't want anyone laughing at me for believing that Jacob wrestled with angels in a dream and woke up a new person named Israel.

Since this book does represent people's beliefs, I can't help but see it as a fantastic educational tool. I only wish that Jews could produce something so educational and so favorable to read. This series of books is aimed at a younger crowd (though I'm sure there are a lot of adult readers). What have Jews produced to teach about religion? I read a children's book a few weeks ago at Chabbad about what will happen when Meshiach comes (which is comparable to Left Behind in one sense). But this book at Chabbad is nothing compared to Left Behind. I've read tons of novels written about Jewish History. I learned a lot about Jewish rituals and history from Michener's The Source but to be honest, it was way too long. Children can't read that book. I challenge anyone to write a book as informational and appealing to Jews as Left Behind is to Christians.

Another key point that I noticed in Left Behind, is the fact that there is no regard to any religions besides Judaism and Christianity. When the idea of a world religion is suggested, Buck says, "Oh, well the Jews will never agree to that." No mention of Muslims or any of the Eastern religions. There are a bunch of Muslims out there who would not be very happy to hear that the world is moving to one religion but the Jews are allowed to keep their own religion! And what about all the Muslim countries that are members of the United Nations? They would never vote to have that happen. This one small thing really put me off; I felt like the author owed more of an explanation to that specific detail.