Tornado Alley (PROG)

[F6]

'The end of the world? I can't wait'

(Filed: 01/04/2004)

Christian fundamentalist Tim LaHaye preaches Armageddon, makes millions from religious novels - and counts George Bush a fan. Oliver Poole meets him

The last thing one might expect to discuss with one of the most influential - and, some say, one of the most dangerous - Christian fundamentalists in America is the possibility of getting laid in Heaven. But after an hour spent talking to the Reverend Tim LaHaye about the imminent nature of the Second Coming and how to spot the Antichrist in a crowd, the conversation moves seamlessly to the matter of whether there are likely to be singles' clubs in the afterlife.

--------------------


LaHaye: 'I write fiction because it's the best way to communicate with the upcoming generation'

--------------------

LaHaye, 77, a former Southern Baptist minister, is a preacher with a populist touch and a gift for communicating his message to the masses. He is the author of the "Left Behind" series of novels, a publishing phenomenon that, like Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, proves that religion is an enormous seller in post-September 11 America.

Based on the Book of Revelations and St Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians, the 12-book series, four of which topped the New York Times bestseller list, has sold 58 million copies, including a children's version and spin-offs. The ninth book in the series was the biggest selling book of 2001 in America, ousting John Grisham from the top spot for the first time in seven years.

The books - the last of which, Glorious Appearing, has just been published with a first print run of 1.9 million copies - are good old-fashioned adventure stories. But their core is utterly theological, inspired by premillennialism: a teaching that emerged in the 19th century and which prophesies, bluntly speaking, that things are going to get much worse before they get better. Disasters and wars are good things; signs that the Second Coming is approaching.

When the big day comes, Christ will descend from Heaven and summon all "true believers", who will disappear instantly in an event called the Rapture. Left behind will be the unbelievers - not just atheists, but also Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and everyone else.

They will suffer seven years of catastrophes (the Tribulation) before Christ reappears and defeats the Antichrist in the final battle between good and evil, after which, finally, he will rule in peace for a thousand years.

No wonder that when we meet at his condo amid a golf course in Palm Springs, Florida, I am expecting a certain amount of aggressive fire and brimstone. Instead, a smiling septuagenarian with dyed brown hair greets me - the fleshy right hand that shakes mine is dominated by a large gold ring with a crucifix emblazoned on it - and quickly puts me at my ease.

"Some people are scared of anything religious," he says, in a soft, Mid-Western accent. "But people in this country are starting to realise how many Christians there are. These are the beliefs that many millions share. We want to open people's hearts to salvation through Jesus. How is that a negative thing?"

For the Rev LaHaye, his analysis of the Second Coming is simply a retelling of the rock-solid facts that are clearly stated in the Bible. For each of his pronouncements, he has a book and verse he cites in support. What amazes him most is how the prophets, writing thousands of years ago, could have predicted so accurately the circumstances that he believes we find ourselves in now.

"We're living in very scary times," he says. "I've studied the signs and I can tell you that our generation has more reason to believe that Christ will return in our lifetime than any generation in the history of the Church."

So when could the Rapture happen? "It could happen right now. With no warning."

And what will happen after the Second Coming? "If you're alive, your body will be transformed, as it's a corruptible body that needs to be made incorruptible for Heaven. Remember when Jesus rose from the dead? He still looked the same and could eat food, but he could walk through walls. He had an incorruptible body. Scripture says that we will be like Jesus. He was 33, so we assume that everyone will be transformed to their appearance at that age."

But what will everyone do? "The thousand years of the Millennium Kingdom will be magnificent. We know from the Bible that there'll be trees that, each month, will grow a different fruit. It will be familiar to this world, but more perfect. Sheep will still be sheep. Grass will be grass. But they will be perfect. What happens after that, none of us can imagine."

A thousand years seems an awfully long time to watch perfect sheep and eat a wide variety of fruit. What if, like myself, you are unmarried? If the Rapture does happen tomorrow, will I be single for a thousand years?

"There will probably be singles' groups," says LaHaye, who once published a self-help book called The Act of Marriage, which claimed that Christian women have better sex lives than atheists. "I've had such a fun life serving the Lord for these 57 years, so I trust him completely that I'll be happy doing so for a thousand. We've been told that we will be able to travel at the speed of thought. Personally, I plan to go planetary exploring."

Even before his foray into fiction began in 1995 (LaHaye outlines the plots and themes while novelist Jerry Jenkins throws in the action), he had for decades been a prominent proponent of the Rapture beliefs and a leading figure of the fundamentalist Christian right.

LaHaye, who grew up in a poor area of Detroit during the Depression and served as a machine gunner aboard a bomber during the Second World War, began his ministry while he was still at university, becoming a pastor at a small church in South Carolina. Over the next decade, he built up an empire of churches and schools and set up Family Life Seminars, a ministry that delivers lectures on sex, marriage and Christian living, and he has written dozens of books. In 1979, he established Californians for Biblical Morality, a church-based political group that planted the seeds of the American Christian Right movement.

Critics have labelled him "the most dangerous man alive" for using images of Armageddon to frighten people into adopting more conservative lifestyles. He has described homosexuals as "vile", and breezily tells me that gay people, on average, die at the age of 42 as a result of their sins. He has previously suggested that it would not be a bad thing for them to receive "Old Testament capital punishment".

His outspoken views don't end there. He is anti-evolution, anti-Freud, anti-Catholic, anti-pacifism and anti-feminist. He has even described the Harry Potter books as the work of the devil, as they promote witchcraft. His wife Beverly also gets in on the act; she heads the Concerned Women for America organisation, which today has 600,000 members and has campaigned against abortion, pornography and sex education in schools.

Fans and opponents agree that LaHaye is an extremely influential figure. His Left Behind books have been so successful that he is reported to have made $50 million from them. He recently signed an estimated $42 million deal for a new series of Revelations-inspired novels called "Babylon Rising", though he insists he keeps only enough money to live on and donates the rest to charity.

The Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals has called him the most influential Christian leader - ahead of Billy Graham - in the United States in the past 25 years. Rolling Stone magazine describes him as the man who helped "coronate" George Bush as the leader of the Republican Party at a meeting with a dozen evangelical leaders in the run-up to the last election. LaHaye laughs off the claim, but says he met the President ahead of the election and has been told that Bush is a supporter of his work.

"I would think that he is a believer [in the Rapture]," he says. "He said he had a personal faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, and that he prayed on a regular basis."

Many millions of Americans share LaHaye's views on the Second Coming. A 2002 survey revealed that 59 per cent of the population believe the prophecies of the Book of Revelations. Seventeen per cent believe the end of the world will happen during their lifetimes. In another poll, a quarter of Americans said they believe the Bible predicted the September 11 attacks.

It's little wonder, then, that the Rapture is doing a roaring trade. As well as LaHaye's novels, there are DVDs, CDs and internet chat sites on the subject. A range of clothes sports a "Rapture" logo and there is even a book for those who are worried about missing the great event called Oops, I Guess I Wasn't Ready. So popular has the issue become that bumper stickers sported by non-believers ask: "In case of Rapture: can I have your car?"

But LaHaye's Left Behind novels lead the way. The first book begins with a flight over the Atlantic during which half of the passengers suddenly disappear in the Rapture. The plane's pilot and a journalist find themselves leaders of a force opposing the Antichrist (a Romanian, as warned in Daniel, LaHaye explains) who also happens to be the head of the UN, and whose troops are called Peacekeepers, based in Iraq.

"I write fiction because it's the best way to communicate with the upcoming generation," says LaHaye. "We'd like to make a film. The Passion of the Christ has shown Hollywood that there is an audience. Hopefully, we can take this chance to spread our message."

One event that affected him profoundly was the death of his father, when LaHaye was 10. "When the minister talked at his graveside, he said: ‘This is not the end of Frank LaHaye. The day will come when Christ shall come from Heaven and all the dead will rise and we will be together in the clouds.'

"That was when I realised that I'd see him again and that blessed hope has characterised my thinking throughout my life. Now I get to share it with millions of people. That's the greatest of all blessings."

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004. (emphasis added)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/04/01/ftrev01.xml