Tim LaHaye

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Tim LaHaye
[[Image:Image:Lahaye Tim320x240.JPG|200px| ]]
Born 1926
Occupation Minister, Author
Genres Christian, Apocalyptic
Website www.timlahaye.com

Timothy F. LaHaye (b. 1926) is an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker. He is best-known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins. He has written over fifty books, both fiction and non-fiction.

Contents

[edit] Biography

In 1958, the LaHaye family moved to San Diego, California, where Tim became pastor of the Scott Memorial Baptist Church (since renamed "Shadow Mountain Community Church") in El Cajon, serving there for almost 25 years. In 1971 he founded the San Diego Christian College.

LaHaye received a B.A. from Bob Jones University in 1950. He also holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Seminary.

LaHaye is married to activist and fellow author Beverly LaHaye; they have four children and nine grandchildren and live in the Los Angeles area.

LaHaye entered politics at the Christian Voice in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1981 he helped found the Council for National Policy (CNP), a conservative lobby group membership in which is only available by invitation (it should not be confused with the liberal Center for National Policy). In the 1980s, LaHaye founded American Coalition for Traditional Values and Coalition for Religious Freedom. In 1979, he helped to establish the Institute for Creationist Research, along with Henry Morris, in Santee, California. He founded the Pre-Tribulation Research Center along with Thomas Ice in 1998. The center is dedicated to producing material that supports a dispensationalist, pre-tribulation interpretation of the Bible.

In 2001 LaHaye co-hosted with Dave Breese in the prophecy television program The King Is Coming. His book The Rapture was released on June 6, 2006, in order to show a 6-6-6 connection.

In 2001 LaHaye gave $4.5 million to Jerry Falwell's Liberty University to build a new student center and School of Prophecy, which opened in January 2002, was named after LaHaye. He also serves as its president. Dr. LaHaye also provided the funds for the LaHaye Ice Center on the campus of Liberty University, which opened in January, 2006.

[edit] Left Behind

LaHaye is best-known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins. The series, which started in 1995 with the first novel, includes 16 titles in the adult series; as well as juvenile novels, audio books, devotionals, and graphic novels. The books have been very popular, with total sales surpassing 65 million copies. Seven titles in the adult series have reached #1 on the bestseller lists for The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly.[1] Jerry Falwell said about the first book in the series: ""In terms of its impact on Christianity, it's probably greater than that of any other book in modern times, outside the Bible."[2] _________________________________________________________________________

The Left Behind Series:


Prequels: (What happens before The Rapture)

1# The Rising: Antichrist Is Born

2# The Regime: The Rise of the Antichrist

3# The Rapture: In the Twinkling of an Eye


Series: (What Happens after The Rapture to when Jesus comes back)

1# Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days

2# Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama

3# Nicolae: The Rise of the Anti-Christ

4# Soul Harvest: The World Takes Sides

5# Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed

6# Assassins: Assignment: Jerusalem, Target: Antichrist

7# The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession

8# The Mark: The Beast Rules the World

9# Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne

10# The Remnant: On the Brink of Armagaddon

11# Armageddon: The Cosmic Battle of the Ages

12# Glorious Appearing: The End of Days


Sequel: (What happens after Jesus comes back)

1# Kingdom Come: The Final Victory


This books follow each other in order. Although, the Series was written first. Then, the Prequels and then the only Sequel was written.

Left Behind Books info taken from, http://www.leftbehind.com/channelbooks.asp?channelID=95 _________________________________________________________________________

[edit] Controversy and criticism

LaHaye has been criticized for his apocalyptic beliefs, in which he asserts the end of the world is near. LaHaye has also been criticized by Christians as having "some real problems with his prophetical teachings in the Left Behind series."[citation needed] It is noted that "in books 8 & 9, LaHaye and Jenkins teach that [non-willing] recipients of the mark of the beast can still be saved."[citation needed] However, in The Mark, "the Chang scenario" is developed, whereby a character receives both the mark of the beast and the sealing of the Lord. In Desecration, his dual-marking was justified in the storyline."[citation needed] This has led some readers to wonder "how a Christian can have the mark of the beast and still be saved has been asked many times by perplexed readers on the Left Behind messageboard, and was answered on the FAQ page at LeftBehind.com."[1]

Other Christians have criticized his series as a whole as portraying the book of Revelation with a selective literalism, choosing to take some things literally (such as the violence) and others as metaphor (the Beast) as it suits his point of view. In The Rapture Exposed, a number of criticisms are raised regarding the series. In particular, the excessive, almost voyeuristic, focus on violence appears to contradict the message of peace that Christ himself preached. Also, the type of dispensationalism in the Left Behind series tends to reinforce the point of view that the end of the world is near, so there is no need to be concerned about stewardship over the environment, care for the poor, or solving social ills. LaHaye's response to such criticisms is to write them off for not taking a literal, inerrant interpretation of scripture.

He has also been criticized for "pseudo-psychological" temperament theory and mixing in theology. [2] The basic ideas in this theory - that people have temperaments that can be described as sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic - are very old and actually go all the way back to Hippocrates.http://www.yuricareport.com/RevisitedBks/TimLaHayeDivinator.html A common temperament theory is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Fiction

[edit] Left Behind

Left Behind Series

  1. Oct. 1995, Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days (ISBN 0-8423-2912-9)
  2. Oct. 1996, Tribulation Force: The Continuing Drama of Those Left Behind (ISBN 0-8423-2921-8)
  3. Oct. 1997, Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist (ISBN 0-8423-2924-2)
  4. Aug. 1998, Soul Harvest: The World Takes Sides (ISBN 0-8423-2925-0)
  5. Feb. 1999, Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed (ISBN 0-8423-2926-9)
  6. Aug. 1999, Assassins: Assignment: Jerusalem, Target: Antichrist (ISBN 0-8423-2927-7)
  7. May. 2000, The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession (ISBN 0-8423-2929-3)
  8. Nov. 2000, The Mark: The Beast Rules the World (ISBN 0-8423-3228-6)
  9. Oct. 2001, Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne (ISBN 0-8423-3229-4)
  10. Jul. 2002, The Remnant: On the Brink of Armageddon (ISBN 0-8423-3230-8)
  11. Apr. 2003, Armageddon: The Cosmic Battle of the Ages (ISBN 0-8423-3236-7)
  12. Mar. 2004, Glorious Appearing: The End of Days (ISBN 0-8423-3237-5)
  13. Apr. 2007, Kingdom Come: The Final Victory (ISBN 0-8423-6061-1)

Left Behind Prequels

  1. March 2005, The Rising: Before They Were Left Behind (ISBN 0-8423-6056-5)
  2. November 2005, The Regime: Before They Were Left Behind (ISBN 1-4143-0576-1)
  3. June 6 2006, The Rapture (ISBN 1-4143-0580-X)

[edit] Babylon Rising

Babylon Rising series:

  1. October 2003, Babylon Rising (ISBN 0-553-80322-0)
  2. August 2004, The Secret on Ararat(ISBN 0-553-80323-9)
  3. September 2005, The Europa Conspiracy (ISBN 0-553-80324-7)
  4. August 29, 2006, The Edge of Darkness (ISBN 0-553-80325-5)

[edit] The Jesus Chronicles

The Jesus Chronicles series:

  1. November 21, 2006, John's Story: The Last Eyewitness (ISBN 0-399-15389-6)
  2. 2007, Mark's Story: The Gospel According to Peter (Working Title)

[edit] Other

  • How to Study the Bible for Yourself (Harvest House, 1976)
  • Revelation: Illustrated and Made Plain revised (Zondervan, 1975 {first printing 1973})
  • No Fear of the Storm (Zondervan, 1977) Re-released as Rapture Under Attack (Multnomah 1998)
  • The Power of the Cross (ISBN 1-57673-212-6, Multnomah 1998)
  • The Merciful God of Prophecy (First Warner Books 2002)

[edit] Non-fiction

  • The Battle for the Mind (Fleming H. Revell, 1980)
  • The Act of Marriage revised (Zondervan, 1998 {first printing 1976})
  • Spirit-Controlled Temperament revised (Tyndale House Publishers 1993)

He has also produced many self-help titles, some co-written with his wife, on topics such as sexuality, marriage, self-control, etc. His bibliography in this area far overshadows the Left Behind series in number.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Leftbehind.com official website of book series. Accessed 2007-9-8
  2. ^ Time magazine. Accessed 2007-9-8

[edit] External links

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