Right Behind

  Not That Great

Not Behind of Oregon, 5/4/2011

While I don't think very highly of the Left Behind series, I think even less of Right Behind. I'm sure ND Wilson had a grand time writing it, because there's plenty of material to make fun of, but it gets to be so disrespectful, it's just not funny anymore.

  The Funny Two Edged Sword

Sanford Staab of Woodinville, Washington, 7/13/2009

I was cleaning out my truck when I spotted this book under the passenger seat - I assumed it was my son's since he is currently a student of Nate's at NSA.

I was curious about this book because my wife is a big fan of the "left" version.

Nate is clearly a genious and well versed in literature and eschatology but it doesn't show here very much. Rather than take on a critical effort of the works of giants such as Larkin or Fruchtenbaum, (neither of whom has my son even heard of at his NSA studies) he seems to have decided that it is much easier to use sarcasam and humor to attack an opposing view of his eschatology.

His argument that LaHaye's writing was just so bad that he simply had to make fun of it does not fully excuse his reasons for writing this "joke of a book". If nothing else LaHaye has managed to make a few bucks on his works and repeat his success many times.

I have nothing against Nate, but he is probably the most influential person in my son's life right now. This work is missing the spirt Paul admonishes his readers to have: "Consider others better than yourself" (Phil 2:3) and to "Avoid inconvinient jesting" (Eph 5:4).

The book is funny in several spots - I had to laugh out loud at some points but the humor is utterly independent of LaHay's doings. Anyone can take a pulp novel and tear it to shreads because the American audience demands this junk. There is no edification here and there is nothing here I see that LaHaye could take as constructive criticism. It is simply an attack on an eschatological idea from the flank. My wife was personally so enraged at the attitude that she refused to read this very short work - and no, she doesn't hate preterists and nor do I.

Nate's only excuse for the book is on a page at the end where he expresses that we are all guilty of the same errors and this is not making LaHaye any exception. This however has the feeling to me of "he hit me first" and "the ends justifies the means".

I enjoy good sarcasm but I fear the fruit of this book will include shaming readers into dismissing the dispensational view of eschatology out of hand and giving our non-christian critics just one more piece of evidence to show how low christians will go to hurt one another.

I certainly hope this attitude doesn't rub off on my son.