By Grace Acosta
In a recent television interview, the Rev. Tim LaHaye, author of the “Left Behind” series of best sellers, described his vision of Earth’s final days when faithful Christians have already ascended into heaven, leaving the heathen population to fend for themselves. Apparently, a charismatic anti-Christ achieves power. One of the first things he does is to institute - now, hold onto your spleen - a world currency, a one-euro-fits-all monetary unit for the entire planet.
LaHaye isn’t joking around. He considers a world currency to be Satan’s tool because it robs countries of their sovereignty. In fact, one could say that it unites rather than divides the people of the world, and Lord knows we wouldn’t want that. Using the Bible as an irrefutable source of evidence (”It’s right there in Blah-blah, chapter blah-blah, verse blah-blah,”), LaHaye encourages everyone to escape the collapse of civilization as we know it by jumping on his Jesus bandwagon.
Lest you think that he is merely some raving lunatic, I might remind you that last month, LaHaye was named by Time magazine as one of the country’s “25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America.” His “Left Behind” series has sold millions, with readers breathlessly awaiting each new installment - a sort of “Harry Potter” phenomenon amidst the people who, ironically enough, despise J.K. Rowling and might consider attending a book burning. He isn’t a madman; he’s part of a burgeoning evangelical movement whose membership includes our nation’s president and other key cultural and political leaders.
LaHaye’s apocalyptic predictions don’t scare me. Even if they were unequivocally correct, I would still choose to remain with the Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, gays, atheists, native tribal people, lethargic Protestants and lapsed Catholics because a) I, too, believe that civilization as we know it may be at its demise, but I consider that a good thing; and b) if devastation is truly a part of our collective future, I also believe that that will be precisely the hour when God would not turn his back on us.
Recent tsunami victims, Holocaust survivors, and family members of those who perished on 9-11 may beg to differ, and I wouldn’t argue with them. Biblical doomsday scenarios can pale in comparison to the weight of human suffering our world has already experienced and witnessed. But, it is also true that a divine presence doesn’t always reveal itself in a way that one expects, or even finds palatable. At least that’s what I have come to know. Some of the greatest blessings in my life have come in the least attractive packages: discord, confusion, conflict, and even death. Granted, it took me longer to find the prize in those Cracker Jack boxes of human experience, but when I did, they revealed truths that carried me into a deeper understanding of life, and consequently a better way to live.
So, with all due respect to biblical prophecy, I’m going to hold off on conversion, and just wait to see what happens. When the big day arrives, after the sanctified Christians have floated off into their glorified realm, I’ll be with the other poor slobs left behind. But, I know we won’t be alone.
