Newsweek Asks: "Are These the End Times?"

Ughh....

Newsweek online has just published an interview by Brian Braiker of Tim LaHaye, one of the authors of the "Left Behind" series, "Are These the End Times?" As you probably know, the LaHaye series has sold more than 60 million copies. By contrast, my book The Apocalyptic Literature has only sold several thousand copies. The interview makes obvious that neither Braiker nor LaHaye has read my book (big surprise, huh? and its only $13 !! Only $13!)

There is much in the interview to frustrate. Take this telling exchange:
Braiker: But my understanding is that current biblical scholarship reads some of the apocalyptic scenes in the Bible as metaphorically addressing events that were taking place as the Bible was being written.
LaHaye: These are usually liberal theologians that don’t believe the Bible literally.
Well, this is a false dichotomy, where neither extreme does justice to the biblical text. Both of the positions mentioned domesticate the Scriptures. I thought I explained this clearly enough in my book, pp. 44 - 53, "Domesticating Apocalyptic Texts through Futuristic Readings or through Historicized Readings." :-)

(Okay, I know this is a shameless plug...)