Tim LaHaye

Timothy F. LaHaye (born April 27, 1926 in Detroit , Michigan , † July 25, 2016 in San Diego , California ) was an evangelical author and pastor of a megachurch of the Southern Baptists in California. He became known through the Left Behind novels (German title: Finale - The last days of the earth ) about the apocalypse , which he wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins . He published a total of 85 books, at first rather non-fiction books on personality development and relationship issues, later science fiction from an evangelical perspective. He was also the founder of the Conservative Council for National Policy .

Life

LaHaye grew up in Detroit, the son of Margret Palmer and Frank LaHaye. The father worked for the automaker Ford and died in 1936. As a young man, LaHaye joined the US Air Force in 1944 . He served in Europe as a machine gunner on board a bomber. In 1947 he married Beverly Ratcliffe; this marriage had four children. In 1950 he received a bachelor's degree from Bob Jones University . He then attended the Baptist Western Theological Seminary , where he received a Doctor of Ministry. In 1958 he moved with his family to San Diego , where he was pastor of the Scott Memorial Baptist Church in El Cajon , now called Shadow Mountain Community Church . He worked in this church for 23 years. In 1971 he founded the Christian Heritage College , now known as the San Diego Christian College . In 1981 he left the pulpit to focus on writing and politics.

LaHaye founded or supported numerous groups to promote and enforce his views. In 1972 he co-founded the Institute for Creation Research at Christian Heritage College in El Cajon with Henry Morris . In 1979, he called Jerry Falwell on Moral Majority to set up, and there was also a board member. He co-founded the Council for National Policy (CNP), a conservative political think tank. He also founded the US Coalition for Traditional Values ​​and the Coalition for Religious Freedom. In 1988 he supported Jack Kemp in running for the US presidency. In 1998 he founded a research center on biblical prophecy with Thomas Ice. As a religious right wing, he supported George W. Bush in 2000 and Mike Huckabee in 2008 .

Works (selection)

• Your temperament in God's hands . Liebenzeller Mission, Bad Liebenzell 1980 (American original: Transformed Temperaments . Tyndale, Wheaton 1971)
• How nice it is with you. The intimate life in marriage. Schulte and Gerth , Asslar 1982 (American original: The Act of Marriage . Zondervan, Grand Rapids 1976)

Left Behind novel series with Jerry B. Jenkins

The idea for the novel series came up in 1994 when LaHaye observed a flirtation between a married pilot and a flight attendant on an airplane and brought it into connection with the rapture . The first volume from 1995 began with a similar scene. In addition to the 12 volumes of novels, there are youth novels, audios, devotional books and comics, of which a total of over 65 million copies have been sold. Seven titles in the adult series were # 1 on the New York Times , USA Today and Publisher's Weekly bestseller lists .

• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 1. Gerth , Asslar 1996 (9th edition). ISBN 978-3-89490-139-4
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 2: The Visitation. Gerth, Aßlar 1997. ISBN 978-3-89490-214-8
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 3: Nicolai. Gerth, Aßlar 1998. ISBN 978-3-89490-217-9
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 4: The Harvest. Projektion J, Aßlar 1999 (4th edition). ISBN 978-3-89490-292-6
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 5: Apollyon. Gerth, Aßlar 2000. (3rd edition) ISBN 978-3-89490-305-3
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 6: The Conspiracy. Gerth, Aßlar 2008. ISBN 978-3-86591-275-6
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 7: The Return. Gerth, Aßlar 2001. ISBN 978-3-89490-354-1
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 8: The Sign. Gerth, Aßlar 2009. ISBN 978-3-86591-277-0
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 9: The Desecration. Gerth, Aßlar 2002. ISBN 978-3-89490-415-9
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 10: The Rock City. Gerth, Aßlar 2003. ISBN 978-3-89490-466-1
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 11: Armageddon. Gerth, Aßlar 2004. ISBN 978-3-89490-504-0
• Finale - The last days of the earth. Volume 12: The Triumph. Projektion J, Aßlar 2005. ISBN 978-3-89490-556-9
• The pact: the start of the final. Gerth, Aßlar 2006. ISBN 978-3-86591-070-7

Reception and criticism

LaHaye was founded in 2001 by the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals of Wheaton College elected the most influential evangelicals in the last 25 years.

Tim LaHaye and especially his series of novels Left Behind are controversial among evangelical Christians. Critics accuse him of reading and interpreting the biblical book of Revelation selectively and creating a roadmap in the form of American pop end-time literature .

Web links

• Literature by and about Tim LaHaye in the catalog of the German National Library
• Tim LaHaye in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Information about the author at Tim LaHaye Ministries (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Died: Tim LaHaye, Author Who 'Left Behind' a Long Legacy
2. ↑ David D. Kirkpatric: Club of the Most Powerful Gathers in Strictest Privacy. In: The New York Times , August 28, 2004.
3. ↑ Autobiographical information ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on website timlahye.com 
4. ↑ http://www.wnd.com/2001/06/9474/
5. ↑ Hans-Werner Deppe: Review of the book Die Entrückung (CV Dillenburg 2004)
6. ↑ Blog Pilgrims March 24, 2010
7. ↑ Betanien-Verlag, Augustdorf ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ Jürgen Moltmann: The end times have begun. Why many Americans read the Bible as an encrypted road map of world history . In: Die Zeit , No. 51/2002
9. ↑ Florian Niedlich: Facets of Pop Culture: About the aesthetic and political power of the popular. Transscript, Bielefeld 2012, p. 212