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Rating: 
Summary: More persecution fantasies from Jenkins and La Haye
Review: "Nicolae High," by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, is number 5 in the "Left Behind: The Kids" series of short novels for young readers. "Nicolae" continues the overarching plot of the series, which is inspired by Christian fundamentalist theology. The book follows the adventures of a group of Christian teenagers during an age of apocalyptic mystery and horror. In "Nicolae," the kids' high school is renamed (as indicated by the title) after a powerful world leader, and the faculty begins to implement a new agenda.Like the other books in the series, "Nicolae" features corny dialogue and ridiculously melodramatic scenes. The message of "Nicolae" seems to be that religious diversity is a bad thing; for the book's heroes, the only legitimate viewpoint is a Christian fundamentalist viewpoint. Further, the book seems to foster Christian fundamentalist fantasies of persecution (the "us against the world" mentality). The idea that American public schools oppress Christian fundamentalists is a key theme here. Actually, I found the most interesting aspect of "Nicolae" to be a couple of brief references to "Star Trek." These references are ironic, considering the vast gulf between the vision of "Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and the authors of the "Left Behind: The Kids" series. Approach the second of these two visions with caution.
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Summary: A Warning to Parents. . .
Review: I am a parent, a homeschooler, a conservative, and a committed Christian. I say all this up front so that my criticism of this series will be understood. I believe in presenting the truth to my children to the best of my ability. This means the truth of the Bible -- not the opinion of an extreme minority. This means the truth of Church History -- warts and all. This means the truth of Secular History. This means the truth of what comprises good literature vs. poor literature -- and this series does not represent the quality of material I want my children to handle. Truth is frequently painful and sometimes scary. HOWEVER, I do NOT believe in deliberately frightening children into accepting or rejecting a particular opinion or viewpoint. It appears to this parent that such religious "scare tactics" are precisely what is being engaged in with these books. My children know about heaven and hell. They know what it requires to end up in either of those destinations. They understand that hell is a pretty scary place. But I choose to teach them in a positive, rather than in a negative vein. Being "scared straight" is imperfect contrition. Granted, it beats no contrition at all -- but it results in fear rather than love. This is what this series appears to accomplish: salvation through fear, rather than salvation through acceptance of the love of the God of Love. Parents, pay attention to what your children read. Teach them about the love of God, not only through your words but through the example of your life. But don't try to frighten them into the Kingdom. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
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Summary: Series for adults now rewritten for teens
Review: I have always enjoyed the adult series of Left Behind books. The kids books are just as good. The kids interact with the characters from the adult series, experience the same events, etc. However, since the main characters are teens, these books can appeal to younger readers. So far, the stories haven't had the ups and downs that the adult series has had. The adult series has books that are a lot more boring than others. The kids series seems to be good in every book. These are not for really young kids, but would be appropriate for young teens. I enjoy them and I am an adult.
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Summary: Very Well Done
Review: My whole family have been reading all of the series of Left Behind from book 1 to recently bought book 8. These books has help me focus more on my life with God than just whats in the world. My 10 year old daughter has been reading the series sience she was 8. Please keep up the good work. I will be looking for 9 and 10 soon. God Bless you.
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Summary: The Young Trib Force Goes Back to School
Review: Nicolae High, the 5th installment in the Left Behind Kids series, finds our four teen heros facing a new challenge. Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan are the post-Rapture Christians who were left alone when the global vanishings occured. Now, in book 5, school is back in session, and our four teen heros take their newfound faith to the classrooms of Global Community Middle School and Nicolae High, both named after the Antichrist and his newly established regime. Danger awaits them at every turn. The authorities outlaw carrying Bibles or talking about God. They risk everything in order to speak the Truth to their peers. The authorities hunt them down and attempt to persecute them. How long will they be able to avoid the authorities and share their faith with their peers? Read Nicolae High and find out!
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Summary: Christian Propaganda
Review: This series of novels is inspired by "The Revelation to John", the last book in the New Testament, the third section of the Bible, the Christian holy book. "The Revelation to John" (which is often misnamed "The Book of Revelations") tells the Christian myth of what will happen at the end of the world. Basically, the authors took this story, which is barely 20 pages long, and turned it into a series of 12 novels plus a spin-off series that deals with kids. The Christian view is that only the people that believe that Jesus lived 2,000 years ago and died for their sins will be saved and receive an eternal reward in Heaven. What makes this worse is that individual merit based on good or evil deeds is not taken into consideration, because Christians believe that human beings cannot be put right with God except through Jesus. Christians believe that they are saved through faith alone; no amount of good works can win God's approval. So, all of the people that don't believe in Jesus will receive an eternal punishment in Hell, regardless of how many good deeds they do and how caring they are to other people. Meanwhile, the Christians will be saved no matter how evil they behave, because they've got Jesus on their side. "The Revelation to John" tells of an event known as the Rapture: all of the Christians are taken up to Heaven, and everyone else is left behind on Earth. After an event known as the Tribulation and world rule by someone known as the Anti-Christ, Jesus finally returns to Earth and defeats his enemies. Then the old Heaven and the old Earth go away, and a new Heaven and a new Earth are established - with God as King, of course. This took 20 pages in the Bible. Imagine reading the same story stretched over thousands of pages. As a non-Christian, I'm alarmed at what I consider to be an evil religion perpetuated by zealous idiots. Christians base their beliefs on documents that are close to 2,000 years old but don't quite date back to the time period that the events within allegedly occured. There is no physical evidence of the existence of Jesus. There are no non-Christian records of Jesus (not even in Roman execution records). There are no records by astrologists of the time period that describe such an event as that which supposedly occured during Jesus' crucifixion. I belief that the reason that Christianity has endured and grown as much as it has is because it's the only religion in the world that threatens the non-believer with an eternal punishment. Christianity is, at its core, a religion that rewards the "yes" people and punishes the nonconformists. The Bible itself orders Christians to spread the religion throughout the world. Christians feels that it's their duty to convert all non-Christians to Christianity. They pity non-Christians and "pray for their souls". They place themselves into a group of the elite - the saved. They start missions to convert the "heathen" non-Christians and "bring them over to Jesus". The Roman Catholic Church even has a division, called Propaganda, that specifically tries to establish churches in non-Christian nations. An example of a Christian mission is this book series. The authors are trying to bring readers to Jesus through these novels, which have, sadly, become best-sellers. I think that Christians should abort their missions and just leave people of other religions in peace. I'm so glad that there are billions of non-Christians in the world. It would be horrible if the Christians converted everyone. The world needs a balance of beliefs. Otherwise, it would lose its diversity. If you want to read a good book of a battle between good and evil, then read "The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition" by Stephen King. It tells a similar story, only better and in only 1,000 pages. The premise is that a superflu kills millions of people (we don't see what's going on in the whole world, just the United States), and those that are left band into two opposing camps of good and evil. The thing that makes King's book a lot better than this series is that no explanation is ever given for why these people are immune to the superflu. All types of people are left behind, both Christians and non-Christians. The authors of the "Left Behind" series make it seem like the world would fall into chaos if all of the Christians disappear, which is ludicrous. King wisely avoids this in his book. Buy it and enjoy it. Skip the "Left Behind" series. If you want to know what happens, take an hour to read "The Revelation to John".
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Summary: School's back in Session!
Review: With the antichrist reveiled, school's back in session, and the Young Trib Force discovers exactly how hard it is to be a Christian and live after the rapture!
Judd and Vicki start attending Nicolae High, and find allies in cousins Mark and John. Lionel and Ryan go back to Global Community Junior High, but still continue to fight! Can they ever be like brothers?
The four teens soak in as much information as they can to help them survive through these rough times. With the help of Pastor Bruce Barnes, the four learn more than they ever knew before.
The fifth installment of the LBTK books again delievers, and as always, I was left on the edge of my seat!
Rating:
Summary: School's back in Session!
Review: With the antichrist reveiled, school's back in session, and the Young Trib Force discovers exactly how hard it is to be a Christian and live after the rapture!
Judd and Vicki start attending Nicolae High, and find allies in cousins Mark and John. Lionel and Ryan go back to Global Community Junior High, but still continue to fight! Can they ever be like brothers?
The four teens soak in as much information as they can to help them survive through these rough times. With the help of Pastor Bruce Barnes, the four learn more than they ever knew before.
The fifth installment of the LBTK books again delievers, and as always, I was left on the edge of my seat!
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