Book Review – the event

By Steve Parker Crossposted on his blog, Thinking Christian.

The Event – Mick LaSalle
       
    
      
“Imagine
if everything the Religious Right believes about the End Times is true,
except the Rapture doesn’t take them and the antichrist turns out to be
their favorite politician . . . That’s the story of The Event, which
will be serialized … over the next few months.”

So reads the prologue to Mick LaSalle’s online serial, a new episode of which will be posted on his web site
each week. Some Christians believe that Jesus will will return and they
will instantly disappear and be taken to heaven – some will be taken,
many will be left behind. A detailed scenario has been worked out by
many believers in the Rapture popularised by books like the Left Behind series and movies.
If the first episode of The Event
is anything to go by, it’s going to be a great read. The Rapture occurs
but the right wing Christians have been left behind and all those who
they thought wouldn’t be have been raptured away! The nation (of
America) is in total confusion as they try to work out what is going on.
LaSalle’s
premise even has biblical precedent. The idea that God will save those
who “shouldn’t be” and leaves behind those who thought they’d be in the
“in” group has biblical precedent. Jesus told a parable about this:
“When
the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he
will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered
before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his
right hand and the goats at the left.
“Then the king will say to
those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked
and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in
prison and you visited me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him,
‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty
and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a
stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was
it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’
“And the
king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of
the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed,
depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you
gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me,
naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did
not visit me.’
“Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it
that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly
I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you
did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mt 25:31-46, NRSV)

To read the first episode of The Event click here!