Most overrated book

Smoke_Eater said:

... Bad... Bad... Bad... Baptist!... but it sure was funny!... Brother Glen

 

When I saw this thread, I immediately thought of Ulysseus but saw that Ransom beat me to it. Interesting and influential, yes, but I don't think it should always top critics lists as the greatest novel of all time.

 

Not onlay "the Late GReat Planet Earth, but pretty much anything that flows from the hand of Hal Lindsay would be on my list.

I think he's done more to misrepresent the Bible than anyone I can think of.

 

Though apparently in the minority, I LOVED the "Left Behind" books. I don't say IT WILL be that way, but it has adventure, love, dynamic (changing) characters. There is a lot to keep track of, and it takes quite a bit to follow with 6 months in between, but I like them! In fact many, if not most, of my church ( a fairly large- about 450 on Sunday morning- 300 on Sunday night and Wednesday night, in a town of 5,000- Independent, Fundamental, Conservative Baptipst Church) look forward to each installment. Maybe they send us different (better) books here.

[ August 26, 2002, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: mark ]

 

I think I have to agree with you. I put the whole Prayer of Jabez franchize in the "overrated" box. And also in the "bad theology" box too, since the author is just making stuff up and not trying to interpret the Scripture in context.

Going to a Christian book store is depressing, there's so much junk out there and people buy it.

Eric

 

If you look at what usually comes out of “Christian” publishers, I have to agree. (I used to work for a small press that did a lot of Christian books and I’ve edited a few that I don’t like and don’t support.)

But you may be forgetting some contemporary Christian mainstream writers like John Grisham. There’s also the legacy of Dorothy Sayers, C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and others who have been widely received.

As a Christian and professional writer, I strive to write good stories that serve to illustrate God’s truth in a non-churchy way that shows the consequences of sin, the reality of God’s grace, the sanity of the Christian faith, and the struggles that God’s faithful endure.

As far as films goes, until the last year or two, the cost of doing feature mainstream films was so prohibitive that Christians found it very difficult to get the financial backing to do a high-quality film, much less get the opportunity to build the skills and experience learned by making 10 bad films. With the advent of the new digital camera technology and the high-quality video editing software available for use on off-the-shelf Macintosh computers, just about anyone who has about $10,000 (less if you are a student) can have the technical ability to produce a high-quality film. I predict we will see a new generation of Christian filmmakers who will emerge with work that will attract the mainstream.

The biggest question is : With the church accept and encourage these emerging artists or will they try to box them into “acceptable” subjects?

I agree with you there!

 

The Prayer of Jabez is the best stuff for rekindling a fire that I have been able to find.

Anything by Josephus. As a history book, it probably has some good information. Here is the problemm: to many people are lazy with theology and use his stuff to interpret the Bible. How sad.

 

I enjoy reading C.S. Lewis also mainly for apologetic material against naturalism and such but his doctrine is wacky.</font>[/QUOTE]Actually, I was referring to his works of fiction instead of doctrinal or apologetic work. In the secular world he is usually known for his fiction.

 

I get nervous when I hear the phrase "doctrine" and "christian fiction" in the same sentence. CS Lewis is a great writer, and doctrine is irrelevant. His works are fiction. Great fiction, yes, but trying to get a doctrine out of his works belittles both the Bible and the works of great writers like CS Lewis.

When we Christians try to scripturalize fiction, we're just as guilty as those who fictionlize scripture.

[ August 22, 2002, 07:55 PM: Message edited by: Johnv ]