More religion and psychology of fundamentalist Christians

Earlier today, I pointed out that belief in the Rapture is essentially no different than belief that a flock of aliens will come to snatch true believers away, as some cults like Heaven's Gate believes. Slactivist makes a similiar point, but more profoundly, pointing out that belief in the Rapture is more about the believer's fear of death than about spirituality or God or anything like that.

This section of the book reminded me of the "Sorrow Floats" chapter in John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire -- another story in which the mother and the youngest boy are suddenly lost. Irving's book is deeply affecting as he poignantly shows the impact these losses have on the rest of the family. L&J's book not so much. Yet here we do see the rare acknowledgement from L&J that the practical consequences of a sudden "Rapture" and of a sudden death are really no different. Does it really matter to those left behind whether it's little Egg lost in a plane crash or little Raymie whisked off to heaven like Elijah? Gone is gone.
The "Rapture" idea, ultimately, is a pretty flimsy device for the denial of death. The scripture passages LaHaye cites in support of this idea were written to give believers hope in the face of inevitable death. For LaHaye and his followers, the fear of death overwhelms that hope. Thus "we will not all SLEEP, but we will be CHANGED" is twisted into "we will not ALL sleep, but WE will be changed."

It's telling indeed that LaHaye's reading of a person's grief after losing a family member is so utterly shallow, since it parallels nicely his shallow reading of the Bible.