Play Book Tag discussion

I have no idea whatsoever why 10 people have shelved this as fun and didn't even know it was shelved that when I finally got around to reading this until I took a look for other shelves a few minutes ago.

Now how to rate this book after I have finally got around to reading it? 1.5 rounded up. I've seen all of the films at various times. I have been hesitant because of it's popularity.

There are several factors for this Christian novel, so I'll keep the writing/story separate from the theology with the latter last for those who don't care about that sort of thing, although to be fair this isn't going to work as well as it would if I combined this since characters partly depend on theology.

The writing is mixed. On one hand, the pacing is good, but on the other hand the characters vary from little to no depth, the women having the least depth. There is nothing brilliant about the writing; it's so-so at best. The main attraction seems to be the story and the events that unfold.

Theology, and this will be longer even though I'm not touching all of the problems in this book, is all over the place. I'd like to state first that I actually do believe in a pre-tribulation rapture so any theological disagreements aren't that, but I have no desire to debate this! I'm only mentioning this before I continue.

First off, there is NOTHING in scripture that says all children under a certain age will be raptured including unborn babies. The authors state that they believe it to be true, but there's zero scripture supporting this; all there is is something for very young children of parents who are saved.

Second, there is nothing to support the idea that the anti-Christ will be from Europe, let alone western Europe. In addition, there is no clear evidence that early Romans were blond, although there is some debate--that should have been left out as it was more political than Biblical! Athough it's not unusual for people to think the UN will/may become the one world government even outside of religious groups, there is no clear indication this will all happen while there still is a UN or even be so western-centric, but it does make a useful organization for a story set in the present time.

Third, it's incorrect to assume that the Hebrew word rosh, head, means Russia because that name comes from the Slavic word for a group of Scandinavian Vikings who conquered part of what is now known as Russia in the 10th century. Russia is a Hellenized form of this word and was not how the country was referred to in the 10th Century. It not only doesn't mean head, it wasn't used back when the Bible prophecies were written.

Fourth, it works well in the story, but it's unclear if clothing will be left behind at the rapture as nothing is stated. I suspect that this idea arises from the empty tomb where the grave wrappings were there, but whether it's to show his resurrection--the first to a new body--or going to happen at the rapture is just a guess. It makes for a great story, though, and is a great visual in the various films which aren't very good (the newer ones are even worse than the first three.)

There are other things, but this is already a long review for me.