If Ayn Rand Wrote the Left Behind Novels

Last updated on: October 18, 2012 at 8:05 am by Joe Carter

If Ayn Rand Wrote the Left Behind Novels 2012-10-18T08:05:35+00:00 Joe Carter

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In his synopsis and review of the new film Atlas Shrugged: Part II, Anthony Sacramone finds the key to understanding Ayn Rand’s creation:

As things go from bad to worse, people begin vanishing. Not just any people. The Elect. First there was the aforementioned Wyatt. Then a brilliant concert pianist. Then a partner of Rearden’s, Ken Dannager, a coal king. Then the charismatic copper-mine magnate Francisco D’Anconia (played with enormous zest by Esai Morales) but not before his mines are literally blown and rendered useless. Finally, a young scientist who has turned from the dark side, government work, to Dagny’s employ, Quentin Daniels (Dietrich Bader). His task was to see if he could do something with a buried treasure Dagny has unearthed: a gizmo that can theoretically produce limitless energy. Just as a breakthrough is imminent, Daniels, too, says goodbye, and disappears literally into the sky.

And then it dawned on me. This film. What it is. What the book is. It’s the libertarian Left Behind. Get this: select people are simply disappearing, into the ether, as it were. And the rest of the world is left staggering under the burden of their absence. All that they contributed, including their business concerns, vanish with them, deliberately destroyed.

“Who is John Galt?” is not a tired expression of helplessness or despair — it’s a prayer. And John Galt…is Jesus/God. With the sound of a trump, actually a crash, he emerges from the heavens and pulls a weary Dagny from the wreckage of her life—a wreckage that is the direct result of the Head of State, the Antichrist—and beckons her to a new earth.

“We won’t let the world disappear,” Rearden promises Dagny at one point. Of course not. There’s the thousand-year reign coming.

Movies

Previous Post

October 18, 2012

Why Angelology Matters

Next Post

October 18, 2012 Why Presidential Debates Make Us Dumber

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anecdotes Art Biblical Studies Bioethics Books Christianity Conservatism Economics Education Evangelicalism Family History Language Arts Military Misc. Moral Philosophy Movies Music Oddities Philosophy Poetry Politics Pop Culture Quotes Science Self-Improvement Shameless Self-Promotion Signs of the Times Technology Television Theology Thirty Three Things Videos Virtues Worldviews

Select a Month December 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What animal spoke to Balaam?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A donkey A lamb A lion A dove