I’ve been following Fred Clark’s blog, Slacktivist, for a very long time. Back to the Typepad Days, as other long-running Slacktivites might say. Nearly fourteen years now, almost since the very beginning of Fred’s famous deconstruction of the Left Behind books.
I chose Fred Clark to be my first Spotlighted Link, and the first link on my Links page, for three reasons:
- Fred’s Left Behind posts may be the best “What Not To Do” primer for writers on the Internet. The Left Behind series is, as Fred himself says, “Instructively Bad”, and seeing their many flaws dissected (complete with suggestions as to how it could have been done better and even fix-fic in the comments) has aided the development of my own writing a great deal.
- Fred grew up in the White Christian Evangelical subculture, and remains a member to this day, though he is known in that subculture as “controversial” (which, if you were a reader of Fred’s work, you would know means “heretical”). Reading Fred gives you an intimate view into this subculture, with all its traditions and shibboleths. If you’re an American, you may think you know them. You don’t.
- Last but not least, Fred has been a tremendous inspiration to me personally. His compassion and hunger for justice, and his writings on those topics, have given me both desire and directions to be a better person. His post LB: The Rise of the Anti-Huck (a post from his Left Behind critique) is probably the best example I can offer, as he analyzes the greatest moment of Salvation and triumph of love over The Rules in American fiction…and contrasts it with the “heroes” of Left Behind.
Check it out! Before you go, check out my brand new Links page.
By the way, as we say in pretty much every thread on Slacktivist, Fred has a Patreon. Support the artist.
And while you’re at it, consider picking up some of Fred’s books, which collect his blog posts.
There’s
…which discusses his opinions on Creationism (spoiler: not only bad science, but bad religion).
And of course, there’s what you really came for: the two-volume The Anti-Christ Handbook, which collects his columns on the first book of the Left Behind series.
… And, unlike pretty much the rest of the internet, DO read the comments! The commenting community there really is a community. We even have a running prayer list now (h/t to Jim Roberts). There are in-jokes, silliness, world class poe-ing, damn good re-writes of scenes in the LB ‘verse that Fred deconstructs, civil arguments, and friendship.