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Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian minister who wrote more than 85 books, both fiction and non-fiction, including the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-authored with Jerry B. Jenkins. He was a founder of the Council for National Policy, a Conservative Christian advocacy group. LaHaye opposed homosexuality, believing it to be immoral and unbiblical. He was a critic of Roman Catholicism, and a believer in conspiracy theories regarding the Illuminati. Biography Early life Timothy Francis LaHaye was born on April 27, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan, to Frank LaHaye, a Ford auto worker who died in 1936 of a heart attack, and Margaret LaHaye (née Palmer). His father's death had a significant influence on LaHaye, who was only nine years old at the time. He had been inconsolable until the minister at the funeral said, "This is not the end of Frank LaHaye; because he accepted Jesus Christ, the day will come when the Lord will shout from heaven and descend, and the dead in Christ will rise first and then we'll be caught up together to meet him in the air." LaHaye later said that, upon hearing those remarks, "all of a sudden, there was hope in my heart I'd see my father again." LaHaye enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in 1944, at the age of 18, after he finished night school. He served in the European Theater of Operations as a machine gunner aboard a bomber. Then he studied at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1950. LaHaye held the Doctor of Ministry degree from Western Seminary. Ministry He served as a pastor in Pumpkintown, South Carolina, and after that he pastored a congregation in Minneapolis until 1956. After that, the LaHaye family moved to San Diego, California, where he served as pastor of the Scott Memorial Baptist Church (now called Shadow Mountain Community Church) for nearly 25 years. In 1971, he founded Christian Heritage College, now known as San Diego Christian College. In 1972, LaHaye helped establish the Institute for Creation Research in El Cajon, California, along with Henry M. Morris. Political activism LaHaye started numerous groups to promote his views, having become involved in politics at the Christian Voice during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1979, he encouraged Jerry Falwell to found the Moral Majority and sat on its board of directors. LaHaye's wife, Beverly, founded Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian women's activist group. Then in 1981, he left the pulpit to concentrate his time on politics and writing. That year, he helped found the Council for National Policy (CNP), a policy making think tank in which membership is only available through invitation. ABC News called it "the most powerful conservative organization in America you've never heard of". In the 1980s he was criticized by the evangelical community for accepting money from Bo Hi Pak, a longtime Sun Myung Moon operative. He was additionally criticized for joining Moon's Council for Religious Freedom, which was founded to protest Moon's 1984 imprisonment. In 1996, LaHaye's wife spoke at an event sponsored by Moon. In the 1980s, LaHaye founded the American Coalition for Traditional Values and the Coalition for Religious Freedom. He founded the Pre-Tribulation Research Center along with Thomas Ice in 1998. The center is dedicated to producing material that supports a dispensationalist, pre-tribulation interpretation of the Bible. He and his wife had connections to the John Birch Society, a conservative, anti-communist group. LaHaye also took more direct roles in presidential politics. He supported Ronald Reagan's elections as United States president. He was a co-chairman of Jack Kemp's 1988 presidential bid but was removed from the campaign after four days when his anti-Catholic views became known. LaHaye played a significant role in getting the Religious Right to support George W. Bush for the presidency in 2000. In 2007, he endorsed Mike Huckabee during the primaries and served as his spiritual advisor. Left Behind LaHaye is best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction that depicts the Earth after the pretribulation rapture which Premillennial Dispensationalists believe the Bible states, multiple times, will occur. The books were LaHaye's idea, though Jerry B. Jenkins, a former sportswriter with numerous other works of fiction to his name, wrote the books from LaHaye's notes. The series, which started in 1995 with the first novel, includes 12 titles in the adult series, as well as juvenile novels, audio books, devotionals, and graphic novels. The books have been very popular, with total sales surpassing 65 million copies as of July 2016. Seven titles in the adult series have reached No. 1 on the bestseller lists for The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly. Jerry Falwell said about the first book in the series: "In terms of its impact on Christianity, it's probably greater than that of any other book in modern times, outside the Bible." The best-selling series has been compared to the equally popular works of Tom Clancy and Stephen King: "the plotting is brisk and the characterizations Manichean. People disappear and things blow up." LaHaye indicates that the idea for the series came to him one day circa 1994, while he was sitting on an airplane and observed a married pilot flirting with a flight attendant. He wondered what would befall the pilot if the Rapture happened at that moment. The first book in the series opens with a similar scene. He sold the movie rights for the Left Behind series and later stated he regretted that decision, because the films turned out to be "church-basement videos", rather than "a big-budget blockbuster" that he had hoped for. Later activities In 2001, LaHaye co-hosted with Dave Breese the prophecy television program The King Is Coming. In 2001, LaHaye gave $4.5 million to Liberty University to build a new student center, which opened in January 2002 and was named after LaHaye. He also served as its president. He provided funds for the LaHaye Ice Center on the campus of Liberty University, which opened in January 2006. LaHaye's book The Rapture was released on June 6, 2006, in order to capitalize on a 6-6-6 connection. Personal life and death Tim LaHaye married activist and fellow author Beverly Ratcliffe in 1947 while attending Bob Jones University. In July 2016, the LaHayes celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary. They had four children and nine grandchildren, and lived in the Los Angeles area. The LaHayes owned a condo in Rancho Mirage, California. LaHaye died on July 25, 2016, in a hospital in San Diego, California, after suffering from a stroke, aged 90. In addition to his wife, Beverly, he was survived by four children, nine grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, a brother (Richard LaHaye), and a sister. His funeral service took place at Shado.... Discover the Tim Lahaye popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Tim Lahaye books.