Two gay dads fathered the Antichrist in a test-tube by splicing their DNA together – at least in the strange and twisted world of fundamentalist Christian fiction - and there's even a Kiwi connection. Authors Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins are the authors of the Left Behind series of novels, in which pilot Rayford Steele organises a ragtag troupe to defeat Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia, who rules the world. In their new prequel book The Rising, we find out where Carpathia and his rival came from. Pilot Rayford is born naturally and brought up in a moral household, plays sports, falls in love with the local cheerleader, and comes from a family who works hard to make ends meet. Meanwhile, Carpathia is given "every conceivable physical, political and educational advantage" by his evil gay dads and a consortium of "international bankers" who created him. The LA Times described Carpathia in their review of The Rising as "embodying everything stereotypically liberal", clearly suggesting that in the world of fundamentalists, the anti-Christ will turn out to be the left-wing son of a gay couple. Believe it or not, there's even a Kiwi connection here – budding fundamentalists have already been introduced to the works of Tim Lahaye courtesy of the Maxim Institute, who provide attendees at their Compass Christian youth camp with copies of Lahaye's book Mind Seige, which some reviewers have compared to Mein Kampf.