September Update
This has been a busy fall, and only now have I had the opportunity to post the September Update. Here’s some of what happened – a month with a good kind of busy!
Professionally:
– In late September I gave a lecture on “Evolutionary Culture/Transformational Festivals” at the Winnipeg Prophecy Conference (Winnipeg, Manitoba). While the subject is little known in Christian circles, it does represent an important turning point in Western culture. That is, these events – like Burning Man, Lightning-in-a-Bottle, Sonic Bloom, Lucidity and the Evolve Festival – are celebrations and gatherings that mirror the worldview already held by the masses; humanity is evolving upward, our collective consciousness is expanding, we are realizing our divinity through creativity and the group experience. All is One. If you want to better understand this movement, read the August 2013 edition of Forcing Change.
– Spoke at Good News Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on a Sunday morning. The topic: Fearing God (and yes, “fear” means “fear” – how could it not? – read Isaiah 40 and consider the implications of God’s power compared to Man’s short life).
– Spent some time working on my manuscript, a process that continually challenges myself as I learn, write, edit, re-think, re-edit… save. And then, in hastily closing my word processing software, I realized I had accidentally hit “don’t save” instead of “save”… Noooooo… much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Alas; learn, write, edit, save!
– Radio shows I found myself on: Caravan to Midnight, Spiritual Encounters, and VFTB.
Personally:
– Took one weekend with my wife, daughter and a friend, and drove to Minneapolis to attend the Renaissance Festival and hang out at the Mall of America for an afternoon. For those who don’t know what a Renaissance Festival is, it’s exactly what the name implies; a huge outdoor festival built around the theme of the Renaissance period and the medieval era. Knights in shining armor joust, pirates and jesters wander through the crowds, hovel-styled shops line the streets with vendors of all types, and comedy acts – some with an edgier side – and folk musicians and jugglers and knife throwers take to sixteen stages. Something different!
Taken down by Sponge Bob at the Mall of America.
Hanging out at Ren Fest!
– Because of the Winnipeg Prophecy Conference we were blessed to spend time with many good friends, and make new acquaintances. I’m amazed by the friendships that have developed through Christian conferences, allowing us to connect with people from all over North America and beyond, and how those friendships have solidified and deepened over the years.
– Visiting around campfires, enjoying sushi with family, some wonderful feeds of wild mushrooms, fishing for an evening, exploring Riding Mountain National Park with friends from Iowa, dinning at one of our favourite restaurants – T.R. McKoy’s in Wasagaming – and watching the Northern Lights dance and the trees change to Fall colours…
Books Read:
– Marilyn Johnson, This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All (Harper, 2010).
– Diana Norman, The Stately Ghosts of England (Dorset Press, 1977).
Forcing Change 
Carl: Our minister at Morden Mennonite described the young earth creationists as “johnny-come-lately” of the fundamentalist ilk. I thought that until the 1800’s Christian scholars and ministers believed in young earth creation! I’m looking for information on this. Would you be able to provide some light on this matter. Thank-you so much for the work you are doing. Blessings, Susan Popkes
Susan: From what I understand, early church leaders and thinkers did not hold an “old earth” view. While most early theologians accepted a literal day, they were not always in agreement over a single interpretation of the Genesis account, arguing over ideas like “instant creation” and allegory versus literalism. But from what I gather, the question over young vs. old – as we understand the debate today – simply wasn’t an issue then. Jumping forward to the Reformation period until the early 1800s: When creeds, confessions and catechisms from that era speak to the creation account and Genesis, they do so with a literal view in mind. But even here I can’t find where the question of young vs. old is wrestled over within these texts. This isn’t to say that debate over creation ages didn’t take place, because some debate did happen within theological circles. Example, Isaac Newton engaged in written discussions regarding questions over the age of creation (while Newton is today noted as a father of modern science, he wrote voluminously on theology). Alas, the tension between creation ages doesn’t really reveal itself until society feels the pull of Darwin’s evolution philosophy, a relatively new development when compared to the history of Christianity. What does all this mean to your pastor’s statement? Simple: If young earth creationism is “johnny-come-lately,” then old earth creationism is even more so.