Carl Olson
I grew up in a devout Fundamentalist Protestant home in western Montana. Raised by wonderful and godly parents, I developed an early love for reading, writing, and drawing. My father was a founding elder in a small Bible chapel, and we would attend services there three or four times a week. In junior high I had some poetry published, but my first love was drawing and painting. After high school, I attended art school for a couple of years, then attended Briercrest Bible College (BBC), an Evangelical Protestant college in Saskatchewan, Canada, graduating with an associate’s degree in 1991. At BBC, my interests in art, literature, and apologetics developed even further, and I was exposed to Catholic and Anglican theology and thought for the first time, as well as other Protestant traditions.
In 1991 I moved to Portland, Oregon, to work in graphic design and advertising. Shortly thereafter, I met Heather, who was attending Multnomah Bible College; we married in 1994. It was at this time that I began to seriously study the history and teachings of the Catholic Church, embarking on a journey that eventually led us to enter tthe Catholic Church together in 1997. Our story appeared in the June 1998 issue of This Rock ("Joining the Unsaved"), and in Surprised By Truth 3 (Sophia Press, 2002).
While working as creative director for a department store chain, I was able to pursue graduate studies, and in May 2000 I received a Masters in Theological Studies from the University of Dallas through the Institute for Pastoral and Religious studies program. Prior to joining the staff at Envoy, I was the director of catechesis and evangelization (2000-02) for Nativity of the Mother of God, a Byzantine Catholic parish in Springfield, Oregon. I have had the good fortune of writing articles for Envoy, This Rock, The Catholic Faith, Catholic Parent, Gilbert!, First Things, Saint Austin Review, New Covenant, National Catholic Register, and CatholicExchange.com. I have also been a guest on a number of radio and television shows.
Over the past few years I have written several articles about the Left Behind books and the Fundamentalist belief in the "Rapture." My book critiquing the Left Behind phenomenon and premillennial dispensationalism, titled Will Catholics Be Left Behind? A Catholic Critique of the Rapture and Today's Prophecy Preachers, is now available from Ignatius Press. It has been described as "extraordinary" by novelist Michael O'Brien, and "wonderful" by EWTN's Fr. Mitch Pacwa.
Heather and I have one daughter, Felicity, who we adopted in December 2000. We live in Eugene, Oregon, which is known for its beautiful scenery, hippies, anarchist riots, great food and beer, and political and social extremes.
