In the modern quest for identity, there is no better place to turn than premiere Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor. In this video, Dr. Gordon Carkner, campus chaplain with graduate students and faculty at UBC Vancouver, discusses moral frameworks and offers fresh language and solutions for the modern identity crisis of Millennials. Spirituality-Morality-Identity are interwoven in this exploration of a mature (thick) identity.
"What should we believe about faith and reason whatever our starting point or prejudgments? It is perhaps a life-long quest to understand the nuances of this faith-reason, knowledge-religion relationship. Nothing is more important for balance in our lives and our thinking inside and outside the university."
Some elements in modern culture have worked to repress/restrict our language usage--in particular what Charles Taylor calls the 'meta-biological', the language of significance. Restricted language means necessarily limited awareness/thinking capacity. This webinar is not about a lost civilization discovered by an anthropologist, but similar in some ways.
Some allege that the resurrection of Jesus was a hoax. We must decide whether there is a more plausible alternative than an actual physical, bodily resurrection. Much hangs on the answer.
Many people seem to be hungry for fresh perspectives on the current Western cultural ethos. Dr. Gordon E. Carkner argues that we need to urgently rethink our view of the 'secular'.
In this video, he reveals something quite astonishing in the work of eminent Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor.
What are the theological and philosophical roots or drivers of hospitality? From his research on the self in late modernity, Dr. Carkner delves into this question.
In this webinar, Dr. Gordon Carkner analyses what is at stake in a radical individualist stance. He explores the social and personal consequences of this ideology that grips our society. His trajectory leads into examining the alternative paradigm of the individual in community. He draws on the brilliant insights of philosophers, sociologists, psychologists and theologians who are aware of this major cultural ethos in the West.
Dr. Gordon E. Carkner, a Meta-Educator with postgraduate students at UBC Vancouver, examines some of the critical parameters of the quest for truth. He offers some lucid clarifications in a day when many have given up on truth. From his broad experience in campus dialogue with creative interlocutors from around the world, he shows that truth is definitely worth fighting for: it is important and powerful for human flourishing. We should never, never give up on truth. He also shapes a discussion of how Christian faith, reason and the quest for truth is compatible.
Incarnational Spirituality Series: A New Horizon. Read part one, and find links to the rest of this blog series by Dr. Gordon E. Carkner.
Christian freedom flourishes within a trinitarian horizon. Trinitarian divine goodness proves to be a fruitful plausibility structure within which to think about human freedom, community and the moral self. Trinitarian goodness-freedom takes us to a higher dimension of the self. It reveals new possibilities for identity, discovery, and personal transformation within divine communion and human community. It is in the life of the God-man, Jesus, that we can visualize this energizing and life-giving dynamic.
Dr. Gordon E. Carkner leads an inspiring discussion on this key universal question. He claims that our worldview is critical to the understanding of suffering and how it operates in our lives. The presentation also moves on a trajectory of hope for finding meaning in suffering, and discovering how it can shape us for the better. Does suffering stifle or support belief in a Good God? Dr. Carkner points out a fatal flaw in the traditional argument marshalled by atheists against God. He offers significant resources to probe this topic in much more depth.
Dr. Gordon E. Carkner opens this sensitive discussion of Millennial angst from a compassionate stance. As a father of a Millennial and a UBC campus support person with Graduate Christian Union and the Graduate & Faculty Christian Forum, he maps some of the concerns weighing down this generation. He also points to some hopeful ways forward and resources that give wise guidance. Bottom Line: Millennials need to reconnect with the moral and the transcendent to build a resilient, thick identity. Great discussion tool for recent university graduates and their parents.
Gnosticism, both historically and presently, offers a starkly alternative religion to Christianity and a constant temptation that appeals to the individual ego. It offers a religion “under our control, and on our terms.” However, we find some elements of the Gnostic outlook within the Christian community itself, seeking to shape its future.
Pre-eminent McGill University Emeritus Philosopher Charles Taylor is an iconic international scholar in the field of the late modern self. Millennials are currently facing a significant existential identity struggle and Taylor’s work can help.
God’s word of love becomes flesh in us, is embodied in us, is enacted through us and in doing so, trust is forged between word spoken and the reality of which it speaks, between the words we speak and transcendent realities to which we point.
Dear God, Buddha, Allah, Plato, Krishna, Beings from other planets, Jesus, Confucius, Zeus, Ra, the Universe, the Great Principle, etc.
Is anyone out there? Pluralism is confusing. Could you get together, have a chat and send one representative to explain all this? So many worldviews on offer; so many games in town. How do I choose? How can I trust any of you? How do I know what’s true and bogus, aside from all the shouting, the rituals, images, many paths to peace and funny hats?