Radical Islam, militant Christianity, territorial Judaism... Is religion at its best only when feeding off discontent? Or can faith cultivate foresight about a future increasingly defined by technology?

On February 27th, Jay Gary, a Springs-based writer spoke on the long-term future of humanity at Colorado College and the role of faith in building those civilizations.

To download a .pdf copy of his powerpoint slides, click here (800k file). Requires Adode Reader to view.

Mr. Gary presented an overview of how to think about the future of religion, including science fiction futures, religious projections out to the year 2200, and present day trends in spirituality. Then using creative terms, Jay developed four scenarios or futures of religion over the next half century. The slide below lists these four responses to mainstream, modern religion in America or lame "Ducks." Those futures are: Sectarian Roosters, Theocratic Eagles, Concious Hens, or Renaisannce Owls. Small groups then worked on these scenarios to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. 

Jay Gary presented four Alternative Futures to Modern Religion

Mr. Gary concluded the evening by sharing how faith communities can cultivate foresight by drawing upon the insights offered from the field of future studies and use that forward view as leaders in socially constructive ways to mitigate conflict and transform communities.

During his talk, Mr. Gary announced he will host a public evening program this June 12-14 on the political and security risks of Christian zeal directed toward building a Greater Israel. The speaker will Dr. Stephen Sizer from England. The evenings of June 12-13 will be on the theological problems of Christian zionism. The focus of June 14, Saturday evening will be on how Arab Christians are suffering at the hands of American Christians' support of Jewish territorialism. For more information, see news release from Presence Ministries.

To download a .pdf copy of his powerpoint slides, click here (800k file). Requires Adode Reader to view.

Since giving this address, Jay has turned this talk into an essay. Click here to go to the website.

*PDF files require an Adobe® Acrobat® Reader (4.0 and higher), a free plugin (5.6MB) that can be downloaded. Click the button below.

About Jay Gary:
Throughout the '90s, Jay worked as a "millennial consultant" helping communities mark their passage into 21st century. In 1994, he penned The Star of 2000, the first inspirational book on how to mark the millennium in a meaningful way. In 1996, he developed the Journey of the Magi in the Middle East, an epic pilgrimage of peace, from Iraq to Bethlehem. More closer to home, from 1998 to 2001, he was the lead designer of the Pikes Peak Millennial Season, or Springs 2000, our own community's efforts to "honor the past, celebrate the present, and imagine the future." Mr. Gary worships locally at the Chapel of Our Saviour, an Episcopal parish. He has been married for twenty-five years and has a son in college, and a daughter graduating from Cheyenne Mountain High School this Spring. Since 1998, Mr. Gary has been on the board of a professional futurist network that focuses on the future of religion. For more see http://www.jaygary.com/