“Abba, Father!”, Galatians 4:6

Carl Olson

Carl Olson grew up in a devout Fundamentalist Protestant home in western Montana. After two years of art school, he attended Briercrest Bible College, an Evangelical Bible college in Saskatchewan, Canada, graduating with an associate’s degree in 1991. Carl’s wife, Heather, is a graduate of Multnomah Bible College in Portland, Oregon. They married in 1994 and entered the Catholic Church together in 1997. Their conversion story appears in the book, Surprised By Truth 3.

Carl is the editor of IgnatiusInsight.com and Catholic World Report. He is the co-author, with medievalist Sandra Miesel, of The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code. Known for his knowledge of Evangelical and Fundamentalist beliefs about the end of the world, he has written over two dozen articles about Bible prophecy, the belief in the “Rapture,” and Left Behind books. His recent book, Will Catholics Be “Left Behind”? A Catholic Critique of the Rapture and Today’s Prophecy Preachers is the result of years of research on the topic; it was recognized by the Associated Press as one of the best religious titles of 2003.

In May 2000, Carl graduated from the University of Dallas with a Masters in Theological Studies. For two years, he was the director of catechesis and evangelization for Nativity of the Mother of God, a Byzantine Catholic parish in Springfield, Oregon. From 2002 to 2004 he was the editor of the award-winning Envoy magazine.

Since 2006, he has written the weekly Scripture column, “Opening the Word” for Our Sunday Visitor newspaper. He is also a contributing editor for This Rock magazine. Carl has written articles for Crisis, The Catholic Faith, National Review Online, Catholic Parent, Envoy, This Rock, First Things, Gilbert!, Saint Austin Review, New Covenant, CatholicExchange.com, and Catholic.org. He is a regular contributor to National Catholic Register and Our Sunday Visitor. Carl has been a guest on BBC radio, ABC News Now, FOX-TV, CNBC, “Catholic Answers Live!,” “Kresta in the Afternoon,” “Living His Life Abundantly,” “The Catholic Connection,” “Morning Air,” and EWTN’s “The Journey Home,” “The Abundant Life,” “EWTN Live,” and “Threshold of Hope.” He has also guested on numerous local and regional radio programs and gives talks around the United States.

He is also author of the Study Guide for Fr. Robert Barron’s acclaimed video series, “Catholicism”, produced by the Word on Fire apostolate. In January 2012, he began writing a regular apologetics column for The Catholic Answermagazine, published by Our Sunday Visitor.

Carl and Heather have three children. In his spare time, Carl enjoys recreation with his family, collecting music, reading, playing tennis, drinking coffee, and singing Swedish love ballads in a sweet falsetto (just kidding!).

For more about Carl you can also follow him on Twitter @carleolson.