Faytene Kryskow, the noted Canadian Christian youth activist, was interviewed on the national Christian TV program 100 Huntley St. this past week. The piece on her finished the Thursday Oct. 1, 2009 broadcast.
Kryskow, who is well known for her dominionist views and her tendency to militaristic mindsets, was on her best behavior on the broadcast. She sounded quite moderate. But if you recall an earlier post that tried to give some background on Kryskow as well as reporting on the recent The Cry rally in Vancouver, there’s lots of evidence that she is not always as moderate as she acted on the program.
It reminds me of the Longfellow poem: “When she was good/She was very good indeed,/But when she was bad she was horrid.” On the recent TV broadcast, Kryskow was trying to be very good indeed.
The host for the day was the former regular host of 100 Huntley St., David Mainse, who teased the Kryskow interview at the beginning of the show. “She written a book, called Markedwhich is, I think the most open, the most honest, tell it like it is book that I have read…” said Mr. Mainse. He also referred to the recent Cry in Vancouver “which was an answer, if you will” to Woodstock 40 years ago.
I wonder if Mr. Mainse particularly liked one section of Marked. When you title the opening chapter “Rule, Subdue and Make Disciples of Nations”, Kryskow’s tendency to thinking that Christians must seek to dominate seems pretty clear.
She writes (on pages 31-32)
….There is something inherent in the nature of God that loves growth and wants to take over! Recently a preacher friend of mine, Banning Liebscher, said something that I wholeheartedly believe in. He said, ‘The new breed of revivalists that God is raising up has a “take over” mentality. They are convinced that God has called them to take over the world.’ If we really believe that we are created in His image, this should not be a surprising statement,. Actually, it resonates deeply in my spirit….There is one clincher, however. The clincher is that He has chosen to execute the expansion of His Kingdom through his people. Whether or not His take-over plan advances in fullness depends on our obedient response to the command: multiply!
I wonder if he thought to ask her about this when during the interview, Kryskow, said that she merely wanted to “influence” Canada.
The interview was in the last segment of the program. Mr. Mainse began by introducing Kryskow.
Faytene Kryskow, is, uh, well I kind of look at her as a Deborah or an Esther, you know those mighty women that you read about in the ancient scripture,
The Cry represents a “new way of living” for young people.
…but here’s a woman with a prophetic edge and she may be, as a Canadian, I shouldn’t use the language, ‘invading’ Parliament Hill—she belongs there. But she’s there impacting huge numbers of the members of Parliament…
Perhaps “invade” is the right work given what’s reported above and in the earlier post.
She came over to sit down on the set couch and Mainse said something odd. “Faytene, you’ve gotta do a pirouette…” which led her to say “Oh, I don’t know…” and do one. (Perhaps what anyone in her position might think is “Put me on national TV? I’ll paint myself orange if you ask…”)
Mainse began by asking about the origins of The Cry. Kryskow explained the background and that the recent on in Vancouver was the last of six in about a year and a half. A participant at the Cry was Carrier Sekani chief Linda Prince, which led David Mainse to muse about native faith.
Mainse: “There is a spirituality amongst the native peoples that we need to learn from..”
Kryskow: “That’s right…”
Mainse: “They seem to be touch with their spirits more readily…”
It’s always troubling to see people praised or criticized on a racial basis. What would also troubling is that they weren’t careful to specify that they meant natives and Christian spirituality. Assuming that is what they meant, of course.
Mainse then introduced a brief highlight clip from The Cry Vancouver in the summer. When it finished, he was a little choked up, as the clip was heavily into the sections of the day that dealt with repentance from sexual sin and abortion. The Cry, he said, was a cry for God to “have mercy on us”.
Kryskow said.
…We come with a discernment that we have failed, whether it is in the area of sexual immorality, not valuing children or the next generation, or whatever it might be. We come in repentance on behalf of our nation, on behalf of our generations—because every generation has stuff that they need to repent of—We come also with a revelation that he is merciful, and that He is kind and that He is faithful to cleanse us….If we will just humble ourselves and pray and turn back to Him with wholeness of heart, not just rending our garments, but really rending our hearts….[God will] not only shift our hearts but literally move our nation.
What does Kryskow mean by this?
Well, she says, since the advent of The Cry, youth alcohol abuse has “plummeted”. Youth sexual immorality has “begun to plummet”.
Oh, and we can thank The Cry Vancouver, for the passage of Bill C-268 last week. A project of Tory MP Joy Smith, it provides for minimum sentences for whoever sexually traffics a minor. “We spent a significant amount of time praying for this bill,” Kryskow said.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that this bill has passed. But which politician, in their right mind, is going to vote against this legislation? Perhaps the reality of avoiding political suicide, in addition to prayer, helped with this too.
They then turned to the book Marked, which Mainse says that he got at the end of August (hmm, shortly after The Cry Vancouver). He made sure to ask Kryskow the address of her website, so that viewers could order the book.
“You need to get Faytene’s book Marked,” Mainse said. “I have never seen such a—it’s blunt, it’s honest, it’s brutally honest…”
As Marked is partly autobiographical, this led Mainse to ask about Kryskow’s background, first with a World Vision subsidiary in Vancouver and then as a missionary in Liberia.
Kryskow said that the Lord said to her, in Liberia, “Who’s willing to go to Canada and who is going to contend for your own generation in Canada?” So, she decided to return and lead “a movement of prayer and activism in Canada.”
One might be tempted to ask “Why her?” Weren’t there already young Canadians that the Lord could have used? What about what they were doing? Or is Faytene specially unique and gifted?
She went on to briefly cite some of her personal struggles, which are briefly alluded to in Marked, before she set out to lead “a rag tag group of young people” to put on a show in that old barn!
Er, no, to do the work of The Cry. But, her language might perhaps be designed to make you think of the spunky kids in the old Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney movies. Gee willikers, Faytene, do you think we can really do it?
Just before she alluded to putting on a show, as it were, she had alluded to how clueless she was about politics a few years ago.
I didn’t even vote before the 2006 election. True confession. I didn’t even know what a Senator was. I thought it was a hockey team…I had to look up what the difference between a MP and an MLA was. I didn’t even know…
Are there young people that clueless? I leave it up to you.
This might raise an interesting point. We have a lady who supposedly knew so little about politics and history and who now says and writes (as documented in the earlier post on The Cry Vancouver) that she expects to be in the forefront of the young Christians who take over Canada for the Lord. Is it wise to give so much influence to someone who knew so little?
This rag tag group she said, would soon “begin to do the things He’s called us to do to influence our world.”
Note that word, “influence”.
Interesting choice, as you’ll remember from The Cry and her books, Kryskow wants not only to “influence” but to bring the world under the domination of Jesus Christ before He comes back to Earth. But if you say “have dominion” for example, on national television, you risk waking the secular media up. Let sleeping dogs lie. Who wants to rouse them? Soft pedal what you believe a bit.
(But, we could ask, is Kryskow rethinking her dominionist language? Perhaps, but I would like to see more concrete evidence of this. But probably, she is very conscious of how she might sound on national TV.)
Kryskow might be taking a Gnostic type of approach here. Not in going into heresy, but in setting up various levels of knowledge. As you are brought deeper into her way of thinking, then it becomes safer to bring in the dominionist language and actions. You learn the “code words” as you agree more and more with her point of view. If you meet Kryskow for the first time on this broadcast, she is probably going to try to find points of agreement and non-controversy.
She was then asked to directly address viewers for the last moments of the segment.
…Canada, I want to encourage you to live as though it was your last opportunity to give everything. You know, the Bible says that no one knows the day or the hour of the closure of this thing we call life.
She misquotes the Bible here. “no one knows the day or the hour” alludes to not knowing the time of Christ’s return. You can make the same point by quoting the Bible correctly, though, so why make it refer, wrongly, to your death? She’s free not to believe in a soon return of Christ—Christians do disagree on that—but why change what the Bible says?
I want to encourage you to give everything. If there is anything in your life that you would change right now if you knew that this was the last day that you had—what’s stopping you? Give everything for the sake of eternity, for the sake of God. If you don’t know God, I want to encourage you to seek Him. You will find Him…
This is a very fine sentiment about making things right with God before it is too late.
But, you could also hear it as a request to give money before it is too late for you. Or 100 Huntley Street. Or Faytene’s own ministry once she runs out of money from purportedly selling her house.
Given that Mainse added Kryskow’s website address in saying goodbye, I think that both meanings could be in play.
All in all, Kryskow’s appearance did reinforce that she is doing and saying some laudable things. Yet anyone wanting to support or help her should do extra research or study of all of what she says, writes and does, lest they face unpleasant surprises. The once-over-lightly approach as shown on 100 Huntley St. should only be a start.