When a Heart is Really Alive: George MacDonald and the Prophetic Imagination Wade Center 2024-10-22 | When a Heart is Really Alive: George MacDonald and the Prophetic Imagination
Wonders of the Wade w/ Elise Peterson and Chloe DuBois Wade Center 2023-12-29 | From C.S. Lewis's childhood wardrobe, to Tolkien's desk, to countless unpublished letters and manuscripts, The Marion E. Wade Center is full of many wonderful things. To celebrate the January 2024 launch of our new "Wonders of the Wade" video series on YouTube, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing, along with Producer Aaron Hill, sit down with Chloe DuBois and Elise Peterson, two student workers at the Wade, to discuss some of our most amazing finds and wonderful discoveries.
“Dreaming in the Margins: Tolkien’s Engagements with The Battle of Maldon with Benjamin Weber Wade Center 2023-12-21 | Benjamin Weber will discuss J.R.R. Tolkien’s recently-released translation of the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon with reference to both Tolkien’s fiction and scholarship on Old English literature.Respondent: Jim BeitlerCo-sponsored by the Old English Reading Group, Wheaton College Tolkien Society, Wheaton College English Department, and the Marion E. Wade Center.
Truth, Story, and Pattern: Keys to Appreciating the Apologetic Contribution of Dorothy L. Sayers Wade Center 2023-12-21 | This lecture by Amy Orr-Ewing will examine a framework for understanding the fundamental coherence of Dorothy L. Sayers's work across the various genres that she deployed and will consider her impact and contribution as a public Christian.
Hansen Lecture #3 - The Way of Dante: Paradiso: The Problem of Glory Wade Center 2023-12-21 | Our three authors were keenly aware of the classic philosophical problems of pain and evil. But as they read the final canticle of The Divine Comedy, Paradiso, they encountered another problem, an unexpected one—the problem of glory. The problem had two sides. First, Williams, Sayers, and Lewis were among the most attentive readers of their generation to the aesthetic problems that Dante faced in attempting to use earthly language to describe the society of the Blessed, the angelic host, and the Trinity itself. How, they wondered with Dante, does a poet do justice to heavenly glory? But our authors, Lewis especially, were also troubled by a related second question, this one ethical in nature: how are we to respond to fellow creatures whose true, immortal selves elude even Dante’s poetic talents? Richard Hughes Gibson explores this question in the third and final lecture.Respondent: David Hooker
Hansen Lecture #2 - The Way of Dante: Inferno: Purgatorio: The Ascent of Love Wade Center 2023-12-21 | As Sayers observed in 1955, Dante has for centuries suffered from a frustratingly persistent popular “superstition”: that he is the sadistic “Poet of Hell.” This second lecture by Richard Hughes Gibson will examine Williams’s, Sayers’s, and Lewis’s closely related efforts to correct this misperception. For our three writers, Dante was, first and foremost, a love poet, and all three (though Williams most passionately) understood love to be the principal concern of the entire Divine Comedy. Yet Purgatorio nonetheless stood out to all three for the maturity of Dante’s meditation on human love, particularly his sensitivity to how love can go awry and be put back on track. Lecture 2 will thus show how Purgatorio served for our three authors as a series of love lessons, and thereby a guide to virtuous living in the world.Respondent: Nicole Mazzarella
Hansen Lecture #1 - The Way of Dante: Inferno: Hell Outside Your Front Door Wade Center 2023-12-20 | In 1943, Charles Williams published The Figure of Beatrice: A Study in Dante, which spurred his friend Dorothy L. Sayers to give Dante another try. Sayers was immediately captivated by The Divine Comedy, a passion that she soon discovered C.S. Lewis shared. In this first lecture by Richard Hughes Gibson, we will join Williams, Sayers, and Lewis as they descend into Dante’s Hell in order to understand the psychology of sin in its myriad forms, and we will trace, in turn, the impact of those infernal researches on their subsequent writings, particularly Sayers’s efforts to show that Dante’s taxonomy of sin illuminated postwar English society.Respondent: Jeremy Botts
Beowulf and Tolkien w/ Dr. Ben Weber – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-12-02 | J.R.R. Tolkien loved Beowulf, as evidenced by his landmark lecture, “The Monsters and the Critics,” his posthumously published prose translation (released in 2014), and his inclusion of Anglo-Saxon themes and words throughout The Lord of the Rings. In this week’s episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Dr. Ben Weber, Associate Professor of English at Wheaton College and specialist in Medieval literature to discuss the significance of Beowulf itself as literature, Tolkien’s fascination with the poem, as well as how reading this Old English heroic poem can help modern minds grapple with death and forces of chaos beyond our control.
The Major and the Missionary by Dr. Diana Glyer – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-11-04 | Archived at the Wade Center are a set of letters between Warren Lewis and a missionary named Blanche Biggs. After the death of his brother, C.S. Lewis, Warren received a letter out of the blue from Blanche, who was serving as a missionary in Papua New Guinea. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Diana Glyer to discuss her new book The Major and the Missionary, which collects and examines this set of letters that reveal not only a new side of Warren but the deep and intimate friendship he fostered with Blanche. You can order a copy of Diana's book now over at the Rabbit Room.
Philip Yancey, Undone – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-09-30 | The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives, industries, and even spirituality across the globe. In this week's episode, critically acclaimed author Philip Yancey sits down with Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing to discuss his new book called "Undone." Published by our close friends over at The Rabbit Room, Yancey's book "renders 17th century poet John Donne's meditations on suffering into modern English, revealing that Donne's world of the plague was not so very different from our own." Donne was a significant influence on C.S. Lewis, especially his views and writings on suffering and his book "The Problem of Pain." This is a conversation you don't want to miss! And we encourage you to grab a copy of Yancey's book.
Tolkiens Faith and the Formation of Middle-earth with Holly Ordway Wade Center 2023-09-27 | Tolkien declared, “I am a Christian (which can be deduced from my stories).” His writings were not allegories, so how, then, were his faith and his fiction related? Ordway explores this question biographically, looking at some of the ways that Tolkien’s dramatic life story, including his being raised by a Catholic priest at the Birmingham Oratory, and his experiences in the Great War, shaped his faith and found their way – in a subtle and complex manner – into his writings. This event was part of a book launch for "Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography" by Holly Ordway.Part of the Stephen & Marjorie Mead Endowment for Spiritual Formation. Co-sponsored by the Marion E. Wade Center and Wheaton College Tolkien Society. This lecture took place at the Marion E. Wade Center on September 26, 2023.Wade Center call number: JRRT-Y / VR-34
A Hard-Won Faith: Tolkiens Spiritual Journey with Holly Ordway Wade Center 2023-09-27 | Tolkien is well known as a Christian, but what is less well known is that the story of his spiritual development reveals a dramatic tale of a hard-won faith, involving sorrow and suffering as well as joys and consolations. A devout Catholic, Tolkien also had a deep spiritual friendship with the Anglican C.S. Lewis. Both of these aspects of Tolkien’s faith provide insight into how Christians today can grow in their own spiritual lives. This event was part of a book launch for "Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography" by Holly Ordway.Part of the Stephen & Marjorie Mead Endowment for Spiritual Formation. This lecture took place at the Marion E. Wade Center on September 25, 2023.Wade Center call number: JRRT-Y / VR-33
C.S. Lewis on War and Enemy Love Wade Center 2023-09-11 | Drawing from their current book project, THE ODIOUS NECESSITY: C.S. LEWIS ON WAR AND WARRIOR VIRTUE, Marc LiVecche and Eric Patterson speak on Lewis and his reflection on the nature of war, chivalry, the chivalric ideal of the just warrior, and enemy love. After spending some time in Narnia and other Lewisian locales, they examine whether Lewis's ideal of the just warrior is actually possible in combat.Marc LiVecche (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is the McDonald Distinguished Scholar on Ethics, War, and Public Life for PROVIDENCE: A JOURNAL OF CHRISTIANITY & AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY. He is also a non-resident research scholar at the U.S. Naval War College, in the College of Leadership and Ethics.Eric Patterson (Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara) is President of the Religious Freedom Institute in Washington, DC and scholar-at-large at Regent University. He has served as a White House Fellow assigned to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, as an Air National Guard commander for over twenty years, and twice worked at the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.This event was held at the Wade Center's Bakke Auditorium on September 7, 2023.Wade Center Call Number: CSL-Y / VR-164
Manalive by G.K. Chesterton – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-09-02 | In Orthodoxy (1908), G.K. Chesterton shares his idea to write a romance in which an Englishman travels around the world and sets foot on a foreign land only to discover that he returned home. "How can we contrive to be astonished at the world and yet at home in it?" Published only four years later in 1912, Manalive is that story. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss Chesterton's novel about Innocence Smith, the man who breaks all the conventions but none of the commandments.
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-07-29 | Only G.K. Chesterton could write a detective novel about undercover poet cops bravely battling anarchists as a way of explaining the problem of evil and the revelation of God in nature. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to unpack all the twists and turns in The Man Who Was Thursday—a book that is equal parts profound, existential, exhilarating, and perplexing.
A Close Reading of The Lord of the Rings w/ Dr. Corey Olsen – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-07-01 | Today's culture favors convenience and speed. Even finding the time to slow down and read a physical book feels impossible. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Dr. Corey Olsen, the Founder and President of Signum University, to discuss his long-running podcast on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, specifically his close reading of The Lord of the Rings. What can we learn about Tolkien, his writing, and our favorite characters by intentionally slowing down to analyze the words which Tolkien himself so carefully selected and knit together into the fantasy masterpiece we all know and love?
Inside C.S. Lewiss THE ABOLITION OF MAN Wade Center 2023-06-27 | One of C.S. Lewis's most important, yet most difficult to understand, books is THE ABOLITION OF MAN. This presentation by Joel Heck places the book in context, describes its importance, provides an overview and summary of the book, explains why more people should read it, and offers a few tips on how to teach the book. Dr. Joel Heck serves Redeemer Lutheran Church as Assisting Pastor, having taught Old and New Testament and the life and writings of C.S. Lewis for more than three decades at two Concordia Universities. He and his wife Cheryl reside in Austin, Texas. They have three grown children and three grandchildren.This lecture was given at the Wade Center's Bakke Auditorium on June 19, 2023. Wade call number: CSL-Y / VR-163.
How to Read History or De Descriptione Temporum by C.S. Lewis – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-05-27 | How should we read, interpret, and apply history? How can historical misconceptions doom us to repeat the mistakes of the past? Is everything always getting better, or is it possible for new inventions and new ideas to be retrogressive--to take us a step backward? In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss C.S. Lewis's inaugural lecture at Cambridge University for The Chair of Mediaeval and Renaissance, Literature entitled, "De Descriptione Temporum" or "A Description of the Times." They discuss how, in typical fashion, Lewis didn't waste this opportunity to simply say "thank you" for the promotion. Instead, he laid out his vision of history: how to read ancient literature, how to interpret history, and how the the avoidance of studying dead periods can actually enslave us to the past.
An Experiment in Criticism by C.S. Lewis – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-04-29 | These days everyone is a critic. The internet is filled with—some might say "fueled" by—criticism of movies, books, art, society, everything. Over six decades ago, C.S. Lewis recognized and warned us that the wrong kind of critical posture can turn us not only into cynics but into cultural and ideological puritans. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss Lewis's book on this very topic titled, An Experiment in Criticism (1961). How does Lewis define good criticism? What makes differentiates a good reader from a bad one? And how can we apply the principle of receptivity to not just literature but life?
Virtual Book Launch - Inkling, Historian, Soldier, and Brother: A Life of Warren Hamilton Lewis Wade Center 2023-04-19 | Detailing the life of Warren Hamilton Lewis, author Don W. King gives us new insights into the life and mind of Warren’s famous brother, C.S. Lewis, and also demonstrates how Warren’s experiences provide an illuminating window into the events, personalities, and culture of 20th-century England. Drawing from Warren Lewis’s unpublished diaries, his letters, the memoir he wrote about his family, and other primary materials, this biography is an engaging story of a fascinating life, period of history, and of the warm and loving relationship between Warren and his brother, which lasted throughout their lives.Don W. King is Faculty Fellow and professor of English at Montreat College and the editor of THE COLLECTED POEMS OF C.S. LEWIS.This event was recording on Microsoft Teams, April 18, 2023. Wade call number: CSL-Y - VR-162.
Letters to Children w/ Marjorie Mead – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-03-31 | Long before the internet was invented people wrote letters to C.S. Lewis and he wrote back, sending them meaningful, insightful, and compassionate letters. In this week's episode Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Marjorie Mead, Co-Director of the Wade Center to discuss a book of Letters to Children (1985). Marjorie reveals how the book was conceived, how some of the letters were found, and how Lewis's letters to children can still minister to us today--especially if we've grow up too much like Peter and Susan in The Chronicles of Narnia.
C.S. Lewis and the Sacramental Imagination Wade Center 2023-03-24 | The worldwide interest in Lewis’s Narnia series highlights the positive impact that stories have for many Christians today. British Romantics such as S.T. Coleridge rehabilitated a theological understanding of the imagination, naming it a “repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation.” Lewis draws on Romantic conceptions of imagination and the symbol to indicate the relationship between the material and spiritual in the world. Recovering Lewis’s appeal to Romantic views of knowledge reveals how embodied liturgical acts sustain Christian community.This is the third of three lectures in the 2023 Hansen Lectureship series "C.S. Lewis and the Romantic Imagination," by Jeffrey Barbeau, Professor of Theology at Wheaton College. The Ken and Jean Hansen Lectureship is an annual faculty lecture series named in honor of former Wheaton College trustee Ken Hansen and his wife Jean, and endowed in their memory by son Walter and Darlene Hansen.The faculty respondent is Keith Johnson, Professor of Theology.The lecture took place on March 23, 2023. Wade Center call number: CSL-Y / VR-160.
C.S. LEWIS ON WRITING AND WRITERS: Lecture & Book Signing with David C. Downing Wade Center 2023-03-16 | Wade Co-Director David C. Downing discusses the selection he compiled for the new book: C.S. LEWIS ON WRITING AND WRITERS, on C.S. Lewis's advice and insight on the art of writing. Lewis was one of the most influential Christian writers of the 20th century, so his advice on everything from topic selection to typing is well worth heeding. The lecture was followed by a Q&A.Wade call number: CSL-Y / VR-159
C.S. Lewis and the Anxiety of Memory Wade Center 2023-02-24 | While some Christians distrust the role of subjective experience in matters of faith, the evangelical conversion narrative shaped Romantic literature and remains a hallmark feature of evangelicalism today. Two of Lewis’s most important writings, SURPRISED BY JOY and A GRIEF OBSERVED, reflect the decidedly Romantic turn to life writing as a means of narrating personal experience. Although worried by the “suffocatingly subjective” literary form, Lewis embraces life writing in order to explore his own story, even as he undermines the trustworthiness of memory in the process.This is the second of three lectures in the 2023 Hansen Lectureship series "C.S. Lewis and the Romantic Imagination," by Jeffrey Barbeau, Professor of Theology at Wheaton College. The Ken and Jean Hansen Lectureship is an annual faculty lecture series named in honor of former Wheaton College trustee Ken Hansen and his wife Jean, and endowed in their memory by son Walter and Darlene Hansen.The faculty respondent is Matthew Lundin, Associate Professor of History.The lecture took place on February 23, 2023. Wade Center call number: CSL-Y / VR-158.
The Wonders of Creation w/ Dr. Kristen Page – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-02-24 | The works of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are filled with magical lands, walking trees, and talking animals. They elicit wonder in our hearts not just for fictional places but for the real world around us. In this week's episode Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down to interview Dr. Kristen Page about her recent book The Wonder of Creation: Learning Stewardship from Narnia and Middle-Earth (2023). Stay tuned until the end to learn how you can get a discounted (and signed) copy of Dr. Page's book.
THE MAN BORN TO BE KING Lecture & Book Signing with Kathryn Wehr Wade Center 2023-02-03 | The Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College presented: THE MAN BORN TO BE KING Lecture & Book Signing with Kathryn Wehr on Thursday, February 2, 2023 in the Wade Center's Bakke Auditorium. This event was Sponsored by the Marion E. Wade Center’s Muriel Fuller Endowment for the Imagination and the Arts.Note that the dramatic reading portions of the event by Mark Lewis, Andy Mangin, and others, had to be removed due to copyright restrictions. The readings were from these sections of the plays if you want to read along:Scene 1 - "The Baptism of Jesus" – pp. 101-104Scene 2 - "In the House of Lazarus" – pp. 245-249Scene 3 - "First Trial Before Pilate" – pp. 358-363Scene 4 - "The Road to Calvary" – pp. 382-391Scene 5 - "The Lodging of the Zebedees" – pp. 435-440ABOUT THE BOOK: “From December 1941 until October 1942, the BBC broadcast a series of twelve radio dramas written by Dorothy L. Sayers, presenting numerous episodes in the life and ministry of Jesus.In this new critical and annotated edition, scholar Kathryn Wehr brings fresh insights to the plays, their background, Sayers's creative process, and the ongoing significance of the life of Christ today. Come hear the story of the man who was born to be—and still is—king.” (InterVarsity Press)ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathryn Wehr (PhD, University of St Andrews) is a creative artist and scholar. Her written work has appeared in several journals and publications, including "Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture," "VII: Journal of the Marion E. Wade Center," "The Journal of Inklings Studies," and "Transpositions: Theology, Imagination, and the Arts." She is also the managing editor of "Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture."Wade recording call number: DLS-Y / VR-25
Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2023-01-28 | Even though he constantly reminded readers that he wasn't a theologian or a biblical scholar, C.S. Lewis wrote an entire book on how to read and reflect on the Psalms. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss Lewis's often overlooked and under-read book, Reflections on the Psalms (1958). Lewis deftly covers many of the problems that faithful Christians throughout the ages encounter in the Psalter. Why are so many Psalms violent and vindictive? Why does God expect to be constantly praised? If so much of the NT contrasts Jesus's teaching with the letter of Law, how is it "sweeter than honey?"
C.S. Lewis and the Romantic Heresy Wade Center 2023-01-27 | Dr. Jeffrey Barbeau, Professor of Theology at Wheaton College, discusses how scholars have long contested the extent that Romanticism influenced C.S. Lewis. Even as efforts to build the Lewis Collection at Wheaton College expanded, faculty debated the orthodoxy of Lewis’s reliance on individual experience in his otherwise rational apologetics. A closer look at Romantic notions of imagination, feeling, and subjectivity casts new light on Lewis’s indebtedness to the movement and his famous appeal to religious longing, challenging us to reconsider the role of the personal in discussions of Christian faith today.The faculty respondent is Dr. Sarah Borden, Professor of Philosophy at Wheaton College.This is the first of three lectures in the 2023 Hansen Lectureship series, "C.S. Lewis and the Romantic Imagination." The Ken and Jean Hansen Lectureship is an annual faculty lecture series named in honor of former Wheaton College trustee Ken Hansen and his wife Jean, and endowed in their memory by son Walter and Darlene Hansen.The lecture took place on January 26, 2023. Wade Center call number: CSL-Y / VR-157.Apologies for the sound difficulties with the wireless microphone. We are investigating the problem.
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, Part 2 – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-12-31 | In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to finish unwrapping the many memorable witticisms, penetrating insights, and enchanting metaphors contained within the final chapters of Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. Additionally, this is both our final episode of 2022 and the final episode of our bi-weekly format. In 2023, we will shift to a monthly release schedule with episodes going live on the final Friday of the month. Make sure to check out videos with Crystal and David through our forthcoming Wonders of the Wade series over on our YouTube channel.
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, Part 1 – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-12-16 | Over the last century many Christian apologists have made a name for themselves. At the root of this apologetic tree lies the genius and charm of Gilbert Keith Chesterton and Orthodoxy. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to unwrap the many memorable witticisms, penetrating insights, and enchanting metaphors contained within the first four chapters of this rather dully-named yet incredibly encouraging book which influenced many Christian apologists and communicators such as C.S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers.
A Tribute to Walter M. Hooper, 1931-2020 Wade Center 2022-12-09 | Recorded by the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, on December 7, 2022. Wade call number: CSL-Y / VR-156Participants included (in speaking order): David Downing, James Como, Gregory Lippiatt, Michael Ward, Solomon Schmidt, Richard Platt, Steven Beebe, Joseph Loconte, Eric Wurthmann, Diana Glyer, and Kevin & Amy Offner.See additional tributes to Walter Hooper in VII: JOURNAL OF THE MARION E. WADE CENTER:https://journals.wheaton.edu/index.php/vii/article/view/995
Tolkien and the Green Knight – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-12-02 | Did you know that the archaic language in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight colored J.R.R. Tolkien's prose in The Lord of the Rings? Or that the characters in this medieval, fourteenth century, fairy tale for adults informed and inspired characters and themes in both The Chronicles of Narnia and the Ransom trilogy by C.S. Lewis? In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down to discuss the meaning, symbolism, and application of this tale of fell strokes, of courtly love gone awry, and of Bertilak and Gawain, King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and Camelot.
Wonders of Creation: Learning Stewardship from Narnia and Middle-earth Book Talk and Signing Wade Center 2022-12-01 | In the newest Hansen Series Volume, THE WONDERS OF CREATION (InterVarsity Academic 2022), Dr. Kristen Page explores the beloved fictional landscapes of Narnia and Middle-earth as a means of discovering what we might learn from C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien about the real life landscapes in the world in which we live. Signed copies of the book are available for purchase at the Wade Center.More information: https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/academic-centers/wadecenter/publications/wonders-of-creation/Dr. Kristen Page is the Ruth Kraft Strohschein Distinguished Chair & Professor of Biology at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. This event took place at the Wade Center on November 30, 2022, and is part of the Ken and Jean Hansen Lectureship series: "Creation’s Call: Stewardship Lessons from Middle-earth and Narnia."Wade call number: JRRT-Y / VR-32 and CSL-Y / VR-155.
Cosmos Story: A Synecdoche of Phantastes – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-11-11 | Just when you thought Phantastes couldn't get any more fantastical, George MacDonald slips in two short stories: one in which women with wings, who live on another planet, find babies out in nature, and die from desire; the other in which Cosmo von Wehrstahl, a student in Prague, purchases a magic mirror which contains a beautiful woman. In this follow-up to last week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to explore the meaning of Cosmo's story, the ways in which it is a synecdoche of Anodes' journey in Phantastes, and how it likely inspired the Narnia novels and Ransom trilogy by C.S. Lewis.
Getting into Publishing: A Look into the World of Writing, Editing, & Marketing Wade Center 2022-11-09 | This event took place at the Wade Center on November 8, 2022, and was designed to share the logistics of publishing from an author’s, editor’s, and agent / publicist’s perspective. How does a manuscript get accepted by a publisher? What does an agent do? How does the editing process work? What kind of publicity methods are used to promote books? What are some steps to get into writing or publishing as a career? These questions and more were answered, along with a Q&A time from audience members with the panelists.Link to the publishing resources document recommended by our panelists:tinyurl.com/2f6zytbcThe event was for Wheaton College students, and co-sponsored by the Wheaton College English Department, the Marion E. Wade Center, WhInklings, and the Wheaton College Tolkien Society.Panelists included:• Tim Akers, Author - www.timakers.net• Jenna Jankowski, Associate Editor, Sourcebooks • Eleanor Imbody, Events Assistant, Kaye Publicity - eleanorimbody.comDr. Nicole Mazzarella, Associate Professor of English, Wheaton College, facilitated the event. Laura Schmidt, Wade Center Archivist, provided the introduction.
Phantastes by George MacDonald – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-10-29 | This is the story that started it all—the fairy tale that baptized C.S. Lewis's imagination and inspired countless fantasy novels such as Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss George MacDonald's dreamlike fairy tale for adults, Phantastes. Join us as explore the symbols, dream sequences, the meaning of the Marble Lady, the journey of Anodos, and the interrelated themes of disenchantment, death, sehnsucht, self, pride, and longing.
Tolkien and Allegory w/ Graham Shea – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-10-14 | Tolkien fans, you don't want to miss this episode! As Graham Shea notes, "Critics have long debated whether, and to what degree, J.R.R. Tolkien writes allegorically. Any answer to this question must attempt to reconcile Tolkien’s numerous comments about allegory, which often seem to contradict one another." In this week's episode Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing and Producer Aaron Hill sit down to interview Graham Shea about his recent attempt to resolve the conflict between Tolkien and allegory based on Shea's recently published article in VII. In his article, Shea uses Tolkien's last published fiction, a short story titled Smith of Wooton Major, in an attempt to reconcile his views on allegory.
Christianity and Culture ... and Literature—Christian Reflections, Vol. 2 – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-09-30 | Is there such a thing as Christian literature? How important is originality in literature and culture? Should Christianity embrace or reject culture? In their second discussion of Christian Reflections, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing discuss Lewis's answers to these timeless questions using two dense but powerful essays by C.S. Lewis titled, "Christianity and Literature" and Christianity and Culture."
The Seeing Eye & De Futilitate— Christian Reflections, Vol. 1 – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-09-16 | When Yuri Gagarin returned from mankind's first trip into space, he declared, "I looked and looked and looked, but I didn't see God." In an essay written in 1963, C.S. Lewis retorted, "Those who do not find Him on earth are unlikely to find Him in space." In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with the beloved Dr. Jerry Root to unpack two powerful essays collected and published in Christian Reflections: "De Futilitate and "The Seeing Eye." They discuss the ways in which knowing anything and a sense that life is futile are actually proof that we live in a moral universe created by a knowable God.
Bulverism & Is Theism Important?—God in the Dock, Vol. 3 – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-09-02 | For over a decade, C.S. Lewis and Stella Aldwinckle modeled how to discuss Christianity, atheism, and belief with civility and grace through the Oxford Socratic Club. Many of Lewis's talks at the club meetings made their way into print, in the form of essays. In part three of the Wade Center's series on God in the Dock (1970), Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing, along with Producer Aaron M. Hill, discuss two of these essays, "Bulverism" and "Is Theism Important?" Together these essays address obstacles to honest discussion, a basic foundation for reason, and the nature of faith.
On the Reading of Old Books—God in the Dock, Vol. 2 – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-08-19 | "Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes." In part two of the Wade Center's series on God in the Dock (1970), Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing discuss three powerful essays published by C.S. Lewis in the 1940s: "On the Reading of Old Books," "Meditation in a Toolshed," and "First and Second Things." While each of these three essays were written to different audiences, Lewis consistently calls out the chronological and cultural snobbery that prevents modern people from acknowledging the timeless truths contained in Christian doctrine.
God in the Dock: Vol. 1, Can You Update the Immutable? – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-08-05 | Between writing best-selling books, C.S. Lewis published hundreds of essays. Many of them were collected and published after Lewis's death as God in the Dock in 1970. Over the next several episodes, the Wade Center Podcast is going to explore Lewis's wonderful insights about the challenges of maintaining and sharing your faith in the modern world. To kick off this series, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sat down with the beloved Dr. Jerry Root to unpack two powerful essays: "Dogma and the Universe" and "Christian Apologetics."
Surprised by George: The Father of Fantasy (Re-Release) – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-07-22 | To tide you over until we return from vacation, enjoy this re-released episode on George MacDonald from the Wade Center archives. Most Inklings fans see George MacDonald through the lens of C.S. Lewis. Others enter MacDonald's novels through diverse doorways. In this week's episode Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss this 19th century Scots author. Why was George MacDonald so important to Lewis? Why is he considered controversial? Are his writings still relevant today?
The Princess, Curdie, and Goblins, Oh My! – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-06-30 | C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle, and Neil Gaiman are praised for penning imaginative worlds and inspiring stories. But did you know that all these writers were inspired by George MacDonald? In particular, they were inspired by two of his fantasy novels written for children called The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal Downing and David C. Downing discuss these mythopoeic stories that, as Colin Manlove notes, use "the imagination to heal the soul."
C.S. Lewiss Greatest Debt—George MacDonald: An Anthology – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-06-24 | "My own debt to [Unspoken Sermons] is almost as great as one man can owe to another." With these words, C.S. Lewis acknowledged the role the George MacDonald's spiritual writings (as well as his novels) played in his own faith journey and theology. In this week's episode Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing, along with Producer Aaron Hill, explore a volume of MacDonald quotes collected and edited by C.S. Lewis called George MacDonald: An Anthology. Explore literary and theological parallels between Lewis and MacDonald, the theological themes that marked MacDonalds life and spiritual writings, and the ongoing relevance of MacDonald's writings for Christians living in the 21st century.
Creed or Chaos: Vol. 2, Essays by Dorothy Sayers on Creeds, Sin, & Christian Maturity – Podcast Ep. Wade Center 2022-06-10 | "It is worse than useless for Christians to talk about the importance of Christian morality, unless they are prepared to take their stand on the fundamentals of Christian theology." Few Christian authors can cut straight to the heart of our problems like Sayers. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing continue to discuss a series of incredibly relevant essays written by Sayers on "The Over Six Deadly Sins," "Strong Meat," and the eponymous "Creed or Chaos."
Creed or Chaos: Vol. 1, Essays by Dorothy L. Sayers on the Importance of Theology – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-05-27 | Words like dogma and theology have for a long time been viewed as "dull" and irrelevant, but in a series of essays written in the late 1930s Dorothy L. Sayers argues quite the opposite: "The Christian faith is the most exciting drama ... and the dogma is the drama." In this week's episode Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing discuss three of Sayers's famous essays—"The Greatest Drama Ever Staged," "The Triumph of Easter," and "The Dogma is the Drama"—compiled in a book titled Creed or Chaos, with an eye toward how they apply to the Church and Christian faith today.
The Dangers of Individualism and Cliques: Lewiss essays, Inner Ring and Membership – Podcast Ep. Wade Center 2022-05-13 | "As long as you are governed by that desire you will never get what you want. ... Until you conquer the fear of being an outsider, an outsider you will remain." In C.S. Lewis's essays—"The Inner Ring" and "Membership"—he unpacks two dangerous social forces that threaten both the church and the morality of Christians: individualism and cliques. This week Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing continue their examination of Lewis's powerful essays and sermons published as The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses in 1948. How does our desire to belong, to be considered meaningful to others, warp and distort not only our heart but our actions. How do they so easily turn good people into "scoundrels?" And what can we do to overcome these temptations?Thumbnail image: Milad Fakurian, unsplash.com/photos/OHc-XS8ZtG8
Lewis as Preacher: Learning in War-Time, The Weight of Glory, and Transposition – Podcast Ep. Wade Center 2022-05-13 | "We always have to answer the question: How can you be so frivolous and selfish to think of anything by the salvation of human souls?" During World War II, C.S. Lewis preached three sermons which were eventually packaged and published along with six others in 1949 as The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing discuss the spiritual significance and application of "The Weight of Glory," "Learning in War-Time," and "Transpositions," as well as how they apply to our war-plagued world today.Thumbnail Image: "St. Mary the Virgin Church" in Oxford where Lewis originally preached "The Weight of Glory" sermon. Photographer: Laura Schmidt.
Finding God in the Darkness: Spiritual Formation through Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul Wade Center 2022-04-21 | Ruth Haley Barton, Transforming Center Founder and Board Chair, discusses ways that spiritual formation practices, informed by insights from the Wade Center authors, help address the challenges of depression among Christians as well as distinguish between depression and dark night of the soul. This is the inaugural lecture for The Stephen & Marjorie Mead Endowment for Spiritual Formation. The talk was presented at the Wade Center's Bakke Auditorium on April 20, 2022. Wade Center call number: CSL-Y / VR-154. About Dr. Ruth Haley Barton, Transforming Center Founder and Board Chair: Dr. Barton has been a student, practitioner, and thought leader in the area of Christian spirituality and formation for over 20 years. When she founded the Transforming Center with a few like-minded souls in December of 2002 it was based purely on a shared desire to experience deeper levels of transformation in Christ’s presence so they could discern and do the will of God. What has happened since then surprises her every day! A seasoned spiritual director, teacher, and retreat leader, Barton was trained at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and the Loyola University Chicago Institute for Pastoral Studies and holds a Doctor of Divinity from Northern Seminary. She has served on the pastoral staff of several churches and is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life.The Stephen & Marjorie Mead Endowment for Spiritual Formation offers occasional lectures, artistic or creative presentations on spiritual formation subjects by speakers who draw upon the writings of the Wade authors in order to provide fresh understanding in this area. Learn more at:https://www.wheaton.edu/academics/academic-centers/wadecenter/events/mead-endowment-for-spiritual-formation/
Introduction to The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien – Podcast Episode Wade Center 2022-04-15 | Upon completion of The Lord of the Rings, new readers often turn to The Silmarillion. But J.R.R. Tolkien's epic collection of mythopoeic stories—covering everything from the creation of Eä (the Ainulindalë), the Valar and Mayar, the creation of the Elves as well as the events of the First and Second Ages of Middle-earth—can be overwhelming. Thankfully, Laura Schmidt, Wade Center Archivist, joins Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing to walk us through to the larger themes and storylines of this amazing volume of stories.
