David J. Theroux, the Founder and President of the C. S. Lewis Society of California has e-mailed us with the latest updates on many upcoming events that you’re all invited to attend! I hope that some of you have the chance to visit these events and join Lewis Societies, or even have the opportunity to start one in your own area if one does not exist. Here’s the update:

Please note the following in this issue of the C.S. Lewis Society Update (7/17/07):

1. Christian Groups Are Also Growing in Europe
2. Separation of Charity and State
3. Next meeting of C.S. Lewis Society’s Bay Area Book Club: Film Showing
4. Other Events

1. Christian Groups Are Also Growing in Europe:

Accounts of the rapid spread of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have become commonplace. Now, a July 14th, front-page article in the Wall Street Journal reports how Christianity is also growing in Europe as a result in part of the elimination of government funding for established national churches.

“In Europe, God Is (Not) Dead,” by Andrew Higgins

Especially among the young and after decades of decline, Christianity is on the rise as “monopoly churches” feel the taste of competition from leaner, more responsive, church groups emphasizing traditional spiritual faith. Baylor University sociologist and historian Rodney Stark is the key scholar to uncover this trend, based on his extensive examinations of religious changes since before the days of Jesus. Professor Stark has shown that private religious markets are far more effective in facilitating spiritual health than government-imposed or subsidized systems. His Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY, traces the early Christian Church’s remarkable growth in the first three centuries as its being a voluntary movement based on spiritual enterprise and charity. But when the Roman Emperor Constantine began the process of nationalizing the Christian movement, shifting massive imperial funds from pagan temples into Christian organizations, the vibrant, pious, grassroots Christian movement was altered into a “Church of Power” vs. a “Church of Piety.” Professor Stark’s book FOR THE GLORY OF GOD then traces this rivalry through Christendom’s history, including the recurring rebellions within and without the Church leading up to religious wars, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and much more. The “Church of Power” bred corruption, tyranny, the Crusades, etc., while the “Church of Piety” fought for science, natural law and natural rights; the abolition of slavery, oppression, and witch hunts; and the salvation of all people.

THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY, by Rodney Stark

FOR THE GLORY OF GOD, by Rodney Stark

2. Separation of Charity and State:

In his brilliant classic, DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, Alexis de Tocqueville discussed the extensive and highly effective system of voluntary charitable and other social organizations in early America. As with the early Christian movement, most early Americans were directly involved in their communities based on their Christian faith, and being independent of government power was key to this success.

Similarly, C.S. Lewis wrote critically of government involvement in charity in his essay, “Is Progress Possible? Willing Slaves of the Welfare State,” which is included in Lewis’s book, GOD IN THE DOCK:
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a37b88e73403b.htm

Now, Syracuse University economist Arthur Brooks has further advanced our understanding of the dynamics of charity in his widely acclaimed, new book, WHO REALLY CARES? For example, he shows that:

(1) People who practice religion, live in traditional nuclear families and reject the notion that the government should engage in income redistribution are the most generous Americans to both religious and non-religious charities. People who oppose government income redistribution donate four times as much money each year as do redistribution supporters, and on average, people of faith give more than 50% more money each year to non-church social welfare organizations than secularists do.

(2) Secularists who believe fervently in government welfare-state programs give far less to charity. They want everyone’s tax dollars to support charitable causes and are reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when governments don’t provide them with enough money.

(3) By every measure of well-being, people who are religious and attend church regularly are more happy, healthy, sociable, caring, charitable, constructive, and involved.

(4) The working poor give far more than the middle class and those who receive welfare.

“Eye-opening Statistics from WHO REALLY CARES?”

“Charity’s Political Divide,” by Ben Gose (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

WHO REALLY CARES?, by Arthur Brooks

THE VOLUNTARY CITY: Choice, Community, and Civil Society
Edited by David T. Beito, Peter Gordon and Alexander Tabarrok
Foreword by Paul Johnson

3. Next meeting of the C.S. Lewis Society’s Bay Area Book Club:

Film Showing and Discussion:

C. S. LEWIS: DREAMER OF NARNIA

Wednesday, July 25th, 7:30 p.m.

This new 75-minute film about C.S. Lewis is an excellent and entertaining documentary on the man behind the enormously popular book series, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. Produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Productions, the film features interviews with Lewis’s stepson Douglas Gresham; actor Sir Ben Kingsley; science fiction writer Ray Bradbury; Lewis experts Paul Ford, Stan Mattson and Colin Duriez; and many others who either knew Lewis or have had their lives touched in a special way by him. Sections of the CHRONICLES are read by English schoolchildren or portrayed with animation cleverly devised from the Pauline Baynes illustrations. The score is first-rate, and the narration by “Lewis,” in the form of a letter written to children, is marvelous.

The meeting will be held at:

11990 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94619 (atop the Oakland hills)
510-482-2906 phone
wine, soft drinks and other refreshments served

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA book series

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE (4 DVD extended disc set, including “Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia”; 150 min. for extended director’s cut version of film)

Here also is the schedule of future Lewis Society book club meetings:
http://www.lewissociety.org/bookclub.php

Here also is information on C.S. Lewis:
http://www.lewissociety.org/aboutlewis.php

We hope that you and/or others you know will be joining with us! (Please feel free to forward this update to others.)

4. Other Upcoming Events:
http://www.lewissociety.org/events.php

The 38th Annual Mythopoeic Conference (Mythcon XXXVIII), “Becoming Adept: The Journey to Mastery”
Sponsored by the Mythopoeic Society
University of California, Berkeley, CA
August 3-6, 2007
http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon38.html

“The Crisis of the University: Freedom, Tolerance and the Pursuit of Truth”
Sponsored by the C.S. Lewis Foundation
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
October 5-6, 2007
http://www.cslewis.org/programs/ff/2007/index.html

“C.S. Lewis: Man and His Work: A 21st Century Legacy”
Sponsored by L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture
Southeastern College at Wake Forest, Wake Forest, NC
October 26-27, 2007
http://www.sebts.edu/CSLewis/

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From Steve Elmore of the C.S. Lewis Foundation:

The C.S. Lewis Foundation is pleased to announce the Southeast Regional C.S. Lewis Conference. Come join us in Nashville on May 5 as we engage the world of C.S. Lewis in the good company of Lewis scholars Joseph Pearce, Stan Mattson and Andrew Lazo. Together we will explore Lewis’ life and works, discovering the essential role of faith in our own quest for joy.

Also featuring professional dance and music performances, a new Disney film documentary on Lewis’ life, and a special Narnia program for children. Don’t miss this day of learning, worship, and fellowship for the whole family! Register now! Visit our website www.cslewis.org or call toll-free 1-888-CSLEWIS.

“Faith Set Free: C.S. Lewis and the Quest for Joy” also includes performances by the Ad Deum Dance Company of Houston with guest vocalist Stacy Jagger and screening of new Disney documentary C.S. Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia. May 5, 2007.

More Conferences/Seminars:

C.S. Lewis Summer Conference, San Diego, California – “Finding the Way: C.S. Lewis as Pilgrim Guide in an Age of Pluralism” – Together with leading Lewis scholars Paul Ford, Malcolm Guite, and Diana Glyer plus Lambs Players, Steve Mays and Christians of every communion, we will study C. S. Lewis’ writings to discern what it means to be faithful to Christ in a world of increasing religious and philosophical diversity. Enjoy a full program of teaching, worship and performance in this beautiful city by the Pacific! June 28-July 1, 2007.

C.S. Lewis Summer Seminars-in-Residence at The Kilns, Oxford, England. Week-long, small-group seminars addressing relevant themes in C.S. Lewis’ former home in Oxford. July 7-13, 15-21, & 28 – August 3, 2007.

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In a move calculated to put the triennial C.S. Lewis Foundation Summer Institute within easy reach of the bulk of its constituency, the foundation will hold its upcoming week-long Summer Institute at Williams College in Williamston, Mass., from July 7 – 16, 2006. More than 2,000 alumni have participated in one or several of the previous six triennial “Oxbridge” summer institutes held by the foundation in Oxford and Cambridge, England, over the past 18 years. But never before has the foundation offered this weeklong feast for spirit, imagination and intellect in North America.

This year’s Institute, entitled “Love Among the Ruins: the Renewal of Character and Culture,” will address the renewal of character and culture at the individual spiritual, intellectual and active level, and also at the wider community and civic levels, in a mix of engaging and challenging presentations.

“We are trying something new this year,” says Stan Mattson, Ph.D., founder and president of the Redlands, California-based C.S. Lewis Foundation. “By holding our Summer Institute in the United States rather than in England, as we have done for the past nine years, we hope to reach out to those who have wanted to attend but could not do so before. This is a unique opportunity to refresh mind and spirit amid our daily, relentless engagement with prevailing culture.” The Foundation’s past conferences in England have typically drawn more than 700 attendees each week, mainly from the states.

This year’s program includes internationally acclaimed speaker Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health; Atessa Afshar, one of few Iranian Muslim women working in fulltime Christian world ministry; Malcom Guite, chaplain and fellow of Girton College in Cambridge, England; Thomas Howard, prolific author and professor of English emeritus at St. John’s Seminary College in Boston; Jeanne Murray Walker, Institute Writer-in-Residence and professor of English at the University of Delaware; James Como, professor of rhetoric at City University of New York and author of C.S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table; Joseph Pearce, professor of English literature at Ave Maria University and noted biographer of modern Christian literary figures; James Emery White, president-elect and professor of Theology and Culture at Gordon-Conwell Seminary; Nigel Goodwin of the London based Genesis Arts Trust; Ben Patterson, Chaplain of Westmont College, Santa Barbara; Dick Staub, award-winning broadcast journalist and nationally-recognized author; Karen Mulder, art historian of the University of Virginia, and Armand Nicholi, Jr., clinical professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, who has served on the Harvard Medical School Faculty for 26 years and recently hosted the PBS documentary series on Lewis and Freud.

In addition to seminars on Lewis, the Inklings, the Great Books, popular culture, and other subjects, there will be workshops on the visual arts, dance, theatre, and creative writing. There will also be a Children’s Track that will focus on a theme from Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, and a “College Briefing” for high school juniors and seniors. Artistic performers include Michael Kelly Blanchard, accomplished songwriter and soloist with 10 albums to his credit, and Tony Lawton, founder of The Mirror Theatre Company, renowned for his powerful one-man performance of C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. Thomas Brooks, chair of the Department of Music at Gordon College, conductor of the Gordon College Choir and Chamber Singers, co-director of music at the historic Park Street Church in Boston, and president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, will conduct the Institute choir. For the past three years, Dr. Brooks has conducted the Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island All-State Music Festival. An evening concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at their famed summer home at Tanglewood is included, as are performances by the Shakespeare Theatre Festival – Merry Wives of Windsor – and the Williamstown Theatre’s performance of the musical comedy Anything Goes.

For more information or to register, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.cslewis.org, or call toll free 1-800-CSLEWIS.

About the C.S. Lewis Foundation: Founded in 1986 by a small group of Christian scholars who were inspired by the life and legacy of renowned English professor, author and speaker C.S. Lewis, the C.S. Lewis Foundation is dedicated to advancing the renewal of Christian thought and creative expression throughout the world of learning and, by extension, the culture at large. The Foundation owns and maintains “The Kilns,” Lewis’ long time residence in Oxford, England, now home to the C.S. Lewis Study Centre. For more information, please visit www.cslewis.org.

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Stan Mattson, Ph.D., president and founder of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, today announced that Pastor Rick Warren, renown best-selling author of A Purpose-Driven Life, has confirmed his participation in the upcoming C.S. Lewis Institute conference in Oxford and Cambridge, England, from July 24 through August 6, 2005.

Organized by the California-based C.S. Lewis Foundation, this conference is entitled “Making All Things New: The Good, the True and the Beautiful in the 21st Century. “Set in the medieval university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, Oxbridge 2005 will feature presentations by leading scholars and artists representing many Christian traditions and interests from around the world, in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences, and interlaced with music, dance, theater and worship.

Pastor Warren’s presentations will be first, in Oxford, “The Good, the True and the Beautiful-To What End?” and second, in Cambridge, an informal interview by former national radio host Dick Staub.

“Pastor Rick Warren brings a wonderful pragmatic dimension to this conference,” explains Mattson. “Our desire is that people will return home and integrate what they receive in a meaningful way within the context of their own individual vocations and circumstances. Pastor Rick helps reinforce that probability with his special talent for translating important and lofty ideals into practical, easy-to-understand, actionable principles.”

Other speakers include Susanna Caroselli, Chuck Colson, David Cook, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Richard Foster, Dana Gioia, Malcolm Guite, David Lyle Jeffrey, Bishop James Jones, Peter Kreeft, Vishal Mangalwadi, Louis Markos, Alister McGrath, Kathleen Norris, Joseph Pearce, Tony Thiselton, Dean Trulear and Kallistos Ware.

Afternoon seminars feature topics on C.S. Lewis, the Inklings, contemplative prayer, peacemaking and reconciliation, political engagement, the Christian scholar in the secular academy, the Oxford libraries, medical and business ethics, social justice, cultural apologetics, science and theology, philosophy, architectural and art history. Workshops include creative writing, theater, dance, choral performance and the visual arts.

Special events include evensong service at Ely Cathedral, a traditional English country dinner dance at Chilford Hall, performances by the Riding Lights Theatre Company of York, England, Oxford City Orchestra, the Institute Chorale, dramatic portrayals of C.S. Lewis by British actor Joss Ackland and American actor Tom Key, and a final eucharistic service of dedication at Kings College Chapel. Optional day trips include Warwick Castle, The Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Blenheim Palace, Lewis’ beloved home, “The Kilns,” (now owned and beautifully restored by the Foundation) and an evening of Shakespeare in the park.

For more information or to register for Oxbridge 2005, please visit www.cslewis.org, or call toll free 1-800-CSLEWIS.

About the C.S. Lewis Foundation: Founded in 1986 by a small group of Christian scholars, and inspired by the life and legacy of renowned English professor, author and speaker C.S. Lewis, the C.S. Lewis Foundation is dedicated to advancing the renewal of Christian scholarship and artistic expression throughout the mainstream world of learning and the culture at large. For more information, please visit www.cslewis.org

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