‘Deeper Magic’
C.S. Lewis & the ‘Serious Business of Heaven‘
We invite you to join us for the 2020 C.S. Lewis Virtual Summit, an online conference celebrating faith, reason, and imagination.
In The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis writes about the “Deep Magic” of Narnia, the set of rules governing Narnia that “the Emperor put into Narnia at the very beginning.” After the character’s resurrection, Aslan tells Lucy and Susan of a “magic deeper still… that when a willing victim who has committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.”
In Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, Lewis writes:
“I do think that while we are in this “valley of tears,” cursed with labour, hemmed round with necessities, tripped up with frustrations, doomed to perpetual plannings, puzzlings, and anxieties, certain qualities that must belong to the celestial condition have no chance to get through, can project no image of themselves, except in activities which, for us here and now, are frivolous. . . . It is only in our “hours-off,” only in our moments of permitted festivity, that we find an analogy [to the joys of heaven]… But in this world everything is upside down. That which, if it could be prolonged here, would be a truancy, is likest that which in a better country is the End of ends. Joy is the serious business of Heaven.”
In this time of global uncertainty, filled with political strife, economic hardship, and the Covid-19 pandemic, we believe that its of prime importance to keep our eyes on the “deeper magic” of Christ and the joy that is found in his goodness, truth, and beauty.
This three day Virtual Summit will explore this theme through the following sessions:
- Thursday, November 12th at 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 6 Mountain / 7 Central / 8 Eastern
- Karen Swallow Prior: “The Artist as a Young Man: Lewis as Poet and Unbeliever”
- Friday, November 13th at 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 6 Mountain / 7 Central / 8 Eastern
- Terry Glaspey: “Beauty, Imagination, and Glory”
- Saturday, November 14th at 10:00 a.m. Pacific / 11 Mountain / 12 Central / 1 Eastern
- Malcolm Guite: “River Deep, Mountain High: The Gospel according to the Psalms”
- Andrew Peterson: “Fingerposts to the New Creation”
Each session will also be followed by a 45 minute discussion breakout groups designed to give participants the opportunity to virtually meet and talk about the session with a group of 8-12 others.
Click here to register. Cost is $45 for general admission and covers all sessions throughout the event.
Karen Swallow Prior, Ph. D., is Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is the author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (T. S. Poetry Press, 2012), Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist (Thomas Nelson, 2014), and On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books (Brazos, 2018). She is co-editor of Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues (Zondervan 2019) and has contributed to numerous other books. Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, First Things, Vox, Relevant, Think Christian, The Gospel Coalition, Religion News Service, Books and Culture and other places.
Her academic focus is British literature, with a specialty in the eighteenth century, a period she loves for its emphasis on philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, and community, as well as its efforts at correcting the universal human impulse to gravitate toward extremes. Her scholarly work has appeared in 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era; The Shandean; The Scriblerian and various literary encyclopedias.
She is a founding member of The Pelican Project, a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum, a Senior Fellow at the International Alliance for Christian Education, a Senior Fellow at the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture, and a member of the Faith Advisory Council of the Humane Society of the United States.
Andrew Peterson is a recording artist, songwriter, producer, filmmaker, publisher and award-winning author of The Wingfeather Saga, He is also founder and president of The Rabbit Room, which has published thirty books to date and fosters community and spiritual formation through music, story and art. Recently launching the film and TV production company, Shining Isle Productions, to produce an animated film based on his bestselling books, his The Warden and the Wolf King (2014) won Children’s Book of the Year in 2015 from WORLD Magazine.
Known for songs like “Dancing In The Minefields,” “Be Kind To Yourself,” “Is He Worthy,” “Don’t You Want To Thank Someone,” “The Silence Of God,” “Nothing To Say,” “You’ll Find Your Way” and more, Peterson has also been named “one of the foremost singer/songwriters around” and has received multiple “best album of the year” nods from critics along with three Dove Award nominations.
Drawing capacity crowds at venues around the world, including numerous sold-out events at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, his annual Christmas tour celebrates its 20th anniversary this season with an all new recording of his bestselling album, Behold the Lamb of God.
(c) Lancia E. Smith
Malcolm Guite is an Anglican priest, a poet, and the lead singer and founder of the rock band Mystery Train. He previously served as Chaplain & Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge University.
His books include nonfiction – Beholding the Glory and What Do Christians Believe? – and poetry – The Singing Bowl; Waiting on the Word: A Poem a Day for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany; and The Word in the Wilderness: A Poem a Day for Lent and Easter. He also contributed to The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis.
Guite teaches Literature and Pastoral Theology for the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges. He is involved with a number of projects linking theology and the arts, and has published poetry, literary criticism, and theology in various journals. As founder of the rock band, Mystery Train, he writes lyrics and performs on guitar and vocals.
Terry Glaspey is a writer, editor, creative mentor, teacher, and someone who finds various forms of art—painting, films, novels, poetry, and music—to be some of the places where he most deeply connects with God.
He has written over a dozen books, including 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know: Fascinating Stories Behind Great Art, Music, Literature, and Film, Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual Legacy of C.S. Lewis, The Prayers of Jane Austen, 25 Keys to Life-Changing Prayer, Bible Basics for Everyone, and others. His next book, Discovering God Through the Arts, will release in February 2021.
Terry teaches at Northwind Institute in the Romantic Theology and Spiritual Formation programs. He has been the recipient of several major national awards for his writing. He has also been the recipient of a number of other awards, including a distinguished alumni award and the Advanced Speakers and Writers Editor of the Year award.
Terry enjoys writing and speaking about a variety of topics including creativity and spirituality, the artistic heritage of the Christian faith, the writing of C.S. Lewis, and creative approaches to apologetics.
The Virtual Summit is a co-production of the C.S. Lewis Foundation and C.S. Lewis College organizations.
