What a blessing to this old theologian! The 2013 "Desiring God" conference was entitled "The Romantic Rationalist: God, Life & Imagination in the Work of C.S. Lewis" and was held in the Minneapolis Convention Center from September 27-29. Presenters included John Piper, Randy Alcorn (author of "Heaven"), Lyle Dorsett (a noted Lewis scholar), Philip Ryken (president of Wheaton College), and others. Young people (under 30) made up the almost 3000 attendees.
The worship was amazing, the plenary and breakout sessions encouraging (both intellectually and spiritually). This ancient theologian had no responsibilities, so I could just soak it all in. All of the sessions' videos will be posted on the Desiring God.org website by October 4, a blessing to all who were not able to attend -- and a reminder to those of us who want to review what we heard.
Some of the titles of the plenary sessions were: "Myth Wars: C.S. Lewis vs. Scientism" (N.D. Wilson), "The Friendship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien" (Colin Duriez), "C.S. Lewis and the Care of Souls" (Lyle Dorsett), "Lessons from an Inconsolable Soul: Learning from the Mind and Heart of C.S. Lewis" (John Piper), "Inerrancy and the Patron Saint of Evangelicalism: C.S. Lewis on Holy Scripture" (Philip Ryken), "C.S. Lewis on Heaven and the New Earth: God's Eternal Remedy to the Problem of Evil and Suffering" (Randy Alcorn), and "Lessons from C.S. Lewis for a Life of Joy" (John Piper).
Watch the videos or download the audios. You won't regret it! My ear and mind were drawn more deeply to the eternal, for, as Lewis said, "All that is not eternal is eternally out of date."
