Believe To See

We talk about stewarding the natural environment, but what about the built environment? What about our streets, neighborhoods, and cities? How can we promote manmade environments that help people in their pursuit to live well in community with one another? This lecture (with reference to traditional towns and cities) will explore these questions and the question of how Christians can think about their role in the city. ABOUT THE SPEAKER John Griffin is a practicing design professional and educator who has experience working in the US, UK, and Central America on a variety of project types and scales, from mixed-use urban infill projects to neighborhood and regional master plans. John and his wife Jennifer have received multiple New Urbanism Charter Awards for their work, most recently for a planning project in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. More info: http://www.anselmsociety.org/events/2015/3/18/the-architecture-of-community

In prison, Dostoevsky discovered that the desire for freedom was the wellspring of human action. But this wellspring comes from a deeper source: Christ and his promise of a future kingdom. Focusing on Notes from the House of the Dead, Notes from Underground, and the Brothers Karamazov, this lecture will examine the intertwined themes of Russian nationalism, freedom, and Christ in Dostoevsky’s thought. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Peter Leithart President of the Theopolis Institute Author of “Gratitude: An Intellectual History” Contributor to First Things and Touchstone More information: http://www.anselmsociety.org/events/2014/3/29/dostoevsky-and-the-desire-for-freedom

In The Pilgrim’s Regress, C.S. Lewis explored the idea of a person who has to wander in order to recognize and appreciate his own home. In the Narnia Chronicles and the Space Trilogy, Lewis used fantasy to give his readers gleams of divine truth. It’s well known that Lewis was a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien. What is less well known is that both the motifs above, and many others, were inherited by Tolkien and Lewis from a prior generation, from writers like George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton. Chesterton’s writing influenced Lewis’s conversion, and how he conceived of Christianity, fantasy, and the Christian concept of home. This event will explore the ideas of Chesterton and how they shaped the writers who produced the greatest fantasy literature of our time. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Dr. Donald Williams is the chair of the Department of Humanities & Natural Sciences at Toccoa Falls College. He holds a B.A. in English from Taylor University, a M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in Medieval

The Gospel and Fairy Tale: The Literary Art of J.R.R. Tolkien. Lecture from 2013.