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C.S. Lewis Initiative

Studying the contributions of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other Inklings at George Fox University

09/01/2026

What happens when we turn to the Inklings for help reading the Bible?

C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and their circle drew deeply on Scripture in their devotional, scholarly, and imaginative writings. Yet most of them had no formal training in biblical studies or theology. So how reliable are they as guides for Christian readers—and what criteria should we use when learning from them?

Using Dr. Leslie Baynes’s recent scholarship as a springboard, host Dr. Bruce R. Johnson (General Editor, Sehnsucht: The C.S. Lewis Journal) brings together Dr. Leslie Baynes (Missouri State University), Dr. Jennifer McNutt (Wheaton College), Dr. Robert Garcia (Baylor University), and Dr. Michael Christensen (Northwind Seminary) to explore the Inklings and the Bible from multiple perspectives.

Join us for Are the Inklings Reliable Guides for the Bible? at the Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference, September 24–27 at George Fox University. Register while spaces remain!

08/30/2026

What do fauns, centaurs, sea voyages, and ancient epics have to do with The Chronicles of Narnia?

More than you might think. Classical literature shapes Narnia far more deeply than is often recognized. In this interactive workshop, Dr. Austin Freeman (Houston Christian University) will explore Lewis’s classical formation and trace classical themes and structures throughout the Chronicles – from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as “True Myth” to the epic resonances of Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Then it’s your turn. Participants will work in small groups to hunt for classical influences across all seven Chronicles and compare their discoveries.

Join us for Classical Literature in The Chronicles of Narnia at the Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference, September 24–27 at George Fox University. Register while spaces remain!

08/27/2026

What can we discover about C.S. Lewis when we can search everything he wrote at once?

For the first time, Lewis’s entire surviving corpus – more than four million words – has been collected and digitized. In this hands-on workshop, Justin Keena will demonstrate two new tools built on this remarkable dataset: a powerful search engine and an analytics suite designed specifically for exploring Lewis’s writings.

Participants will see how these tools can uncover verbal, literary, and stylistic patterns across Lewis’s complete output – and learn how researchers can sift through millions of words quickly and efficiently in pursuit of quotations, connections, and new lines of inquiry.

Come prepared to steal ideas for your next article or book. As Keena admits, there are far more discoveries waiting in the data than he can possibly pursue himself.

Join us for New Digital Tools for Lewis Scholars at the Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference, September 24–27 at George Fox University. Register while spaces remain!

08/24/2026

What did C.S. Lewis say to the people of Iceland during the Second World War – and what does a British intelligence operation have to do with it?

This unique workshop features a long-lost wartime radio broadcast by C.S. Lewis. Just months before his first BBC talks – the foundation of Mere Christianity – Lewis recorded “The Norse Spirit in English Literature,” a message to the people of Iceland on behalf of the Joint Broadcasting Committee, a shell operation of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).

Discovered by Dr. Harry Lee Poe in 2015, the broadcast survives on 78 rpm discs originally flown to Iceland for transmission. Participants will hear Lewis’s voice while following the transcript as Poe tells the remarkable story of the recording’s discovery and explores Lewis’s reflections on Norse literature and mythology – themes that would later echo through The Chronicles of Narnia, Till We Have Faces, and That Hideous Strength.

Join us for this rare opportunity to hear a little-known piece of Lewis history at the Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference, September 24–27 at George Fox University. Register while spaces remain!

08/20/2026

How do you turn the friendship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien into a comic?

This visual workshop explores how graphic nonfiction can reimagine the friendship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Drawing on his acclaimed 2024 graphic biography The Mythmakers, Dr. John Hendrix (Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts) takes participants behind the creative process of bringing Lewis and Tolkien—and their worlds of myth, story, and friendship—to life on the page.

Through illustrations, comics, and video, Hendrix will explore how art and scholarship can work together to make intellectual history visually compelling and accessible to new audiences.

Join us for this unique workshop at the Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference, September 24–27 at George Fox University. Register while spaces remain!

07/27/2026

More than 100 papers accepted after double-blind peer review.

The 2026 Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference will feature one of the largest and most diverse gatherings of Lewis scholarship ever assembled. Scholars from around the world will present new research in theology, philosophy, literature, history, biblical studies, mathematics, moral psychology, education, and more.

Just a small taste of what's coming...

"The Abolition of Man Versus The Green Book: A New Verdict"

"The Problem of Joy: A Reexamination of C.S. Lewis's Wife in the Context of "

"C.S. Lewis in Dialogue with N.T. Wright"

"Seven Genders in That Hideous Strength and Lewis's Epistemology"

"Is Mary Magdalene Human? Dorothy Sayers as Biblical Interpreter of Jesus' Female Friends"

"Beyond Good and Evil? C.S. Lewis and Nietzsche on Moral Psychology"

"Was Owen Barfield Really an Inkling?"

"The A.I.bolition of Man: Can C.S. Lewis Help Save My Comp 1 Class in the Age of Digital Necromancy?"

And that's only the beginning.

Whether your interests lie in apologetics, imagination, philosophy, biblical interpretation, medievalism, Tolkien, education, ethics, or Lewis's enduring relevance in the age of artificial intelligence, there will be something here to surprise, challenge, and inspire.

With only a few places remaining, registration is nearing capacity. We cannot wait to welcome scholars, students, and Lewis and Tolkien enthusiasts from around the world to George Fox University this September (24th–27th) for four unforgettable days of learning, conversation, and friendship.

See you in Oregon.

07/18/2026

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Alister McGrath as a keynote speaker at the Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference, where he will deliver his lecture, “When Science Becomes Apologetics: Lewis's Most Overlooked Strategy.”

Dr. Alister McGrath (DPhil, University of Oxford) was born in Belfast in 1953 and won a scholarship to Oxford University in 1971 to study the natural sciences. Although he arrived at Oxford as an atheist, he discovered Christianity and quickly came to see C.S. Lewis as a travelling companion on the road of faith.

A distinguished theologian, historian, and one of the world's foremost C.S. Lewis scholars, McGrath served as Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford before becoming Oxford's Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion in 2014. He is the author of the award-winning biography C.S. Lewis: A Life and will publish a major new monograph on Lewis's views on science and religion with Oxford University Press in 2026.

Join us September 24–27, 2026, in Oregon for what promises to be an unforgettable gathering of Lewis and Inklings enthusiasts. Registration link in the comments.

Note: Dr. McGrath's keynote lecture will be delivered via video recording.

07/04/2026

Yesterday, July 3, the Portland C.S. Lewis Society gathered for its annual summer BBQ at the home of the hosts of the Newberg chapter. As we celebrate Independence Day, we wish everyone a happy Fourth of July!

Founded in 1972, the Society is the second-oldest C.S. Lewis society in the world and the oldest that continues to meet in person. Among those present were Connie and Paul Blattner, who first met through the Society in 1974.

The weekly Newberg meetings are on summer break, but our Beaverton chapter (monthly) and Salem chapter (biweekly) continue to meet throughout the summer.

We warmly welcome new members. Details about the Society, meeting times, and locations can be found on our website, linked in the comments.

07/02/2026

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Leslie Baynes as a keynote speaker at the Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference, where she will deliver her lecture, “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord? Reconsidering Lewis’s Most Famous Argument.”

Dr. Leslie Baynes (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is Professor of New Testament and Second Temple Judaism at Missouri State University. She is the author of Between Interpretation and Imagination: C.S. Lewis and the Bible, a groundbreaking study praised by Michael Ward as “easily the best book yet written on Lewis and Scripture,” by David Bentley Hart as “a marvelous study,” and by Mark Noll as “a captivating read.”

A distinguished biblical scholar and Lewis specialist, Baynes has served as Scholar-in-Residence at The Kilns, Lewis’s home near Oxford, as an Inklings Project Fellow, and as a translator for the New American Bible Revised Edition. Her work explores the rich interplay between biblical interpretation, imagination, and literary theology, opening fresh perspectives on Lewis’s thought and writings.

Join us September 24–27, 2026, in Oregon for what promises to be an unforgettable gathering of Lewis and Inklings enthusiasts. Registration link in the comments.

05/28/2026

We are delighted to welcome John Garth as a keynote speaker at the Undiscovered C.S. Lewis Conference, where he will deliver his lecture, “The Undiscovered J.R.R. Tolkien.”

John Garth is the award-winning author of Tolkien and the Great War, Tolkien at Exeter College, and The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, together published in eighteen languages. He has contributed to major Tolkien scholarship, including the Blackwell Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien, the Bodleian Library exhibition volume Maker of Middle-earth, and The Great Tales Never End: Essays in Memory of Christopher Tolkien.

A widely respected Tolkien scholar and speaker, Garth has lectured at major museums, libraries, and universities across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. His writing has appeared internationally in leading news and cultural media. He is currently at work on Tolkien’s Mirror, exploring how the major crises of the twentieth century shaped The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion.

Join us September 24–27, 2026, in Oregon for what promises to be an unforgettable gathering of Lewis and Inklings enthusiasts. Registration link in the comments.

Address

414 N Meridian Street
Newberg, OR
97132

Website

https://www.georgefox.edu/cs-lewis-initiative/index.html, https://www.georgefox.edu/cs-lewis-initiative/conference.html

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