Devin Brown discusses C.S. Lewis' great work Mere Christianity. The video shown during the presentation may be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF-_RDPxAS0

Devin Brown is a Lilly Scholar and Professor of English at Asbury University. He has written nine books, most of which focus on Lewis and Tolkien, including A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C. S. Lewis and The Christian World of The Hobbit. He has a forthcoming book entitled Discussing Mere Christianity.

Jonathan Thorndike of Belmont University and his students in the Honors Program discuss the Peter Jackson adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Jonathan Thorndike is the Honors Program Director at Belmont University. He teaches interdisciplinary “Great Books” courses and taught an Inklings course at King’s College London for many summers. He was awarded the Presidential Faculty Achievement Award at Belmont in 2014. Thorndike has published two books and over 50 essays on Japanese and British literature.

Lydia Martin presents her essay, “Little Things: Tolkien, Lewis, and Smallness,” which won the inaugural Tolkien and Lewis High School Essay Contest.

Dale Ahlquist, President of the American Chesterton Society, talks about G.K. Chesterton and his influence on J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

Dale Ahlquist is President of the American Chesterton Society and creator and host of EWTN’s Apostle of Common Sense. He has written three books on G.K. Chesterton: G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense, Common Sense 101: Lessons from G.K. Chesterton, and The Complete Thinker. Dale is also the co-founder of Chesterton Academy, a new high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has been rated one of the “Top 50 Catholic Schools” in the nation by the Cardinal Newman Society.

Joseph Pearce, Director of the Center for Faith and Culture and Writer-in-Residence at Aquinas College, addresses the graduates at the 2015 Commencement Ceremonies at the War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville. Mr. Pearce pondered the pervasive belief that religion is inimical to science.

"Not a Zero Sum Game: Freedom for Women, for the Family, and for Religion"

For the good of women and the good of society, Christians must engage in a hard conversation: what does women’s freedom truly include? Known for her work in getting the voice of real women heard in the public square, Helen Alvaré will tackle the issues facing women and the family today.

About Helen Alvaré

Helen Alvaré is a Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, where she teaches Family Law, Law and Religion, and Property Law. She publishes on matters concerning marriage, parenting, non-marital households, abortion, and First Amendment religion clauses. She is a consultor for the Pontifical Council of the Laity, chair of the Task Force on Conscience Protection of the Witherspoon Institute, and cooperates with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations as a speaker and a delegate to various United Nations conferences concerning women and the family. In addition to her publications in law reviews and other academic journals, Professor Alvaré publishes regularly in publications such as the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, the Weekly Standard, and the Washington Examiner. Professor Alvaré received her law degree from Cornell University School of Law and her master’s degree in Systematic Theology from the Catholic University of America.

"The Family: the Sanctuary of Life"

In preparation for the World Meeting of Families 2015 convening in Philadelphia later this year, Msgr. Grous will examine the Christian family as a school of love, justice, forgiveness, and mutual respect in the midst of a world darkened by selfishness and conflict and the cultural influences that challenge healthy family life.

Rev. Msgr. Albin J. Grous, S.T.D.

Msgr. Grous was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1987. He earned an STD in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Throughout his priesthood, he has served as a parochial vicar and pastor in several parishes, has been appointed as a professor, academic dean and Vice Rector at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Michigan, and from 2001-2008 was an Official for the Congregation for Catholic Education in Vatican City. He has also been a chaplain and professor for St. John University study abroad program in Rome. He is currently Pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Drexel Hill, PA and is a board member of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. Msgr. has given presentations and retreats in the area of theology, spirituality and Catholic Education both nationally and internationally.

Creation Theology and Christian Marriage: Why the Church’s Teachings on Sex and Matrimony Can’t Be Changed

The Biblical self-revelation of God as “Yahweh Elohim”— the God who creates the world from nothing—provides the key to understanding the Church’s constant teaching and tradition about marriage and sexual morality. It’s not just about saying no to things people want to do, but about faith in God: about who we say God is, what the world means, and what it means to be made in His image and likeness.

About Rich Bulzacchelli

Dr. Rich Bulzacchelli is Associate Professor of Theology at Aquinas College and a Senior Fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He holds a B.A. in philosophy from Saint Vincent College, an M.A. in Christian philosophy from Marquette University, an M.A. in religious studies at Providence College, and an S.T.L. in systematic theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, and an S.T.D. from the International Marian Research Institute with a specialization in Mariology and concentrations in theological anthropology and the thought of Karol Wojtyła/Pope John Paul II. He is published on a range of topics and personalities in theology and philosophy, including medical ethics, the Virgin Mary, St. Thomas Aquinas, Bl. Duns Scotus, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Bl. Paul VI. Bulzacchelli’s most recent book is “Elohim Created”: A New Look at the First Creation Narrative (Nashville, TN: The Aggiornamento Project, 2012).

Sister Mary Angelica Neenan, O.P., Associate Professor of Theology at Aquinas College, talks to Anna Mitchell on the Son Rise Morning Show about St. Thomas Aquinas on January 28, 2015, the feast of the great Dominican saint.

Robert Royal, founder of the Faith & Reason Institute and editor-in-chief of the Catholic Thing, spoke to Aquinas College on "The Threats of Secularism" on Wednesday, October 22, 2014. The lecture was jointly sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences and the Center for Faith and Culture.

The Threats of Secularism

Catholics in America and other parts of the world, live in secular states that claim to be pluralistic and to respect religious beliefs. But there is no little confusion — and a growing threat to believers — in our society because some people, including many political authorities, have come to think that our public square should be shaped by secularism — a non-religious system of beliefs — not by the properly secular, which is neutral between religious and non religious views. Robert Royal will offer a diagnosis of the secularist ideology as well as some recommendations for how Catholics and other believers can assume their proper place in our society again.