C.S. Lewis and the Threshold of Tomorrow:
Humanity and Our Place in the Cosmos
Date: May 1st & May 2nd
- May 1st | 5:30 PM
- Special Inkling Supporters Dinner with Speakers
- May 2, 2026 | 8:00AM – 9 PM
- Morning Conference Includes
- Paper Presentations | Time
- Markos Keynote | Time
- Break for Lunch
- Morning Conference Includes
- Start of Ticketed Event
- 5:30 PM | 6:20 PM | Lecture #1 – Dr. Michael Ward
- 6:20 PM | 6:30 PM | Intermission
- 6:30 PM | 7:20 PM | Lecture #2 – Dr. Michael Ward
- 7:20 PM | 7:30 PM | Intermission
- 7:30 PM | 8:30PM | Q&A (Dr. Michael Ward; Dr. Louis Markos)
- 8:30 PM | 9 PM | Meet and greet for supporters (see below).
RSVP below to reserve your spot.
Situated in the scenic green hills and woodlands of the Tennessee River Valley, Huntsville was a rural, agricultural community nestled in North Alabama. That is, until the end of World War 2. Operation Paperclip, the U.S. Government secret intelligence program, brought Werner Von Braun and a team of defected German rocket scientists and engineers to this small Southern town with a vision for reaching the cosmos. Von Braun, the inventor of the German V-2 rocket that bombarded English and Belgian cities in the twilight of World War 2, retooled U.S. military rockets to escape gravity instead of falling back to earth as agents of destruction. Heading up the newly formed Army Ballistic Missile Agency and eventually the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Von Braun directed the Juno rocket program and eventually the Apollo space program. In Huntsville, von Braun and his NASA engineers designed and tested the Saturn class launch vehicle which, on July 20, 1969, delivered men to the moon.
Speakers
This milestone, conceived out of machines of war and birthed out of the rolling fields of Huntsville propelled the city into a contemporary hub of U.S. space, defense, and biotechnology research. Given the current fascination with space exploration extending beyond the moon to Mars, C.S. Lewis’ Ransom Trilogy has never been more relevant. As our imaginations have been (and currently are being) shaped by the human potency and successes of space travel and biotechnology, this single-day conference will explore the wisdom of Lewis as a counter formation to the technocratic dreams launched from the Rocket City. Under the shadow of the goliath, “Babel-esque” Saturn V rocket, we will pursue answers to the perennial questions of human telos, the proper role and dangers of science and scientism, and the source restlessness that fans the flames of transcending time and space.
C.S. Lewis, Technology, and the End of Humanity will bring internationally renowned C.S. Lewis scholar Dr. Michael Ward to the heart of the Rocket City to give several lectures on the relevance of Lewis’s prophetic voice on the perils of a misdirected and maligned human yearning for knowledge and eminence. There is no greater place to delve into the big questions of human meaning and our technological moment than under the looming presence of a Saturn V rocket. Further, Robert H. Ray Chair of Humanities and Inklings Scholar Dr. Louis Markos will be joining Dr. Michael Ward for an hour-long Q&A after the lectures to wrestle with the big questions that are relevant to all of us in the modern West. There will be light refreshments served at the intermission.
Huntsville Space and Rocket Center
Saturn V Event Center
Event Tickets
Lectures, Q&A Participation, and Light Refreshments
Inklings Partner
Special Inkling Supporters Dinner with Speakers (Supporter and one Guest).
Primary sponsor and advocate for the program on the website and program.
Two prominent tables (16 Seats). Most prominent Church or Company Logo (or Photo) on the website and program. Personal meet and greet after the event. VIP Dinner on Friday, May 1, 2026 with the program lecturers and scholars.
Thulcandra Partner
Special Inkling Supporters Dinner with Speakers (Supporter and one Guest).
Provides a table (8 seats), a personal meet and greet after the event for each person at the table, and a signed copy of each speaker’s book for each person at the table. Greater prominence of Church or Company Logo (or Photo) on the website and in the program.
Perelandra Partner
Special Inkling Supporters Dinner with Speakers (Supporter and one Guest).
Provides a table (8 seats) and a personal meet and greet after the event for each person at the table. More prominent Church or Company Logo (or Photo) on the website and in the program.
Malacandra Partner
Provides a table (8 seats) – Good for Churches or Corporate sponsors interested in getting multiple tickets. Church or Company Logo (or Photo) on the website and in the program.