The Trinity Forum Update

“Screwtape’s great concern is to keep humans away from any real experiences of joy, for that will lead to a real change of heart and produce—Horrors!—humility.” —Max McLean

---

In this Trinity Forum Update we feature two items on the production of Max McLean's production of The Screwtape Letters, now on stage in D.C.  

Recently on our Provocations Journal

We welcome your responses on these and other Provocations pieces.

• A Brief Chat with Screwtape: Playing the Devil in D.C. Actor Max McLean describes what it is like to play Screwtape in the stage adaptation of C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, playing at the Lansburgh Theatre in Washington D.C. through May 18, 2008. (913 words)
• A Tale of Temptation for Our Times: Thoughts on ‘The Screwtape Letters.’ Senior Fellow Joseph Loconte looks at the themes behind C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters—both the original book and the current stage play, suggesting that the bond between faith and reason points to the deepest mystery of human existence. (1062 words)
• Christ for Culture: Enduring Standards in a Confused Age. Surely there is a better way to do culture than the one which has produced American Idol? T. M. Moore makes a radical proposal that there is. He says we must learn to look beyond mere personal preference and our current sensual and materialist agenda to discover divine standards for beauty, goodness, and truth in the person of Jesus. (3609 words)
• Firm Foundations? Pete Peterson asks whether there is a difference between earthquake-proofing and terrorist-proofing our buildings. (605 words)

And from David Aikman’s column:

• China, Tibet, and the Olympics (1119 words)
• Obama’s ‘Bitter’ Comments (1107 words)

New from the Senior Fellows

Douglas Johnston was featured on a recent edition of the public radio program, Speaking of Faith. The greatest threat in the post-Cold War world, he says, is the prospective marriage of religious extremism with weapons of mass destruction. Yet the U.S. spends most of its time, resources, and weapons fighting the symptoms of this threat, not the cause. The diplomacy of the future, he is showing, must engage religion as part of the strategic solution to global conflicts.

Wilfred M. McClay recently spoke at a reception in the East Room of the White House honoring the 265th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson. You can read a transcript of his talk here, courtesy of the Ethics & Public Policy Center.

Academy Newsletter

The spring edition of the Trinity Forum Academy newsletter, Conversations, recently went out. If you would like to subscribe to this publication, see our lists page.

Upcoming

Later this week watch our site for a feature from Al Sikes on the current economic unrest, and a review from Senior Fellow Bill Edgar on T. M. Moore's new book on culture.

Support the Trinity Forum

We welcome your financial contributions to further our mission.

If you are interested in hosting a Trinity Forum event in your city, please contact our staff in Washington or London.