The Marion E. Wade Center

07/09/2025

“Wonders of the Wade” is back!

In our 27th “Wonders of the Wade” video we highlight the artwork of Pauline Baynes for J.R.R. Tolkien’s THE HOBBIT and C.S. Lewis’s THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA in the Wade Center’s collections.

The Marion E. Wade Center presents a series of video vignettes called “Wonders of the Wade.” Each episode features a museum piece, a first edition, an unpublished manuscript, or a book from one of the Wade authors’ personal libraries, often with notes and markings in them. See the "Wonders of the Wade" playlist on our YouTube channel to access more videos.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notifications, or watch for social media posts on Instagram and Facebook as each episode is released.

In our 27th “Wonders of the Wade” video we highlight the artwork of Pauline Baynes for J.R.R. Tolkien’s THE HOBBIT and C.S. Lewis’s THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA ...

06/25/2025

We’ve just opened the application for the 2025-26 Continuing Scholars Program at the Marion E. Wade Center!

This nine-month program engages works by and about the Wade’s seven featured authors to promote lifelong learning, convivial conversation, and spiritual encouragement in the Christian faith.

Program participants attend lectures, read and discuss a book by one of our authors, and explore the riches of the Wade Center’s collections. This year’s book selection is J.R.R. Tolkien’s "The Fellowship of the Ring."

See the comments for the link to learn more and apply today for one of our online or in-person cohorts. The application deadline for the 2025-26 program is Friday, August 15, 2025.

06/23/2025

In our latest podcast episode, join co-hosts Dr. Jim Beitler and Aaron Hill as they go on a tour of C.S. Lewis's Oxford with Dr. Simon Horobin, Professor of English Language & Literature at Magdalen College. In addition to being his teaching home, Oxford was an integral part of C.S. Lewis's life. His drafty rooms in The New Building, his pastoral residence at The Kilns, the trees lining Addison's Walk all shaped the life and writings of C.S. Lewis. Dr. Horobin is the author of the book C.S. LEWIS'S OXFORD (Oxford: Bodleian Library, 2024).

In addition to being his teaching home, Oxford was an integral part of C.S. Lewis's life. His drafty rooms in The New Building, his pastoral residence at The...

06/18/2025

The Wade Summer Highlight Reel | June 2025

This summer we’re bringing you past content around the theme of The Arts & the Imagination. Each month we’re sharing a highlight from our media library and our first of four installments features “When a Heart is Really Alive: George MacDonald and the Prophetic Imagination” with Malcolm Guite.

This lecture explores how George MacDonald's Fantasy writing not only created an entire new literary genre and inspired writers like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, but also how the living, numinous symbols and stories he created continue to speak powerfully and prophetically into our own cultural crisis two hundred years after he was born.

Malcolm Guite is a poet and priest, and Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge. He lives in Norfolk, England, and lectures widely in England and North America on Theology and Literature. His books include “Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for the Christian Year” (Canterbury, 2012); “The Singing Bowl: Collected Poems” (Canterbury, 2013); “Parable and Paradox” (Canterbury, 2016); “Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge” (Hodder, 2017); “After Prayer” (Canterbury, 2019); “The Word Within the Words” (DLT, 2021); and “Lifting The Veil” (Canterbury, 2022). In 2023 he was awarded the Archbishop Lanfranc Medal for Education and Scholarship by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College presents "When A Heart Is Really Alive: George MacDonald and the Prophetic Imagination," a lecture by Malcolm Gu...

06/13/2025

Happy birthday to Dorothy L. Sayers, born June 13, 1893!

06/04/2025

REMINDER: The Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College presents "The Wages of Cinema: Looking through the Lens of Dorothy L. Sayers," a lecture and book signing by Dr. Crystal Downing, on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at 7:00 PM.

In a captivating realm where cinematic narratives enchant countless viewers, how can one harmonize their faith with the craft of filmmaking? Downing’s new book, The Wages of Cinema (IVP Academic) encourages a deep dive into this question, drawing upon Dorothy L. Sayers’ Trinitarian view of creativity and her enchantment with theater and film. The book uses examples ranging from the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin to the cultural phenomenon of Barbie, illustrating how film theory can be enriched by the truths of the Christian faith.

Crystal L. Downing (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara) has published six books, including Salvation from Cinema: The Medium Is the Message, and Subversive: Christ, Culture, and the Shocking Dorothy L. Sayers, which received a Publishers Weekly starred review, as did her book Changing Signs of Truth, which is required reading in seminaries around the world. Formerly Distinguished Professor of English and Film Studies at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, Crystal Downing accepted a position as Co-Director of the Marion E. Wade Center and Co-holder of the Marion E. Wade Chair in Christian Thought at Wheaton College: a position she shared with her husband, C. S. Lewis scholar David C. Downing from 2018 to 2024.

This event is free and open to the public and will take place at the Marion E. Wade Center, in Bakke Auditorium, located at 351 East Lincoln Avenue in Wheaton on the Northwest corner of campus at the intersection of Washington Street and Lincoln Avenue. Visitor parking is located on the east side of Washington street. For more information, contact the Wade Center.

The Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College presents "The Wages of Cinema: Looking through the Lens of Dorothy L. Sayers," a lecture and book signing by Dr....

05/29/2025

Happy birthday to G.K. Chesterton, born May 29, 1874!

05/14/2025

After some cooler temperatures earlier this spring, we're glad to see the sunshine and share some images from the Wade Center's gardens as the weather warms up!

05/08/2025

REMINDER: Join us for a special Alumni Weekend Event: "Recreating Mary Magdalene: Her Story through the Eyes of the Wade Authors," a talk and book signing with Jennifer Powell McNutt on Friday, May 9, 2025 at 1:30 PM in the Wade Center's Bakke Auditorium. Livestream link below.

Across the centuries and traditions, Christians have struggled to convey a clear, biblical account of Mary Magdalene and her significance for the Christian faith. How might C.S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, and George MacDonald inform a faithful retrieval of her? Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt, Franklin S. Dyrness Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies, will offer a lecture based on her recent book, "The Mary We Forgot" (Brazos, 2024). Dr. McNutt will explore how the Wade authors reflect the complexities of reading the biblical narratives about Mary Magdalene and help the church to see her significance for today.

The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt is the Franklin S. Dyrness Associate Professor in Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College, a Fellow in the Royal Historical Society, and a Parish Associate at First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn. Dr. McNutt received her Ph.D. in History from the University of St. Andrews (Reformation Studies Institute, 2008), M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary (2003), and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Westmont College (2000). Dr. McNutt’s research specializes in the history of the church and Christian Theology from the Reformation through the Enlightenment with particular expertise in John Calvin and his clerical legacy, the Reformed tradition, the relationship between Christianity and science, and the history of the Bible and its interpretation. Dr. McNutt is also an ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and is co-president of McNuttshell Ministries, Inc. with her husband, Rev. Dr. David McNutt. She enjoys preaching at churches and on college campuses, writing for popular outlets, and conducting podcast and video interviews.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Wade Center.

Across the centuries and traditions, Christians have struggled to convey a clear, biblical account of Mary Magdalene and her significance for the Christian f...

05/07/2025

In celebration of Alumni Weekend and Commencement, the Wade Center will have extended hours from 10am-3pm on Saturday, May 10. Drop by and say "hello!"

05/06/2025

Two new Wade Podcast episodes with Dr. John Walton, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College:

1. Did C.S. Lewis Believe in Evolution?
2. Creation in C.S. Lewis's Fiction

Check them out in our YouTube channel! Dr. Walton is widely known for his Lost World Series books as well as his own interpretations of the creation account in Scripture.

Did C.S. Lewis believe in evolution or not? Join co-hosts Dr. Jim Beitler and Aaron Hill for a bonus episode where we ask this question of Dr. John H. Walton...