Speaking on my Conversion in Chicago

On February 8th, I’ll have the pleasure of visiting Loyola University Chicago to deliver their annual Newman Lecture. The Lecture, presented by the Joan And Bill Hank Center For The Catholic Intellectual Heritage.

The Cardinal Newman Lecture Series is named after the great 19th century English prelate who wrote very movingly about his intellectual journey toward Roman Catholicism in his spiritual autobiography, Apologia pro vita sua (1864). Newman’s work helped later generations of Catholics and Catholic converts map out ways to understand the datum of religious faith in light of the contemporary issues facing modern life.
Honoring this engagement with the Catholic tradition, CCIH will invite scholars each spring to recount their own discovery (or rediscovery) of the Catholic intellectual heritage in light of their ongoing scholarship.

 My talk will be on my conversion, and is titled “From Javert to Jesus: An Atheist’s Conversion.”
I’m looking forward to meeting the students and to trying to stay completely swathed in scarves any moment I’m outside and at the mercy of Chicago’s February weather.