12th Annual
Eighth Day Symposium
Sex & Lies
Delusions of the Self in the 21st Century
January 13-15, Anno Domini 2022 - Wichita, KS
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Symposium Reflections
The Speakers
Rod Dreher
"The Five Worst Lies We Live By"
Jennifer Roback Morse
"Understanding and Combating the Global Sexual Revolution"
Carl Trueman
"Our Era's Most Prominent Fiction: Desire as Identity"
The Seminar
Sex and Lies in the Bible, the Fathers, the Liturgy & Literature
If you really want to dig into the Symposium theme, come early and join us for the seminar. In addition to prayer and teaching, we'll be reading and discussing texts related to the Symposium theme from the Bible, the Fathers, the liturgy and literature.
Seating is limited to first 12 registrants. Notebooks with the texts will be delivered upon registration.
(As of Dec. 21, the Seminar is full!)
The Festal Banquet
St. John Chrysostom & Cultural Renewal
As any past Symposium attendee will attest, one of the highlights is the annual festal banquet. In addition to the a stringed-quartet and delicious food, each year we celebrate a hero of our faith (past years include St Gregory the Theologian, St Anthony the Great, St. Athanasius, St Cyril of Alexandria, St Gregory of Nyssa, St Basil the Great, and St. Mary of Egypt) and the Symposium speakers offer reflections on cultural renewal. But the most stunning part of the evening has consistently been the Cathedral Choir's series of ancient hymns. And the desert auction has become quite the adventurous (and competitive) way to cap the evening off.
Symposium Speaker Testimonials
Ralph WoodBaylor University
James K. A. SmithCalvin College
What Attendees Are Saying
The Speakers
Carl R. Trueman
Carl R. Trueman teaches at Grove City College in western PA and is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in DC where his work focuses on helping civic leaders and policy makers better understand the deep roots of our current cultural malaise. Carl is the author of the 2020 book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to the Sexual Revolution. His commentaries on contemporary issues appear regularly in First Things and he has also published in Public Discourse, Deseret News, and Catholic World Report.
Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse
Dr. Morse is the founder of The Ruth Institute, an interfaith international coalition to defend the family and build a Civilization of Love. She was a campaign spokeswoman for California’s winning Proposition 8 campaign, defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. She has authored or co-authored six books and spoken around the globe. Her latest book is The Sexual State: How Elite Ideologies are Destroying Lives and Why the Church was Right Along. Dr. Morse was named one of the “Catholic Stars of 2013,” on a list that included Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI.
Rod Dreher
Rod Dreher is a journalist and author of a number of books, including the international bestsellers The Benedict Option (2017) and Live Not By Lies (2020). As a senior editor at The American Conservative, Dreher writes a daily blog about the intersection of religion, politics, and popular culture that draws over one million page views each month. He is an Orthodox Christian who lives in south Louisiana with his wife and three children.
The Schedule
CLICK HERE for a PDF version of the full schedule.
Wednesday 1.12.22
9:00 a.m. Third Hour Prayer at The Ladder
9:30 a.m. Pre-Symposium Seminar at The Ladder
Sex & Lies in the Bible: Ezekiel 8-20
12:30 p.m. Lunch
2:00 p.m. Seminar continues until 5:00 p.m.
Sex & Lies in the Fathers: Augustine On Lying
6:45 p.m. Vespers at St George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Thursday 1.13.22
9:00 a.m. Third Hour Prayer at The Ladder
9:30 a.m. Pre-Symposium Seminar at The Ladder
Sex & Lies in the Liturgy: Orthodox Marriage Service
12:30 p.m. Lunch
2:00 p.m. Seminar continues until 4:00 p.m.
Sex & Lies in Literature: "Terror" by Anton Chekov
4:00 p.m. VIP meeting with speakers for Patrons & Pillars
6:45 p.m. Vespers at St George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
7:00 p.m. Opening Reception at Eighth Day Books
Friday 1.14.22
9:00 a.m. Third Hour Prayer at St. George Orthodox Cathedral
9:30 a.m. Convocation and Contemplation by Director Doom
Live Not by Lies: An Ecumenical Toast
10:00 a.m. Plenary Lecture I by Rod Dreher
The Five Most Damaging Lies We Live By Today
11:30 a.m. Breakout Sessions
Hans Boersma: Sex & the Imagination: Focusing the Mind
Carl Trueman: The Pathologies of the Therapeutic Culture
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. Plenary Lecture II by Jennifer Roback Morse
Understanding & Resisting the Global Sexual Revolution
6:00 p.m. Festal Banquet at St George - Dressy Casual Attire
Cash Bar, Dessert Auction, Cathedral Choir, the Life of St John Chrysostom, & Plenary Speakers on Cultural Renewal
Saturday 1.15.22
9:00 a.m. Third Hour Prayer at St George Cathedral
9:30 a.m. Convocation & Contemplation by Director Doom
Totus Christus: A Neo-Patristic Theological Anthropology
10:00 a.m. Plenary Lecture III by Carl Trueman
Today's Most Prominent Fiction: Sexual Desire as Identity
11:00 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m. Breakout Sessions
Jennifer Roback Morse: Baked in from the Beginning: Pedophilia & the Sexual Revolution
Fr. Alexis Torrance: Christ as Cornerstone: Theological Anthropology & Human Perfection (Read this text beforehand)
12:30 p.m. Lunch & Book Signings
2:00 p.m. Plenary Lecture IV by Rod Dreher
Signs, Wonders, & the Way of the Heart
3:00 p.m. Break
3:15 p.m. Panel Dialogue with Q& A
6:00 p.m. Great Vespers at St George
7:30 p.m. Open House at Eighth Day Books & Eighth Day Institute
Lodging
Location and Contact
Contact Us
Past Eighth Day Symposia
2021
Hope in the Age of Anxiety:
A Digital Library of Twelve Presentations by Fr. Calinic Berger, Bradley Birzer, Erin Doom, Shailesh Mark, Louis Markos, Fr. John Strickland, Joshua Sturgill, et al
2020
For I Am Holy: The Command to be like God by Dr. David Fagerberg, Fr. Stephen Freeman, Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, et al