2025 First Things Intellectual Retreat in New York City

Faith in the Technological Age

Please join us on August 8–9, 2025 for two days of intellectual enrichment and good company as we explore the topic of faith and technology. The retreat will feature a keynote lecture, a panel, and seminar discussions led by instructors from Eastern University’s Templeton Honors College.

Schedule and Readings

The full retreat program will be held at the Union League Club of New York.

Friday, August 8

6:00 pm — 7:00 Cocktail Reception

7:00 pm Dinner & Lecture: Presented by Jonathan Askonas

Saturday, August 9

9:00 am — 10:15 Seminar I: Creation

• Genesis 1–3
• Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, “The Consequences of Faith in Creation,” in ‘In the Beginning’: A Catholic Understanding of the Creation and Fall.
• Hugh of St. Victor, from De Sacramentis I.VI, On Man in his Original Creation
• Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon II.20–27, “The Division of the Mechanical Arts”
• Bonaventure, The Retracing of the Arts to Theology 1–2, 11–14, “On the Mechanical Arts”

10:30 am — 11:45 Seminar II: Babel

• Genesis 11:1–9
• Leon R. Kass, “What’s Wrong with Babel?” The American Scholar 58:1 (1989): 41–60.
• Prometheus, from Old Greek Stories by James Baldwin 
• Selections of Frankenstein, or, The New Prometheus, 1818

12:00 pm Lunch (not provided)

1:30 pm — 2:45 Seminar III: Enframing

• Psalm 115
• Martin Heidegger, “The Question Concerning Technology,” in Basic Writings, ed. David Farrell Krell. New York: Harper Perennial, 2008, pp. 311–341. 
• C. S. Lewis, Abolition of Man, chapter III, “Man’s Conquest of Nature” 
• “On the Promises and Perils of Artificial Intelligence”

3:00 pm — 4:15 Seminar IV: Hope

• Proverbs 8
• Craig Gay, “The Elimination of the Human Within the Technological Society,” Chapter 7 in Everyday Ethics: Moral Theology Meets Anthropology and the Social Sciences, eds. Michael Lamb and Brian A. Williams, Georgetown University Press, 2019, p. 103–116.
• Albert Borgmann, “Focal Things and Practices,” from chapter 23, Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life: A Philosophical Inquiry

4:15 — 5:45 Break

6:00pm — 8:00 Dinner

8:00pm — 9:00 Cocktail Hour

Dress Code

A coat and tie (and comparable attire for women) are required during the dinners, business casual is acceptable for the seminars on Saturday. No sneakers are permitted. 

Cancellation Policy

For a full tuition refund, please cancel at least three weeks in advance. We reserve the right to substitute speakers, change venues, or cancel part or all of the event due to circumstances beyond our control. In such cases, our liability is limited to a prompt refund of the registration fee, on a pro-rata basis, for the affected portions.

Photography Policy

Attendance at First Things events constitutes consent to be photographed for use in print and electronic media for marketing purposes. Please notify us at [email protected] if you would prefer that your photo not be used.

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Intellectual Retreat Tuition for One $650

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Discounted Tuition for One: Rofters Leaders $400 For leaders of an active Readers of First Things group

Discounted Tuition for One: Student, Teacher, and Clergy $300 For full-time students, teachers, and clergy only. Following completion of this form, please send an email to [email protected] with the name of your institution. The First Things staff will determine if you qualify for this discount. If we determine that you do not qualify for this discount, your registration will be canceled and the tuition will be reimbursed.

Please note: retreat tuition does not cover accomodations.

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N.b. In the event you need to cancel your attendance at the retreat, we will be able to refund the tuition up to three weeks before the event.

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