The Architecture of Modern Intellectual Conversion: C.S. Lewis and the Evolution of Gateway Apologetics The intellectual landscape of late twentieth-century American conservatism was shaped not only by policy debates and electoral strategies but also by profound, often quiet, shifts in metaphysical conviction among its leading architects. A significant nexus for these shifts was an informal lunch group that convened periodically at the Palm Steakhouse in Washington, D.C., beginning in the early 1990s. This group, consisting of William Bennett, Peter Wehner, Charles Krauthammer, and Charles Murray, represented a formidable concentration of political and social influence. While the group’s discussions frequently touched on the immediate concerns of the "White House mess" and the intricacies of the George W. Bush administration, a deeper undercurrent of theological inquiry eventually surfaced, centered on the influence of C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity. This report examines th...
