Homeschoolers invited to collegiate conversation on C.S. Lewis

Louisiana Christian University hosted area homeschoolers this week for a classroom conversation on a C.S. Lewis classic.

About 30 Central Louisiana high school students who are part of a monthly literary book club for high school homeschoolers attended Chapel and then were invited to take part in the course CE/RL 400 C.S. Lewis: Life and Ministry, a course team-taught this semester by Drs. Justin Langford and Tylitha Whatley.

Jennifer Sharbono, a local homeschool mom, started this book club last August. This month’s reading was C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.

Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, written in 1941, is a satirical, Christian apologetic novel written in the form of letters between two demons about securing the damnation of a human using various temptations to undermine God’s word.

Sharbono, a 2003 LCU English graduate, said she knew the university taught a course on the works of C.S. Lewis and studied Screwtape Letters.

She and Langford were friends from their LCU days, and Langford agreed this would be a mutually beneficial experience for all the students—hers and LCU’s.

“This was the first college class experience for many of them,” Sharbono said.

Students were eager to hear from professors and college students who had read the book.

“The book is like a slap in the face, revealing everything the enemy uses trying to get to you,” said Jude Thomas, a freshman from Pineville.

Langford said the C.S. Lewis course analyzes many of Lewis’ works of both fiction and nonfiction. Lewis was an atheist and British writer, who converted to Christianity at age 32. He is best known for writing The Chronicles of Narnia series.

“We hope this will contribute positively to their academic pursuits and interests while also demonstrating what a typical upper-level class session looks like in our department here at LCU,” Langford said.

Several students shared their thoughts on the experience of discussing the book and of being in a college classroom discussion.

“I loved experiencing what a college class was like,” said Kirsten Bignar. “The questions made me think deeply, and I had a great comprehension of the book by the end.”

Sadie Sharbono said the questions the professors asked made them think deeply about the book.

“All the questions were thought-provoking and sincere, and they allowed us the freedom to speak,” she said. “I appreciate the opportunity to learn in this environment.”

Selina Rutherford, a freshman from Pineville, said the professors drew from their own life experiences to put the importance of the book into perspective.

“I loved how open and honest the teachers were even about their own mistakes, how they felt the book related to them personally,” Rutherford said. “It made it feel like a person who was right there with you, also still learning themselves.”

 

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Media Release     |    Feb. 22, 2024     |     Pineville, Louisiana
Contact: Dr. Elizabeth B. Clarke, Director of University Communications | Elizabeth.clarke@lcuniversity.edu