Brian Beasley is no stranger to teaching across the curriculum of a liberal arts college. In his freshman seminar, "Faith and Logic According to C. S. Lewis," the math professor tackled C. S. Lewis's writings from logical, religious, and literary standpoints. He has taught the class twice, in the fall of 2006 and again in the fall of 2007. When asked why he chose this course, he says, "I wanted a topic that was both appropriate for a freshman seminar and appropriate for a math professor to teach ­ this seemed like a perfect fit."

When he read The Chronicles of Narnia in college, Beasley became a fan of Lewis, and after enjoying that series, he read Lewis's other works. Beasley was fascinated by the way that the author combined faith and logic. As a math professor, Beasley focused on the logic of Lewis's writings: "One of my favorite logical arguments of all time occurs in Mere Christianity, when Lewis gives his famous 'liar, lunatic, or Lord' argument for the divinity of Jesus Christ. Logically, if we grant that hypothesis that Jesus really said what is attributed to him by the Gospels, then the conclusion is one, and only one, of those three cases ­ he was lying, he was insane, or he was (and is) God." Beasley wanted to share with freshmen his fascination with this kind of logic.

He required students to write three papers, to keep an e-mail journal, and to participate fully in the class discussions. The first paper asked students to describe a visit from the Malacandrian aliens in Out of the Silent Planet. The second required students to compare a logical argument from Mere Christianity to an argument from one of Paul's New Testament letters. For the last paper, students created their own "Screwtape Letter," giving instructions from a senior devil to a junior tempter. In the e-mail journals, Beasley's students wrote on prompts he provided. He hoped that this method forced his students not only to read and prepare for the next class but also to think about observations and questions that arose from the readings.

The math professor seems pleased with what his students accomplished in the class. He believes that the students "came into it as Lewis fans and left with, hopefully, an even deeper appreciation for his work." Beasley feels confident that he achieved the goals he put forth for the class: "My intention was to expose them to a greater variety of Lewis's works, to show them how one may construct a logical argument for a faith position, and to give them a taste of what college courses are like."

by Kathryn May