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They say that there are two types of literature: escapist (entertainment) and meaningful (life-enriching). Some books are clearly one or the other. However, many, like most of C.S. Lewis's works, fall somewhere in between. For example, his children's book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe leans more towards the escapist side, while his Mere Christianity is more, if not purely, meaningful.
In my opinion, The Screwtape Letters is precisely in the middle. I rated it as follows:
As an Escapist Book: 2 STARS (It's okay)
Epistolary in form, The Screwtape Letters consists of 31 letters written by a senior tempter, Uncle Screwtape, to a new tempter called Wormwood. We don't know why the coaching is through letters instead of in person or by telephone. All the letters are from Screwtape, so we don't know if there are responses from Wormwood that he ignores. I thought it would have been more interesting if Lewis had included Wormwood's responses.
Despite the names of the characters and the events that occur later in the story, I found nothing funny about the book. Maybe my sense of humor is too dull, or perhaps it takes more than this to tickle my funny bone. I'm not sure.
However, what makes this book interesting and engaging, especially at the beginning, is the fact that these are letters from an old devil to a younger one. It's like imagining God instructing Moses on top of Mount Sinai, giving him the Ten Commandments. Or, in the form of letters, it's like the books in the Bible written in letter format, such as The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians and The First Letter of Paul to Timothy.
So, this book is like the Bible of the Devil! But, in context, it's far from that. As you read, you'll realize that you are the subject of the letter, as if Lewis holds up a mirror in front of you. It's a reminder that we are all sinners and will continue to be sinners. However, the book also makes us aware that we not only have our own guardian angel guiding us to make the right choices but also our own tempter trying to entice us to sin. Awareness is the first step in making the right decision, and the rest is up to us.
As a Meaningful Book: 4 STARS (I really liked it!)
Reading this book can be disastrous if you don't know the equivalent of what God must have responded to each of Screwtape's 31 letters. If you read it as is, you'll be in danger of only seeing one side of the coin. So, without giving away the plot of the book, I've summarized below the main message(s) of some of the letters and, right below, the applicable Bible verse. Then I've added some of my personal reactions to the chosen letters.
In my opinion, The Screwtape Letters is precisely in the middle. I rated it as follows:
As an Escapist Book: 2 STARS (It's okay)
Epistolary in form, The Screwtape Letters consists of 31 letters written by a senior tempter, Uncle Screwtape, to a new tempter called Wormwood. We don't know why the coaching is through letters instead of in person or by telephone. All the letters are from Screwtape, so we don't know if there are responses from Wormwood that he ignores. I thought it would have been more interesting if Lewis had included Wormwood's responses.
Despite the names of the characters and the events that occur later in the story, I found nothing funny about the book. Maybe my sense of humor is too dull, or perhaps it takes more than this to tickle my funny bone. I'm not sure.
However, what makes this book interesting and engaging, especially at the beginning, is the fact that these are letters from an old devil to a younger one. It's like imagining God instructing Moses on top of Mount Sinai, giving him the Ten Commandments. Or, in the form of letters, it's like the books in the Bible written in letter format, such as The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians and The First Letter of Paul to Timothy.
So, this book is like the Bible of the Devil! But, in context, it's far from that. As you read, you'll realize that you are the subject of the letter, as if Lewis holds up a mirror in front of you. It's a reminder that we are all sinners and will continue to be sinners. However, the book also makes us aware that we not only have our own guardian angel guiding us to make the right choices but also our own tempter trying to entice us to sin. Awareness is the first step in making the right decision, and the rest is up to us.
As a Meaningful Book: 4 STARS (I really liked it!)
Reading this book can be disastrous if you don't know the equivalent of what God must have responded to each of Screwtape's 31 letters. If you read it as is, you'll be in danger of only seeing one side of the coin. So, without giving away the plot of the book, I've summarized below the main message(s) of some of the letters and, right below, the applicable Bible verse. Then I've added some of my personal reactions to the chosen letters.
Letter I:
Screwtape: By the act of arguing, you awake the patient’s reason. Do not attempt to use science as a defense against Christianity.
Bible: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. - James 1:5-8
K.D.: We should ask questions and discuss our faith (whether it's Christianity or another religion), including how science can strengthen it. Science and religion are reconcilable and don't have to be on opposite sides of the spectrum, as is often depicted in courtroom dramas like “Inherit the Wind.”
Letter II:
Screwtape: Never let the patient ask what he expected Christians to look like. Let him wonder how to reconcile the people sitting on the pews near him in church, who have lots of vices. Work on the emotional disappointment during his first few weeks as a churchman.
Bible: God says in Isa. 9:17: “… for everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” God loves the hypocrite both inside and outside the church and wants them to repent and become part of the Church.
K.D.: We are our brothers' keepers. We need to spread the word of God to the people we encounter as much as possible. There may be vices or sins around us, but if we lead by example, we can make the world a better place. Satan is always lurking, waiting for us to fall into sin.
Letter III.
Screwtape: a. Keep his mind on the inner mental state, where he won't discover any of the facts about himself that are perfectly clear to anyone else. b. Make sure he is always concerned with his mother's soul but never her rheumatism. c. Work on being annoyed at minor physical nuances, not realizing that he has them himself. d. He must demand his utterances be taken at face value while hers be suspected of intention.
Bible on “c”: And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” - John 8:7
K.D.: We are all created in the image and likeness of God, so we are inherently strong. However, most of us don't know ourselves. The devil perpetuates this by not challenging us, so we think we're weak. We tend to criticize, condemn, and complain about others without seeing that we ourselves are not faultless.
Letter IV.
Screwtape: a. Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling. b. They are animals, their bodies affect their souls.
Bible on “a”: ”And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” - 1 John 5:14-15.
K.D.: God always hears us. Sometimes we think our prayers are unanswered, but that's not the case. Sometimes, God works in mysterious ways, and we're just unable to discern or understand His answers. Our bodies sometimes give in to temptation (such as lust, gluttony, and greed), and the devil celebrates whenever we succumb to these things.
Letter V.
Screwtape: What permanent good does war do unless we make use of it to bring souls to our father below?
Bible: ”A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace.” - Ecclesiastes 3:8
K.D.: War is crazy. The devil uses it to his advantage to gather the souls of those who participate in it, particularly those who take advantage of it for their own benefit.
Letter VI.
Screwtape: a. Have him deal with future fears. b. Have him love humanity, but not his neighbor.
Bible on “a”: ”Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” - Matthew 6:34
K.D.: Consider the lilies.
Letter VII.
Screwtape: a. Encourage him to be a materialist magician. b. Make the world the end and faith the means.
Bible on “a”: ”Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:19-21
K.D.: I guess “materialist” means materialistic or giving excessive importance to the riches of this world. “Magician” might mean that Wormwood should make himself concealed so that the Patient finds it easy to believe in him. I'm not entirely sure what this means. I read the passage twice and settled on that biblical passage from Matthew as its counterpart.
Letter VIII.
Screwtape: a. The Law of Undulation is: since man is spirit (eternal) and physical/natural (temporal), then undulation (consolation/desolation) is natural. Desolation occurs because God cannot ravish, he can only woo.
Bible: ”For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” - Hebrews 6:4-6
K.D.: The devil encourages us to continuously sin against God.
Letter IX.
Screwtape: Any pleasure in its normal, healthy form is God’s territory. The father below encourages improper times, ways, degrees.
Bible: ”For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11
K.D.: God wants us to be happy in the right way.
Letter X.
Screwtape: a. All mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be. b. By vanity, get him to see himself as balanced and complex because he can relate to both his worldly and Christian friends.
Bible: ”Some people pretend to be rich, but have nothing. Others pretend to be poor, but own a fortune. The rich have to use their money to save their lives, but no one threatens the poor. The righteous are like a light shining brightly; the wicked are like a lamp flickering out. Arrogance causes nothing but trouble. It is wiser to ask for advice. The more easily you get your wealth, the sooner you will lose it. The harder it is to earn, the more you will have. When hope is crushed, the heart is crushed, but a wish come true fills you with joy. If you refuse good advice, you are asking for trouble; follow it and you are safe. The teachings of the wise are a fountain of life; they will help you escape when your life is in danger. Intelligence wins respect, but those who can't be trusted are on the road to ruin. Sensible people always think before they act, but stupid people advertise their ignorance. Unreliable messengers cause trouble, but those who can be trusted bring peace. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” - Proverbs 13:7-17
K.D.: Let's all be real at all times. Don't pretend.
Letter XI.
Screwtape: Joy, fun, joke, flippancy: "Jokes can be used to cover other sins; flippancy is always bad."
Bible: ”Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!” - Proverbs 26:18-19
K.D.: Joke only when it's appropriate and not to mask the truth.
Letter XII.
Screwtape: a. Men shun God just as men in financial embarrassment shun the sight of a bank book. b. The safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without milestones, without signposts.
Bible: ”Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” - James 4:7
K.D.: Listen to what God says, Screwtape. How dare you assume that we shun God. We don't.
Letter XIII.
Screwtape: Always try to make him abandon the people or food or books he really likes in favor of ‘the best’ people, the ‘right’ food, the ‘important’ books.
Bible: ”There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death..” - Proverbs 14:12
K.D.: Choose who you associate with. Some people can lead you into temptation. Choose the books you read. Some are poisons to your brain. Choose the food you eat. Some is harmful to your body.
Letter XIV.
Screwtape: Humility is self-forgetfulness, not low self-esteem. Even if his sins, he should not think too much.
Bible: ”Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men...” - Philippians 2:3-11
K.D.: Screwtape tells Wormwood that when the patient humbles himself, catch him in action and say “wow, you’re the man!” Then the patient will be proud of himself, and pride is a sin. The other way is what Screwtape says above: make man think that being humble is a sign of weakness.
Letter XV.
Screwtape: Get man away from the eternal and from the Present. The Future is the thing least like eternity.
Bible: ”And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” - 1 John 5:20
K.D.: Screwtape tells Wormwood that men are busy glorifying God in their present daily life (God tells men to focus on the present. See Letter VI.) because of the promise of eternity. Therefore, the devil wants men not to associate God's promise with the Future. Nice try, Screwtape!
Letter XVI.
Screwtape: The search for a suitable church makes the patient a critic when God wants a pupil.
Bible: Question: Are there any Bible verses for not choosing any religion other than just Roman Catholic? Answer: No. The Scripture never told that Religion will give you salvation nor did it say it shall save you. However, it is said in the Scripture in John 3:3 “that no one will enter the kingdom of God unless he is Born Again.” It should be understood that the term ‘Born again’ there does not pertain to the religion. It pertains to the spiritual rebirth of a person where his old sinful and unworthy self dies and is baptized and is renewed in Christ Jesus as he accepts him as his Savior. DO NOT fool yourself with the shallowness of religion or being religious. Instead, invest your life on Faith in God and in Jesus. Go to church, worship the Lord, give him his tithe and sow your seeds, have your devotions and share the Gospel and testify to God's greatness and get people saved!
K.D.: Screwtape wants men to not be content with their religion. He wants us to go shopping for a new one! I don't know. I don't see the value in changing the religion that my parents taught me.
Letter XVII.
Screwtape: The ’All I want’ type of gluttony is never recognized as a determination to
