The Screwtape Letters - Part 2

"The prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best." 

C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters has a unique way of describing profound things from unusual perspectives. The above quotation, from chapter eight, is just one of many examples where Lewis uses the point of view of a demon to emphasize what it means to be a Christian, how Christians can live, and the ways followers of Jesus can trust in his promises. Chapters six and eight contained thoughts that particularly uplifted me.

In chapter six, Screwtape lectures his nephew Wormwood extensively on how to manipulate the minds of humans to focus on things that will degrade them spiritually and keep them from growing stronger. First, he makes the point that people will determine the physical hardships they face to be the major trials they must bear and fight against, when actually the trial is fear itself. (This paragraph likely alludes to a famous quotation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the President of the United States at the time of the writing of this book.) Then the elder demon makes a broader point – that Wormwood should try to make his human turn outwardly in regard to sins and not be introspective regarding his downfalls, but make him turn inwardly in regard to his supposed virtues so that he will think himself to be great spiritually and become prideful. This demonic advice, which Lewis cleverly uses to make just the opposite point as his narrator, helped me to understand more how the human mind works in regard to spiritual things. Moreover, I will now be more on guard to focusing too much on my own spiritual strengths and ignoring my spiritual vices. 

The encouragement Lewis gives in chapter eight regards God’s faithfulness. The entire chapter focuses on what Screwtape names “The Law of Undulation,” which essentially points out that everything about the lives of humans is in a constant state of change. Spiritually, this means that people have times when they feel close to God and able to do His work well, and times when they feel alone and incapable. Lewis (through the words of Screwtape) points out that God generally uses the spiritual “troughs” in life more than the “crests” to draw His children closer to Him. And this is the beautiful lesson about faithfulness. God guides us as new Christians and gives us a sense that He is with us, but then He seems to disappear from our lives, and we begin to doubt His presence and His promises. However, He is with us even when we can not see Him there – “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Screwtape points out in this discussion of God’s faithfulness that “[The devil’s] cause is never more in danger than when” it appears to someone that God has forsaken him, and he obeys anyway. So, Lewis implies, we as Christians should have enough faith in God’s promises that we can follow Him and believe in Him in the midst of our doubts. Thus, “The prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please him best.”

Lewis writes Christian teachings and encouragements into a book written from the perspective of a demon. That alone is impressive. Although, so far, there are still moments where Lewis uses too much Christian jargon to be fully comprehendible to everyone, his approach to teaching Christians about Christian life is more relatable than the standard theology book. J. I. Packer, Tim Keller, and other Christian authors must walk a fine line to avoid sounding too preachy, and when theology is taught overtly it can easily spark arguments over minor details of the Christian faith. By camouflaging his theology in fiction and a plot, C. S. Lewis engages readers instead of boring them and draws them in instead of turning them away. Another aspect of the appeal of The Screwtape Letters is that theological points can be made based not on science but on the experiences of the characters, which makes them easier to understand for most people. And personally, the encouragement offered in this book has helped me to understand more accurately the depth of God’s love and faithfulness to me, even in the presence of hardships and enemies.

The Screwtape Letters - Part 1

This book is not exactly Narnia. C.S. Lewis taken on a more adult and a darker perspective with The Screwtape Letters, a book where an elder demon writes letters to his nephew on how to more efficiently lead the human he is watching over away from God and towards hell. 

I tried to read this book several years ago, but I was not mature or confident enough in my faith, and the book honestly scared me. Talking from the perspective of the demons makes them seem more real and more dangerous, and for this reason it seems like The Screwtape Letters is a book that should be mainly read by strong Christians or people who are generally mentally mature. In regards to focusing too much on demons as opposed to God, Lewis makes sure to note in his introduction that he believes people make one of two errors talking about demons: they either don't believe they exist or they think about them too much. 

The real purpose Lewis had for the book can be seen from the quotes he puts before the beginning of the book. The sayings, from Martin Luther and Thomas More, both show that the devil does not like to be mocked. So The Screwtape Letters can be viewed in a sense as satire against Satan, mocking him to rob him of his perceived power in our minds.

In another sense, the book is a roundabout way to show Christians how to fight off the devil. The demon Screwtape’s words often are used in a way that allows Lewis to make a point about the Christian lifestyle from a fresh perspective. Sometimes this strategy results in the main demon speaking too much “Christianese,” which bothers me a bit from a literary perspective. However, Lewis’ point of view and style of writing keeps The Screwtape Letters from sounding preachy and allows Christians to look at their faith in a different light. The book implicitly gives advice on how Christians should live and not live. It gives this advice not from the typical perspective of why it is good to, for example, be humble, but from the perspective of why the devil enjoys it when humility is disregarded and pride abounds.

An interesting point Lewis makes in the introduction to his book is that not everything spoken by Screwtape in the book is necessarily true from even the demon’s perspective. In other words, the main devil could even be lying to himself and his audience in order to further shame God in his own mind. So The Screwtape Letters should not be taken at face value from any perspective, and Christians should be careful from deriving meanings from it that do not exist.

Another reason for Lewis’ writing of The Screwtape Letters was likely encouragement to Christians. The original “letters” were penned by Lewis during World War II, a time when it would be easy for people to lose their faith in humanity and in God. Lewis makes sure not to treat war itself as the victory of the devil, but puts more focus on personal life than on politics. In doing this, he encourages people at the time not to focus excessively about the war but to focus on their own lives and morals. Lewis also makes a point to have Screwtape say that war does not lead to lack of faith as much as one might expect. This allows people to see the hope in war that people will turn to God even amidst horror.

I admire the creativity of C. S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters. This short book is a much easier read than a theology textbook or a lecture book, but still has spiritual meat and good advice in its pages. Since it is written from the perspective of a demon, it can be a bit dark even though the subject matter is not particularly twisted. However, it provides a unique take on the Christian lifestyle, and Lewis has a way of writing and getting his point across as his narrator makes the corollary and opposing point. This enables this book to both read like a story and help Christians grow in their walk with God.