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.