Screwtape Letters

One of my summer assignments was to read and write a report on a book called: The Screwtape letters, by C.S. Lewis.
Here's the report:

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a book of letters from a devil to another devil. It contains advice for praying and sexual usage of women as well as a volley of other sins. The amazing part is that it is just one-way letter. It is not a letter to a devil and then a response from another devil. The instances described in these letters are merely human instances, from Screwtape, the uncle to Wormwood, the young naïve devil.  But, do they have a purpose? What is C.S. Lewis trying to tell us? I believe that C.S. Lewis is trying to convey a sense of shock and horror at the schemes and traps that the devil uses.

Screwtape starts off by lecturing Wormwood on Teaching. Teaching is, in general, true or false. Screwtape tells his nephew to not concentrate on making something true or false. Instead he tells Wormwood to make it sort of unclear and fuzzy to make it confusing as if it so ordinary that it does not matter whether it is true or false. Screwtape then goes on to tell his nephew on the subject of representing Christianity. He says that jealousy is a good sort of thing to have between families when someone has “become a Christian.” He then begins to communicate his feelings towards war. Screwtape says that instead of enjoying the suffering of humans, the devils should be using it to bring upon the humans questioning and doubt. Doubting is the cause of falling away. Our job is to cause them to fall away, says Screwtape. Then comes the question of the knowledge that humans have of demons and devils. According to Screwtape, the procedure is to keep concealed. This is what is said commonly throughout the book. The goal of the devil is to keep concealed and not to be heard or seen by humans. This allows for a surprise and hidden attack on a human and adds distress and worry when realized by the human. Also, keeping concealed allows the human not to realize easily that they are being attacked and are therefore not able to counterattack the invading army.

This was such an eye-opener. I would have prided myself on knowing about the devil and demons, but as all I knew was that they exist and not much about them.   C.S. Lewis addresses the question clearly and makes it easy to understand. He also deals with the issues that are in the world around me. War, pain, doubting; all of those things I have either seen or experienced. (Not the physical war though.)  I was almost amazed to see myself understanding this book easily. Usually, it takes a few read through of the chapters in order to understand the meaning. I was actually nodding as I realized that in my worldview that all of this is real and true. I agree with everything C.S. Lewis wrote in Screwtape Letters. Completely.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a book of letters from one devil to another. The devils are commentating on how to capture a human heart. They go through several issues, mainly on “Christianity”, Love, Devotion, Prayer, etc. I would recommend this book to the grades in upper middle school and high school because the language is a bit difficult to understand. I do believe that this book opened my eyes to the devil’s work in our land and world. Does this summary not cause the thinker to realize that our world is being trapped and held by a great many sins and demons?

            And the great dragon was thrown down,

            The great serpent of old who is called the devil, and Satan,

Who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to earth and his angels were thrown down with him.

-Revelation 12:9

my next post will be on the book: The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's by Robert Louis Stevenson.

can't wait to post again!!!

until another time,

I will forever be,

Hannah Grace Newbold