What is Screwtape’s idea on the best way for humans to die? Why?
Screwtape wishes to let them die in a "costly nursing home amid doctors who lie, nurses who lie, and friends who lie." Regardless of the religious orientations of a patient, sympathizers often feel compelled to comfort them with empty promises. Often families and friends will be told that their loved one will "be in a better place soon", which gives them a false sense of comfort. They concern themselves more about "burdening" the patient in his final hours then with the fate of his eternity soul. Many individuals don't realize how fleeting the life we are given is.
How does “...malice thus becomes wholly real and the benevolence largely imaginary” (28)? How does this apply to your life?
Often when told to love our enemies, we're not quite sure how to apply it. We smile and nod in church, but when it comes to applying the lessons to the real people in our lives it doesn't connect in our minds. We're told to love our neighbor, but our neighbor remains an abstract concept. We don't apply it to the grumpy sales clerks who frown at us in the supermarket. Instead we mutter about him and quickly seek to rid him from our lives. We're quick to donate our spare change to charities, but when asked to volunteer our time we're far too busy.
How do you picture the devil? What does this chapter challenge you about regarding the spiritual warfare over your soul?
Regrettably, images of Satan first bring to mind a red man brandishing a pitch fork and glaring menacingly from a cartoon pit of fire. Years of subtle messages from the media have painted the devil as nothing but a harmless fictional figure. However, (sometimes subconsciously) every Christian knows that the devil is much more than a figure useful in threatening naughty children with. He is the ultimate epitome of evil and corruption. Often it is easy to consider him as a figurative threat, but the spiritual warfare that goes on in your heart is a very real thing.
What is the “law of Undulation” (37)? Give an example of this in your life.
A person goes through many ups and downs in their spiritual life. Although it's not desirable, we all face moments where God seems far away. I often find myself on a "spiritual high" after S.E.W., however, the feeling often begins to fade, and I find myself struggling to hold onto my feelings of spirituality. It's important to remember that our love for God is not only a feeling, but a relationship. It's not up to us to 'feel' spiritual, we have to maintain our relationship with God.
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