Screwtape Analysis

   In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis offers a singularly unique point of view as he approaches the Christian walk from the perspective of a senior demon advising his inexperienced nephew in the ways of deceit. C.S. Lewis uses a unique point of view to evidence the subtle failings that many Christians are unable to see in their own walks. Many Christian authors tackles the difficulties of spiritual life from the perspective of a fellow Christian, which is, of course, a wholly effective method. However, Lewis approaches this topic from a perspective that is rarely seen in Christian writing, offering a new take on the issue of everyday spiritual struggles.

In Chapter 6, Lewis directs his focus towards the confusion that many Christians feel toward the statement "love your enemies." Christians are told countless times from childhood to love their enemies, but just who is an enemy? If asked, many Christians would quickly reply with a text-book perfect answer, but often their understanding is hazy at best. C.S. Lewis states that many Christians focus their attention on fictional enemies far outside their real circle of influence instead of loving the people that they encounter daily.

Through Screwtape, Lewis gives his opinions on the law of Undulation. In essence, the law of Undulation is the continuous highs and lows that every Christian experiences in his spiritual life. Screwtape states that the troughs in a man's life are often more useful than the peaks. When a man is at his lowest, that is when he finally realizes that need in his life that can only be filled by God's grace.

  In Chapter 14, Lewis remarks on the popularly misconstrued nature of the word humble. Screwtape states that humility is often believed to be thought of as "pretty women trying to believe they are ugly and clever men trying to believe they are fools." Such a belief will only lead to utter folly. True humility is acknowledging that all of man's earthly gifts and talents are given to him by God, and rejoicing in the fact that he is able to serve God with them.

   C.S. Lewis uses a unique point of view to demonstrate the Christian walk from a perspective that is purely observational. Although Lewis' demons have a very intimate impact on humans, their relationships with their 'patients' remain impersonal, and they consider humans only as pawns in their war against God. This allows C.S. Lewis to tackle the folly of the human race from a harsher angle than most Christian writers would ordinarily utilize.

   Throughout the book, Screwtape continuously advises Wormwood, a novice tempter, on ways to efficiently tempt his patient toward wickedness. He regards humans very lowly, but understand that a knowledge of their innermost thoughts is pivotal in their line of work. While teaching Wormwood, he delves deep into the minds of man, giving both general mistakes and sub-conscious errors that all Christians are prone to make in their spiritual walks.

    Screwtape often mocks Wormwood's limited knowledge of the human mind. Lewis uses this largely as a segue to transition into his next point. However, it also establishes a better look into the hierarchy of demon society and efficiently establishes the characters. Although very little of this background information is Biblically-based, it does provide the reader with an interesting insight into the cruelty of the demon mind.

   C.S. Lewis uses a unique point of view to demonstrate God's redeeming powers and unconditional love in our lives. Although his point of view is from the perspective of a demon, Screwtape still demonstrates great surprise at the degree of God's love toward man. Lewis does not let the demonic twist of his The Screwtape Letters prevent him from proclaiming the love of God to his audience.

  Screwtape looks in disgust upon God's love for mankind. He notes that God's love is 'the most repellent and inexplicable trait in our Enemy; He really loves the hairless bipeds He has created and always gives back to them with His right hand what He takes away with His left." Screwtape seems continuously unable to understand God's love for humans. Lewis uses this to demonstrate just how far beneath God's love mankind is. Christians are told so frequently that God loves them that most take the wondrous fact for granted.

Throughout the book, Screwtape cannot comprehend God's relationship with mankind. He finds it baffling that such a God would offer man a choice of whether to follow him instead of simply creating a creature without will. His wish is for mankind "to be one with Him, but yet themselves; merely to cancel them, or assimilate them, will not serve. 

Screwtape continuously warns Wormwood not to underestimate the will of God and his influence in the lives of man, and cautions him to always be on guard again the counter-attacks of the "enemy". Although truly, the battle against God is no real battle, but instead is the conscious choice of every man. Ultimately the decision of where they will spend the rest of their eternity resides with the individual, and no amount of influence, righteous or deceitful, can make the decision.

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis effectively conveys his message using a unique perspective.

Work Cited

Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters. New York: Harper Collins, 2001. Print

Screwtape Conclusion

Screwtape 26-28

Chapter 26

'She's the sort of woman who lives for others - you can always tell the others by their hunted expressions.'

Chapter 27

If the thing he prays for doesn't happen, then that is one more proof that petitionary prayers don't work;

if it does happen, he will, of course, be able to see some of the physical causes which led up to it, and

'therefore it would have happened anyway'.

 

Chapter 28

Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is 'finding his place in it', while really it is finding its place

him.

Note: All written material is taken directly from C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters

Screwtape 22-25

Chapter 22: Everything has to be twisted before it's any use to us. We fight under cruel disadvantages. Nothing is naturally on our side.

   

 Chapter 23: Only today have I found a passage in a Christian writer where he recommends his own version of Christianity on the ground that 'only such a faith can outlast the death of old cultures and the birth of a new civilizations'. You see the little rift? 'Believe this, not because it is true, but for some other reason.' That's the game.

   

Chapter 24: He has no notion how much in him is forgiven because they are charitable and made the best of because he is now one of the family. He does not dream how much of his conversation, hom many of his opinions, are recognised by them all as mere echoes of their own. Still less does he suspect how much of the delight he takes in these people is due to the erotic enhancement which the girl, for him, spreads over all her surroundings.

   

Chapter 25: We have trained them to think of the Future as a promised land which favoured heroes attain - not as something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.

 

Chapters XVI-XVIII Questions

Church brings “...people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity the Enemy desires.”  Why is this such a problem for Screwtape?
When people are united solely in faith, it creates a congregation that is focused inward towards its relationship with God. Ultimately, a church should be a place where every person who claims the one true God as their own is welcomed to praise and increase their knowledge of Him. When we are united in faith, we are able to support and aid each other. Ecclesiastes 4:12 states that, "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken".
Why would God want “complete abstinence or unmitigated monogamy” for us?  
God's rule of "complete abstinence or unmitigated monogamy" is certainly not a groundless principle. When two individuals enter into a God-focused marriage, they are bound as partners for the rest of their lives. They will be responsible for keeping their significant other accountable to God. Also, this principle guards us from the sins of sexual impurity and preserves our body as a temple of God.
“...insatiable demand for the exact, and almost impossible, palatal pleasures which she imagines she remembers from the past.” Gone are the days “...when her sense were more easily pleased and she had pleasures of other kinds which made her less dependent on those of the table.”  What does this mean?  
She seeks the pleasures and joys of the past, a time where she was believes she was happier, by demanding certain culinary delights. She recalls these dishes from her past as particularly pleasing even though they were very likely no different then the ones she consumes at present. In reality, she is not truly searching for a certain dish but instead chasing after an ideal that manifests itself in her gluttony.

Chapters XII-XV Questions

What is the “safest road to Hell”?  Do you agree or disagree?
Screwtape states that the safest road to Hell "is the graduated one". I would agree wholeheartedly. A gradual fall away from God is barely perceivable to most individuals. They brush off their unease and make excuses for their spiritual decline. If your separation from God is a swift, disruptive attack on your faith, you'll be far more likely to take immediate action. If not, it's often just as easy to walk away.
“The man who truly and disinterestedly enjoys any one thing in the world, for its own sake, and without caring two-pence what other people say about it, is by that very fact forearmed against some of our subtlest modes of attack.”  Why is this true?  And what is one simple thing that you truly enjoy?
Often, simple pleasures in life can distract us from the less admirable diversions of the world. We'll be less likely to take advantage of a sinful temptation if we are already content in our relationship with God. Also, pleasure, if used within the boundaries of Scripture, is a gift from God and therefore brings glory to him. It is imperative to remember that pleasure is not a sin in itself, but is corrupted by sin. One simple thing that I enjoy is my job in early childhood after school care. It's one of the few times where I can kick back and act like a complete idiot with the children.
“The more often he feels without acting, the less he will be able to ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.”  Share a time in your life when this has been true.  
During a difficult period in my life I found myself falling away from God. I had done something, a "small sin" in my mind, that had gradually weighed me down until my relationship with God was in shambles. I was convicted countless time, but I just couldn't bring myself to come back to Him. I felt that I had wandered too far away from him, and I just wasn't sure where to begin the process of reconciliation. The sin had become a part of my life On the outside I kept up my facade of Christianity, but on the inside I could feel myself slipping. Finally, I completely eradicated the sin from my life, and although it took awhile for me to find my way back to God, I can't explain the relief that I felt. I wasn't aware of how terrible the guilt had weighed on me until I was free of it.
“We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow’s end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now....”  What does this mean to you?
When we place all our focus on the future, it often makes it very difficult to keep God's plan as our priority. When people only think of the end and not the means it can create a mindset where the future has no importance. People will pay no attention to their current situations as long as their current goals for the future are completed. Especially as a high school student, it's easy to see how people can start making plans for the future without consulting God or anyone else. Often times, I find my plans concentrating on myself and what I want, and when my plans start to fail I start to blame myself and everyone around me. As a Christian, a mindset where God's priorities are not put first fails to meet what should be the ultimate goal of our lives.