Haeffner 1
C.S. Lewis / Screwtape Letters
Introductory Notes
1. The Irish-English writer C.S. Lewis was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1898. He was
educated in England, enlisted in the army in 1917, saw front line combat and was
wounded in the war. He returned to his studies at Oxford after the war, and graduated in
1922. He taught at Oxford and Cambridge as a professor of Medieval and Renaissance
literature.
2. In his boyhood he was an ____________, but converted to Christianity in 1931. His
spiritual pilgrimage followed two tracks, both ________________ (i.e.
__________________) and ________________ (i.e. ____________________)
3. Lewis was part of the Oxford literary circle known as the Inklings, whose membership
included J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit).
4. In 1957 he married Joy Davidman Gresham, an American with whom he had
corresponded for a number of years. Joy had been a ____________ ___________ and
a communist. She converted to Christianity partly as a result of reading Lewis’ books.
5. Joy was already suffering from bone-cancer at the time of their marriage and died in
1960. Lewis died three years later on Nov. 22, 1963, the same day JFK was
assassinated in Dallas. Their lives and love story are portrayed in the play and movie
____________________. The title of the movie alludes to Lewis’ belief that our world is
only a reflection of God’s wonderful kingdom (“Now we see through a glass darkly…”)
6. The screenplay gives some people the idea that Lewis lost his _____________ after Joy
died. This is not true. In his autobiography, A Grief Observed, he makes it clear that he
did go through a period of questioning God’s goodness for a short time. At one point he
speculates whether “God might be wicked.” This statement is followed by the line “I
wrote that last night. It was a yell rather than a thought.” It is interesting to note that one
of Lewis’ finest Christian books is Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, which was
written just before his death and some time after Joy had died.
7. Lewis was a talented writer and debater. He wrote in many genres: novels, poetry,
children’s literature, fantasy, science fiction, literary criticism, and Christian apologetics.
8. While Lewis was an Anglican, what he cared most about was what he called
“_______________________,” that is, that faith which has been at the center of the
gospel and the creeds of the church since the apostles announced it. It was the gospel
freed from the denominational idiosyncrasies, the debris of history, and the focuses on
the essential truth of the identity and mission of __________________________.
9. When writing the book Mere Christianity, he had the text reviewed by Anglican, Roman
Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian clergymen to avoid any hint of
______________________ creeping in.
Haeffner 2
10. In a telling passage in Allegory of Love, he recognizes the potential flaws in both
Catholic and Protestant paths:
When Catholicism goes bad it becomes a world-old world-wide “religio” of amulets
and holy places and priest craft; Protestantism, in its corresponding decay,
becomes a (watered-down) vague mist of ethical platitudes.
11. The authority of Christ and His teachings is what counts for Lewis; not an occasionally
revised doctrine the church produces (that we are expected to accept in advance of
changes), or a watered-down / “feel good” doctrine.
The Screwtape Letters
1. Written in 1942, it is a ________________________ “from one devil to another.”
Screwtape is the author of the letters. He is an experienced devil and is writing to his
nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter on his ______________________. The letters deal
with the psychology of _____________________, and will make most readers laugh and
wince.
2. Some editions contain the short “essay” Screwtape Proposes a Toast. This is not really a
sequel to the original, but is a separate essay in which Screwtape gives a speech
praising recent developments in the English and American education system.
3. While reading the letters, our goal should be to gain insight into the potential
___________ that we face in trying to lead a Christian life.
Literary Term
Epistolary essay; epistolary novel
An epistolary essay or novel is one in which the entire work is presented in the form of
____________ written by one or more characters to communicate the theme or plot/story line.
Study Guide – Part I
Preface to Paperback:
vii.What does belief in devils mean?
ix.How must we picture hell?
Haeffner 3
xi.What are the two bad motives of bad angels?
Preface:
What are the two “equal and opposite” errors we tend to fall into concerning devils?
Chapter 1
Who is the Enemy?
Who is the writer of the letter?
Who is the perpetrator?
What has contributed to changing the influence that true logic and reasoning have on a person’s
views?
How does jargon contribute to a blurring of true and false?
What is the end result of awakening the reason?
What is the greatest advantage Wormwood has because of “processes…set at work in them
centuries ago”?
What do you conclude is the difference between teaching and fuddling?
Haeffner 4
Chapter 2
What does Screwtape believe about “eternal security?”
What is being criticized about the church?
What is the “peculiar kind of clarity which Hell affords?”
What disappointment comes to every churchman during his first few weeks?
Chapter 3
What suggestions are given to handle the “patient’s” relationship with his mother?
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is to be remembered about the elder brother in the Enemy’s story?
Chapter 4
Describe Screwtape’s comment about prayer.
Describe Screwtape’s comment on feelings in relation to prayer.
According to Screwtape, what is the most dangerous thing about prayer?
Haeffner 5
Chapter 5
What is the “real business” of devils?
What are the tendencies inherent in war” which do not work to the devils’ favor?
Chapter 6
Explain the statement, “…the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross, but
only of the things he is afraid of…”
How is man like a series of concentric circles; what should reside where?
Chapter 7
Where do you note a description of the New Age philosophy?
Comment on the rule “…All extremes except extreme devotion to the Enemy are to be
encouraged…” How do we see this play out in our society?
Note that the devils’ goal for the church is to become just like humanists and the media currently
characterize the church.
How can both Patriotism and Pacifism (the peace movement) be used against the believer?
Haeffner 6
Screwtape Letters – Part II
Chapter 8
What is the law of undulation?
Explain how the Enemy “relies on the troughs even more than the peaks…”
Explain what is said about obedience.
Chapter 9
What is the devils’ goal in the use of pleasure?
Explain the phrase “A moderated religion is as good for us as no religion at all.”
Chapter 10
React to what is said about the world’s characterizing old fashioned virtues as Puritanism (“By it
we rescue annually thousands of humans from temperance, chastity, and sobriety of life.”
Chapter 11
How are the causes of human laughter, joy, fun, the Joke Proper, and flippancy described?
Haeffner 7
Chapter 12
Why is Screwtape glad to hear that the patient is still a churchgoer?
Comment on the phrase “…the safest road to hell is the gradual one.”
Chapter 13
Comment on the passage “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.”
Screwtape Letters – Part III
Chapter 14
How do devils deal with humility?
Chapter 15
What is the alternative to “tortured fear and stupid confidence?”
Chapter 16
What is the next best thing to curing a man of churchgoing?
Haeffner 8
Chapter 17
How is gluttony defined?
Chapter 18
What do the devils understand about the family and “being in love.”
Chapter 19
What is Satan incapable of understanding?
Chapter 20
How can a man’s sexuality be used to his undoing?
Chapter 21
What angers men? Why?
Chapter 22
Why does Toadpipe take over the letter writing?
Chapter 23
Why is the historical Jesus to be encouraged?
Haeffner 9
Chapter 24
How is it suggested that spiritual pride be used?
Screwtape Letters – Part IV
Chapter 25
Describe the concept of “Christianity And…”
Chapter 26
What are the seeds sown in courtship that grow up into domestic hatred?
Chapter 27
Describe the “historical” point of view and why it is helpful to the devils.
Chapter 28
Why is death not the prime evil, and survival not the greatest good?
Chapter 29
Why is cowardice (fear) deemed the worst sin (i.e. the most helpful to the devil)?
Chapter 30
How is perseverance shown to be a virtue?
Chapter 31
How does Wormwood fail?
Haeffner 10
Haeffner 11
Screwtape Proposes a Toast
1. What is the problem with democracy?
2. React to his comments concerning equality in education?
3. Essay: “The real end is the destruction of the individual.” Discuss the importance of this
goal to Satan using examples from the text of Screwtape Proproses a Toast.