The Screwtape Letters
By C.S. Lewis
Strange Name…
If you haven’t read the
book The Screwtape
Letters, it is likely
that you don’t know
why it has the name
Screwtape in the
title. It’s an usual
name for a book.
Much like Dante’s Inferno in feel, C.S. Lewis’ intent in
writing The Screwtape Letters was to show his
readers the dangers of mortal sins.
Why from the viewpoint of a demon?
Interestingly, Lewis doesn’t teach us through a
lecture (though one of the things he’s known
for is being a professor at Oxford).
Instead, through a series of thirty-one letters
from one demon to another, Lewis opens our
eyes to the many ways that we can be led to
sin and be led astray.
C.S. Lewis, after converting in 1931 to
Christianity, remained an orthodox Anglican
for the rest of his life.
The idea of Mortal Sins is one of the beliefs of
the Anglican Church. It is also a largely held
belief of the Roman Catholics.
J.R.R. Tolkein, one of Lewis’ closest friends, was
Roman Catholic, and was a large influence on
Lewis’ conversion to Christianity.
Hellfire
&
Damnation!!!
So what exactly is this book about?
A fictional character, a demon named
Screwtape, writes a series of thirty-one letters
to his nephew Wormwood, a younger,
inexperienced demon.
Screwtape advises Wormwood on different
things to help his “patient” fail in his faith as a
Christian.
Example:
Screwtape chastises Wormwood for letting the
Patient convert to Christianity, but tells him
that all is not lost. Screwtape knows a trick to
dulling a newfound faith: distraction.
Distraction is what will keep the Patient from
doing good things, and therefore, will keep
him from practicing Christianity as he should.
Screwtape tells his nephew that “the safest path
to hell is the gradual one.” The process of
corrupting a soul is a slow one, but it leads
that person away from heaven, and that is
what the demons want. It is what the devil
wants.
So, how does it end?
The reason demons want to send souls to hell is
because that is what they eat.
The patient dies in an air raid over London during
World War I, and his soul goes to heaven.
This is bad news for Wormwood the demon, who
now will be eaten by other demons, including his
uncle Screwtape.