In The World

Have you ever wondered what demons converse about? In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis vividly portrays a demon and his reactions to certain situations. HarperCollins published the book in 2001. Interestingly, this book is fiction, but feels authentic. While reading this book, C.S. Lewis, who was born in Ireland on November 29, 1898, paints a vivid picture of a demon's attempts to influence a human. Using humor, Lewis keeps his book lively when it could have been foreboding.

Screwtape is the author of the letters written in the book. Closely, he oversees his nephew Wormwood's temptation techniques. Throughout the book, Screwtape shows his growing disgust of Wormwood's rookie attempts at enticement. Although we never hear directly from Wormwood, we are able to picture, from Screwtape's responses, a "field agent" who is trying to please his uncle. Failing miserably, he comes to an unhealthy end. The "patient," the human Wormwood is "working" on, is completely oblivious to the spiritual struggle for his soul. He doesn't realize how his thoughts and actions are influenced by Wormwood. His story line ends happily. Of the three main characters, the "patient" changes the most while Wormwood "works" on him.

Prepare to enter the demented mind of demons. Screwtape shows Wormwood, as well as the readers, the many ways to turn Christians from their spiritual lifestyle. Unsurprisingly, most of the temptations use our pride and selfish thoughts to reverse our direction from God to physical pleasure and gain. In the "patient's" life, the law of undulation is a powerful tool. As humans experience life's joys and pains, they exhibit the law of undulation through peaks (joy) and troughs (pain), which is also how God strengthens our faith in Him. Demons use it differently. Tempting us, demons manipulate the desires of the flesh to turn us to sinful thoughts and actions. While in the troughs, our resistence to sin is at its weakest, leaving us open for attack. God wants us to turn to Him in these troughs, trusting in Him to get us through. Screwtape states that our sinful nature makes us feel inadequate in contact with God. Not surprisingly, the "patient" experiences the same inadequacies.

Screwtape fears. Wormwood fails. The "patient" succeeds. Interestingly, Screwtape instructs Wormwood to keep the "patient" safe from physical harm. His reason is that if the "patient" dies, he will surely be lost to them. During life, the doldrums of middle-age are, in Screwtape's mind, the best time to have a human die. "The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or...adversity are excellent campaigning weather," Screwtape states. A reason for his anger against Wormwood is that the "patient" has a Christian woman he loves. "Such a Christian," Screwtape moans. Sadly, all stories come to an end. During an air raid, the "patient" dies. Understanding instantly "how all his doubts" were "ridiculous," he is joyfully received in Heaven. Wormwood doesn't have such a happy reception when he returns to Hell.

Thomas More wrote that "the devil...cannot endure to be mocked." This thought-provoking book is definitely a mockery of the devil. Using parody, Lewis makes it look like Satan, "Our Father," is mirroring Heaven. Throughout the book, the letters written by Screwtape could be seen as parodies of the letters written in the New Testament. Interestingly, the temptations, which are used by Wormwood, create, in this book, a genuine feeling. Do we fall into sin by being prideful and selfish? The only answer is yes. Many, if not all, of the temptations in The Screwtape Letters have been experienced by us or by someone we know. The most important part of this book is that even in the hard times, the "troughs," God is still there. While in "troughs," humans feel alone and afraid. Things happen to us that we don't enjoy, but we need to step back and ask, "What is God telling me and what am I supposed to learn from it?" In this story of demons tempting man-kind, Lewis reminds us that we are in the world, not of the world.

--JFM