February's Book - The Screwtape Letters

"The Screwtape Letters", by C.S. Lewis

Our book group has eagerly looked forward to reading (or rereading) this wonderful Christian classic of sometimes mind-bending satire.  Several of us felt it to be challenging job to keep in mind that the dialogue is written from the "other perspective".  Each letter (chapter), in spite of its chatty nature and short length, seemed packed with complex themes couched in everyday situations.

For our book discussion, we located at wonderful study guide that we commend to you: Screwtape Letters Study Guide (PDF).  The www.cslewisinstitute.org site has lots of excellent resources and programs to extend book studies of all of Lewis' works.

In particular, our discussion focused on some of the following points from the discussion guide:

• What are the "pressures of the ordinary" and how do they lead us to sin?
• How does "religious" behavior affect our family in beneficial and/or harmful ways?
• How do the devils use church and religion to lead us astray?
• How does a focus on feelings distract or confuse us in prayer?
• Why does the devil prefer that we pray to a "mental image of God"?
• Why do devils prefer death in a nursing home to death during war?
• How does a preoccupation with the future, obscure both our view of the present and eternity?
• What is the difference between gluttony of Excess and gluttony of Delicacy?
• Why would Screwtape call God a hedonist (one who lives for pleasure)?  What is the difference between pleasure that comes from God and pleasure that leads away from God?
• How do Novelty and Fashion (devilish smoke and mirrors) affect us?  How does the "demonic horror of the Same Old Thing" affect our ideas?
• Why would devils want us to believe that this world can be turned into heaven?
• How do devils twist virtue and good things to their advantage?
• Why does cowardice often prove problematic to devils?
• In Letter 31, how does Screwtape help us to grasp what death really means and why death is even beneficial?

This was a wide-ranging and lively discussion in which we were gradually able to expose the techniques and also the limitations of the devil's approach to winning our souls.  In many ways this is a chilling book, but one that has its lighter moments of insight into the comical side of our human nature.  The study of this book certainly helps to reinforce our need to look beyond the "ordinary things" of life to their far-reaching and eternal consequences, and raise our awareness of the spiritual struggle in which we find ourselves on a day to day basis.

 _______________________________________________________

A masterpiece of satire, it entertains readers with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to "Our Father Below." At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging account of temptation-and triumph over it-ever written."       

Review from MacMillan Co. Publishers

"In this humorous and perceptive exchange between two devils, C. S. Lewis delves into moral questions about good vs. evil, temptation, repentance, and grace. Through this wonderful tale, the reader emerges with a better understanding of what it means to live a faithful life."

Review from HarperCollins Publishers