Title: The Screwtape Letters
Author: C.S. Lewis
Published by HarperOne
Edition Year: 2009
Format Read: Kindle
Pages: 222
Language: English
ASIN: B002BD2V2Y
First Published by Geoffrey Bles, London, in 1942
Dates Read: June 26 to July 10 2022
So far, I have read a few works by Lewis: an essay/letter or so, Mere Christianity, Till We Have Faces, God in the Dock, and The Weight of Glory. They have been thoughtful, and I have taken several notes. In school, other Christians raved over the Narnia series (which I hope to read in entirety one day), but I was unfamiliar with his other works until much later, when I started exploring Christian apologetics and philosophy.
I’m looking for other writings to read, and recently the Desiring God website posted several interesting excerpts from The Screwtape Letters, so I decided to read this Christian classic. Overall, this book is very witty and insightful. It was like reading a spiritual warfare manual from the devil’s perspective. Some of the letters were easier for me to understand and/or relate to than others. Some letters kind of lost me, it was harder for me to understand the point or the context, the elements of the era, and I had to reread passages a few times. I wondered if I should have purchased the annotated version instead. If I ever read this again, I would probably use a study guide or participate in a discussion group.
One takeaway that I received from this work is about the power of prayer in the believer’s life. It can be fatal, so the devil has to try to distract the Christian or weaken the attempt by various methods. Another takeaway is the importance of relationships that we have with others and how they can influence our spiritual walk; the devil has to “play” the relationships the person has with others. Spiritual warfare is ongoing through life, but God can grant rest. In this story, the patient ‘gets away’ from the devil’s grasp for good.
Although the work is clever, CSL discusses how it was tiring and “sad” to constantly write from the devil’s side. This reminds me of a comment that a Christian writer made on his blog that I am paraphrasing here: He reads works by famous atheists, mainly polemics against religion. The worldview depicted is so bleak, and he has oppressive feelings while reading these works. So, he has to take breaks and read scripture or works by Christians to cheer up. CSL also discusses how he would have liked to balance the work with an angelic perspective, but he felt that it would be too difficult to depict perfection.
A Love So Wordy 