Tag: Spiritual Warfare

Reading Demon: A Memoir

Title: Demon: A Memoir
Author: Tosca Lee
Published by Howard Books
Year: 2015, first published in 2007
Format Read: Kindle
Pages: Approx. 300
Language: English
ASIN: ?
I couldn’t confirm this info, the Kindle version disappeared from Amazon at the time of posting this blog entry.
Dates Read: August 24 to September 20, 2022

Some years ago, I saw one of Tosca Lee’s books in a Christian bookstore, but it was not what I was looking for at the time. I made a note that she was an author whose works I might look into later. Here I am, years later, looking for Christian fiction to read. I found her books on Amazon, and this book’s description immediately captivated me the most. The entire book is narrated in first-person by the protagonist, Clay- and boy, it is some great first-person. The book’s narration is like watching a 1940’s film noir. Additionally, throughout the novel, there is a gloomy, menacing, impending doom feeling. The demon Lucian’s story is written like snippets of “Paradise Lost”  in today’s English.

 I understand that the story is going to have somewhat of a dark sentiment since it is about a demon; however, there is a bit of despair here as well. I started to feel so sad while reading this. I started to have difficulty motivating myself to finish the story. The demon is condescending and annoying without the wit of the demons in The Screwtape Letters. However, some  parts of this story are intriguing. It is interesting how the demon states that he enjoyed watching Adam and Eve and that he was sad when the serpent tempted them. The best part of the story, in my opinion, is when Lucian discussed the Nativity and described it from the demons’ perspective. 

Ultimately, to me, the ending was unsatisfying. At the very least, I expected Clay to clearly and distinctly come to Christ after all that he had been through. He just states that he is going to make some decision and that is all that we are told. The Author’s Notes section in the book’s back are extremely helpful. She describes the demon’s story concept, the scripture references, and the scholars/Bible commentaries. I wish that I had read that section before reading the actual story, so that I had more context. 

Reading The Screwtape Letters

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.