Ever since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, mankind has been engaged in the constant struggle between choosing good or evil.
Human disobedience brought about the consequence of Original Sin. Because of this fallen condition, people must struggle to achieve good. This is only possible with the help of divine grace. But all people will wrestle with sinful inclinations their entire lives. C.S. Lewis has written a perceptive and at times humorous account of this conflict in The Screwtape Letters.
In this short novel, Lewis places a senior devil, Uncle Screwtape, writing a series of letters and instructions to a junior devil named Wormwood. The whole point of the letters is to help the junior devil ruin a man. Few works of literature show the uncanny wiles used by "Our Father Below" to trap and seduce people to commit sin.
The novel begins with Uncle Screwtape counseling Wormwood on whether he should take glee in the beginning of World War II. The death, violence and horror caused by the war is very agreeable to the diabolical world, but unfortunately, many dying people call out to Christ (named the "Enemy" in the novel) and throw themselves into God’s hands. This causes all the pleasures the war brings to the devils to be lost. Now many dying people frantically cling to grace which leads them to the heaven. So, though Uncle Screwtape loves the mayhem of the carnage, he tells Wormwood that many souls are lost to the kingdom below because of the repentance of dying men. Because of this it is hard to recommend for or against war.
Wormwood’s instructions are increasingly focused on wrecking the soul of the man to which he has been assigned. Screwtape tells Wormwood to provide more information on the growing love the man has for a young woman. The Enemy frequently develops love between men and women which is a grave threat to the diabolical world. Temptations need to immediately be placed in front of the young man to cause his downfall. Since Wormwood is little versed in these evils, Uncle Screwtape gives detailed lessons in how to build up pride, lust, selfishness and the like.
Certain things such as music and peace are terrifying to Screwtape. The things almost always turn people’s hearts to the Enemy. They are to be avoided at all costs. What Wormwood needs to do is learn how to unsettle the young man with noise, novelty, boredom and distraction.
The senior devil also advocates playing off the natural feelings men and women have for each other to create havoc in relationships. In this way he can maneuver personal feelings into sinful actions. This gives the greatest pleasure to the Father Below.
But in spite of the many letters and temptations, the young man continues to progress in grace, much to Screwtape’s disgust. It seems that only the carnage of war has any possibility of bringing the man under the devils’ power. Then during a violent air raid, the worst possible occurrence happens.
What was this event? Does the man lose his soul? Do Wormwood and Uncle Screwtape eat their prey? Or does the Enemy win and take the man’s soul to paradise? To find out, go to the library and check out The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.
This book is a masterpiece of spiritual understanding into the processes involved in human temptations. Though readers will likely find the book is funny and clever, Lewis is deadly serious about the causes of temptations. He deeply loves Our Lord, and wants to warn us about the great danger and subtlety of demons.
The novel will leave you with a healthy respect for forces of evil, and a great love for the blessings given to mankind by Our Lord. I hope you get a chance to read this important book.
