Book Review: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

 The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

“When He talks of their losing their selves, He means only abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boasts (I am afraid, sincerely) that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever.”

Summary:

Here's a brief overview for those unfamiliar with the book.  The book is written as a series of letters from an uncle and senior devil, Screwtape, to his junior tempter, Wormwood, who is a demon attached to a man in England, set in the time around World War II.  There are thirty one letters in the book, each exploring facets of the human existence and interactions with the world surrounding him.  

C.S. Lewis so delicately dives into the smallest nuances of everyday life and has Screwtape show how these little strands can be pulled and exploited into longer lasting effects.  I find it hard to read through these letters without seeing myself in the Patient, as the man is known throughout the book.  Early on, Screwtape explains how the best way to lead a human to hell is the slow and gradual path, with small steps away from God with each seemingly innocuous decision.  This book forces an examination of your conscience in all your daily interactions with each page turn.

A prime example of this can be found early on in the book as one of the letters has Screwtape explaining the ways to manipulate thoughts even in church, encouraging wandering thoughts about those around you.  And in the third letter, Screwtape details the small details to exploit to slowly deteriorate the Patient's relationship with his mother.  Screwtape goes great great lengths to describe the small, but meaningful (in a bad way), to sway thoughts and behaviors to twist even the best of thoughts (prayer for his mother) away from the real humanity of his mother and into a warped ideal of what his mother should be.  And this twisted dissociation is something that, once I read on paper, is easy to see how easily this trap can be laid.

If you've never read this book, I highly recommend it, but take time with it.  It is short, but there is a lot to unpack as each entry from Screwtape allows C.S. Lewis to delve into the subtleties of human morality.

Key Takeaways:

I try to read or listen to this book at least once every year, and the book always provides a new and timely insight.  And in this reading, that was it: time.  In the fifteenth letter, Screwtape urges Wormwood to steer the Patient's thoughts towards the Future, where hope and fear are inflamed.  The Past also has some lure as we can spend too much time dwelling there, and yet, if we think about it, we know the "determinate nature" of what has already been.  But it is in the Present where we truly are closest to God.  The "Present is the point at which time touches eternity", the only time where "freedom and actuality are offered".  

And with this passage in mind, I want to redouble my efforts to focus on being in touch with the present and living without the burdens brought from dwelling on the past and without the anxieties from worrying about the unknown of the future.

I hope you take away something as meaningful as I do each time I pick up this book, or really anything by C.S. Lewis.