The Screwtape Letters Reviews

• I wish I'd read this book many years ago...

  
  By A2E7E9EWADK4S6 on 2000-06-19
  I'd recommend this be one of the first books you read as you start your spiritual journey. This is a profound book that will jolt you awake from your apathetic musings and stir you to the depths of your soul.

  I was a Christian for 12+ years before I picked up this little volume and it was of inestimable worth for me, but I regretted not having read it much sooner.

  It's one of those books (like E. L. Prentiss's "Stepping Heavenward") that feels like it was written JUST for you. "Screwtape Letters" has that same feel - that C. S. Lewis crawled into your consciousness and described every mental battle you've ever had - and explains that those subtle arguments which steered you away from spiritual growth, were cleverly disguised devilish whispers. As Lewis points out, the path to hell is a gentle slope.

  I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to differentiate between God's thoughts and the lies of evil. "Screwtape Letters" pulls back the curtain and reveals evil's best kept secrets and oh-so subtle tricks.
  
  

• Speak of the Devil

  
  By ABCE4OXCDHEQL on 2005-12-28
  Today I loaned a copy of "Screwtape" to a young woman - the receptionist where I work -- who just celebrated her 21st birthday. I HOPE she enjoys it, even as I wonder if a fifty year old book could strike a chord with her -- the way it did with me, when I was her age. She seemed eager enough to borrow a copy (I have two) just as soon as I described the book's delightful premise:
  
  "Screwtape" I told her, "is letters from a senior devil to a junior devil - and it's the funniest thing C.S. Lewis ever wrote - Have you heard of C.S. Lewis?" I asked. "No? Well he authored `Narnia.' (Neither of us has seen the movie yet.)
  
  I told her 'Screwtape' is funny because (like all good humor) it seems so TRUE. Or at least you want to BELIEVE it's real, as `Screwtape' the experienced devil coaches his nephew `Wormwood' in his first assigned task: to "secure the damnation" of his 'patient' -- a young man who has just become a Christian.
  
  As with "Narnia," the story unfolds in wartime (WWII) England. That's a long time ago for someone 21 years old and "I'm really interested" I said "to find out if the 'dialogue' of this book still speaks to someone your age."
  
  "Personally, I think it would make good movie" I said. "It has been made into a talking book - read, I think, by John Cleese - the funny guy who starred in the movie `A Fish Called Wanda" - I read somewhere he's recorded a version of `Screwtape.' "
  
  ----
  
  So . . after loaning that copy of "Screwtape" today, I opened, at random, my OTHER copy -- it fell open to page 24 -- and I re-discovered why I've loved this book so much for so many years.
  
  It's the sort of book you can open almost anywhere - years after you first read it -- and find yourself laughing out loud - and falling in love once again, with the written magic of C.S. Lewis at his 'finest hour.' Well here, if you can spare two minutes -- get comfortable and see if this random sampling, from page 24, "Chapter IV" -- 'speaks' to YOU:
  
  ----
  
  "My dear Wormwood, The amateurish suggestions in your latest letter warn me that it is high time for me to write to you fully on the painful subject of prayer . . .
  
  "The best thing, where possible, is to keep the `patient' (the young man who is spiritually up for grabs) from the serious intention of praying. When (someone like him) is an adult, recently re-converted to the Enemy' (Screwtape's term for Christianity's founder) - such as your man, this is best done by encouraging him to remember - or to THINK he remembers - the parrot-like nature of his prayers in childhood.
  
  "In reaction against that, he may be persuaded to aim at something entirely spontaneous, inward, informal, and `un-regularized' And what this will actually mean to a beginner will be an effort to produce in himself a vaguely devotional MOOD . . . in which real concentration of will and intelligence have no part.
  
  "One of their poets, Coleridge, has recorded that he did not pray `with moving lips and bended knees' but merely `composed his spirit to love' and indulged a `sense of supplication.' That is EXACTLY the sort of prayer we want; and since it bears a superficial resemblance to the prayer of silence, as practiced by those who are far advanced in the Enemy's service, clever and lazy `patients' can be taken in by it for quite a long time.
  
  "At the very LEAST, they can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls.
  
  "It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things OUT.
  
  "If this fails, you MUST fall back on a subtler misdirection of his intention. Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself we are defeated, but there are ways of preventing them from doing so. The simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him towards themselves.
  
  "Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce FEELINGS there, by the action of their own wills. (So that) when they meant to ask Him for Charity, let them instead start trying to manufacture charitable feelings for themselves - and not notice that this is what they are doing.
  
  "When they are meant to pray for courage, let them really be trying to FEEL brave. When they say they are praying for forgiveness, let them be trying to FEEL forgiven. Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feelings, and NEVER let them suspect how much success or failure of that kind depends on whether they are well or ill, fresh or tired, at the moment.
  
  "But of course, the Enemy will not meantime be idle. Whenever there is prayer there is danger of HIS own immediate action. He is cynically indifferent to the dignity of HIS position (and to OURS as pure spirits!) and to human animals on their knees He pours out self-knowledge in quite shameless fashion.
  
  "But even if He defeats your first attempt at misdirection, we have a subtler weapon . . ."
  
  After describing that more subtle `weapon' in detail, -- and it concerns the true nature of God as opposed to the `composite images' that can be "derived from pictures of the Enemy as He appeared during (His) Incarnation" (20 centuries earlier) Screwtape advises his green nephew:
  
  "Whatever the nature of his composite (picture of the `Enemy') you must keep your `patient' praying to IT - to the thing that he has made - be it something in his own head or a crucifix on the wall - and NOT to the Person who has made him.
  
  "You may even encourage him to attach great importance to the correction and improvement of his composite object, and to keep it steadily in his imagination during the whole prayer. For if he ever comes to make the distinction, if ever he consciously directs his prayers `Not to what I think thou art, but to what thou knowest thyself to be,' our situation is, for the moment, desperate."
  
  The good news, says the `senior devil,' is that, "in avoiding this situation - the real nakedness of the human soul in prayer - you will be helped by the fact that the humans themselves do not desire it as much as they suppose. There's such a thing as getting more than they bargained for!"
  
  That "more than they bargained for," Screwtape explains (earlier in this same chapter) is that humans (at least the majority, who are far from saints) - "have never known that ghastly luminosity, that stabbing and searing glare (of true self-knowledge) which makes the background of permanent pain in our own lives (as devils).
  
  Your affectionate uncle,
  
  Screwtape.
  
  -----
  
  Late in life C.S. Lewis was asked WHY he never wrote a sequel (apart from a few pages entitled, "Screwtape Proposes a Toast"). The greatest of Christian `apologists' replied in effect, that it "hurt" him too much -- to maintain within himself the necessary state-of-mind where he was thinking purely as a devil -- in order that Screwtape's words could pour from his pen onto paper.
  
  Living 'inside' "Screwtape" Lewis experienced an exhausting -- even terrifying -- spiritual/psychological torment that he was NEVER prepared to re-visit. Despite the fact this little book was, until "Narnia," his most enduring source of fame - so much so, it got C.S. Lewis onto the cover of TIME magazine -- fifty years ago -- a red cartoon devil on his shoulder, poised -- it seemed -- to whisper sweet words of prideful praise into Lewis' deaf ear.
  
  Mark Blackburn
  Winnipeg Canada
  
  
  

• Well read and delightfully challenging

  
  By AZYJ9TS07B02W on 1999-12-17
  I've made a few attempts to read this book, but could never make it all the way through. When I heard that John Cleese made an audio version of it, I bought a copy immediately. Who could be a more perfect reader for this book? He read it in perfect character. One unavoidable problem is that there is so much thought provoking stuff packed into the lines of this book, that you frequently have to stop the tape to think about what you've heard, then go back and re-listen. But that's OK. I'm an atheist, but I find the book fascinating. It's a tremendous mental challenge to go through and figure out the subtle little logic twistings Lewis uses in his defense of Christianity. He actually seems to have condensed several behavioral psychology courses into the book. It actually deals mostly with origins of complacency in the face of beliefs that should strongly motivate a person. The book didn't persuade me, but I can see how it could easily fire up any nominal Christian who stumbled upon it. I would consider it one of the masterworks of the 20th century. In case you're wondering (since the Amazon.com description doesn't tell you), the unabridged tapes are a set of 3 tapes, with no written material at all. And yes, they do contain "Screwtape Proposes a Toast."
  
  

• thought provoking and inspiring long after you've read it

  
  By A2B7BUH8834Y6M on 2000-07-17
  "The Screwtape Letters" is one of those books that teaches you a lesson without you even realizing it... or even if you do, it's in the most non-threatening manner imaginable. It's akin to learning about duty and loyalty from watching "Star Wars." The work takes the concept of "the Devil's advocate" to a whole new level. By a strange set of circumstances (covered in the book's Introduction/Forward), we are privy to private written correspondence from one devil to another devil on the finer points of directing their "patient" to think evil thoughts and to commit evil deeds.

  The concept of a little devil sitting on your shoulder is magnified by the dubious fiends whose ultimate goal is consume the souls of those they lead astray as though they were food. Lewis brings forth several ways of re-thinking how we think and addressing the real heart of the matter. The book is an easy read and is entertaining to boot. Lewis intended this work (as his other books such as "The Narnia Chronicles" and "The Great Divorce") to be a fantasy that teaches, not a dramatized version of doctrine. Regardless of your background or your beliefs, the book's underlying themes concern the true nature of good an evil and how we use our will to apply good or evil onto those we care about and onto those we don't.
  
  

• a wise little book

  
  By A1NPNGWBVD9AK3 on 2000-05-07
  This book was assigned reading when I was in 8th grade at a Catholic school. I remember I had no appreciation for it whatsoever at the time. I couldn't relate to the protagonist or his travails in wartime England. Perhaps one needs a little time in this world to appreciate the delicious simplicity of Lewis' allegory. Having read it recently I was struck by the wisdom, strength and genuine spiritualism this book exudes. One needn't, as commented upon elsewhere, be a believer to appreciate this work. Lewis never tries to foist any doctrinaire agenda upon the reader. Neither is he didactic. All that comes across (to this reader, at least) is a sense of hard-won wisdom. It offers some hints about how we might find a bit of peace and happiness on this earth if we are willing to think a little less selfishly and are able to set our powerful egos aside for awhile. I wish that those readers who wasted their money on The Celestine Prophecy and thought it provided wonderful spiritual insight would turn their attention Lewis' way. Here is the matter simply stated, without some wayward attempts at new-age jingoism.
  
  
• A review of "The Screwtape Letters" By: C.S. Lewis
  By AHFBX50Z60ATE on 2000-10-26
  "The Screwtape Letters" is the absolute best book I have ever read. It is a very well written book. It really makes you think. C.S. Lewis' style is exquisite. He paints with words as an artist paints with pictures and a musician with notes and rhythms. While still being the best book I have ever read, it is also one of the strangest. Screwtape, an experienced devil, teaches his nephew, Wormwood, how to win a soul over from the so-called "Enemy", who is the Lord Jesus Christ. While he is doing this, he teaches the reader about the techniques that Satan uses to distract Christians away from God. Therefore, he is teaching us how to live better Christian lives and avoid giving in to temptations. He shows us through the example of his nephew, Wormwood, trying to win over a particular Englishmen. He tries to make him think that what he is doing is not sin. Even though, in the end, the man is not won over, we see how so many people go astray without even realizing it. This is an excellent book and I would reccomend it to anyone looking for a challenging book to read.
  
  
• Screwtape is a must read!
  By AHW6TY6BGJSVI on 2000-03-29
  The Screwtape Letters is a diabolical delight, a must read for every professing Christian or anyone seeking insight into the mind of the Evil. Lewis delves into the darkest realm of self-absorbance, pride, and the temptation of the human soul through the fictitious correspondence of Screwtape, a senior "Tempter", to his nephew, Wormwood. In so doing, Lewis creates a correspondence with imagery likening to that of Milton and Dante, but with far greater illumination as to the thinking and workings of the spiritual forces opposed to their "Enemy", God. Yet within this disclosure of the nature of Evil, Lewis invokes contemplation upon the true attributes of the Divine. Although short and to the point, this book speaks volumes to the goings-on in the eternal struggle between Good and Evil. Read and reread this masterfully crafted work of Lewis's, and prepare to be drawn into a reflection upon the unseen realm of the supernatural.
  
  
• The Hell's-Eye View
  By A1RZ3UGH8B9GQN on 2002-08-14
  C.S. Lewis has said that he found it painful to write this book since it required him to spend days on end thinking upside-down. But it is lucky for us that he did, since the result is a book that both delights and enlightens.

  THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS documents the correspondence between Screwtape, a senior devil, and his nephew Wormwood, a novice tempter. Wormwood's mission is to win a soul for the underworld, and Screwtape offers him the accumulated iwdom of Hell on how to accomplish it. The result is a well-laid out map to the pitfalls to which we humans are all-too prey. Lewis' had great insight into human weakness, especially the uncanny way ou pride pops into almost every thought we might have. He is also alert to the ways our unquestioned assumtions can lead us astray. As Socrates said, the first step towards wisdom is to "know thyself" - and the tempters in this book do all they can to prevent that from happening.

  Lewis, of course, is a Christian, but THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS are useful to any person who is seriously engaged on the spiritual quest. I read this book about once a year, and am always chagrined to find that Screwtape is still one step ahead of me! (And he is unfailingly eloquent to boot.)

  This volume includes "Screwtape proposes a toast" which employs the same technique to discuss modern education. I find this a weaker part of the volume. It seems Lewis could have done more with the concept, but his arguments about the failings of modern education are much sharper in his book, THE ABOLITION OF MAN.

  Still, this is an invaluable volume. It is the book that I most often give away to people - it is laugh-out-loud funny, and sadly all-too true.
  
  

• Devilishly Insightful
  By A3H3T93QPWQC3E on 2007-11-12
  Who can deny the insidious whisperings that infiltrate the noblest heart and penetrate the most virtuous mind?--those subtle impulses that beckon hither and thither to paths we ought not to travel upon. How often have we vowed never to yield to some enticement, only to succumb moments later to the very vice we had pledged to eschew? Whether manifested in the final, luscious slice of a calorie-loaded pound cake or in the tantalizing allure of a forbidden passion, temptation to choose wrong over right is ubiquitous in our lives as we daily make decisions of both trivial and profound significance. Yet while many have denounced the depravity of sin, C.S. Lewis, a mid-twentieth century British theologian, took a much more innovative approach - through the eyes of the devil himself. The resulting correspondence written between the seasoned devil Screwtape and Wormwood, his inexperienced nephew, is an insightful training manual on the art of human subjugation. In his masterful commentary The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis effectively employs satire, irony, and appeal to logos to enable his adult Christian audience to recognize and understand the devices of temptation.
  
  From the beginning, Screwtape's writings unveil the real roots of temptation through satire. Wormwood's task is to bring about a soul's damnation, but as his uncle quickly observes, the newly christened tempter is prone to error. Critiquing his understudy, Screwtape chides, "Are you not being a trifle naïve? It sounds as if you supposed that argument was the way to keep him out of the Enemy's clutches... Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church" (p. 1). This passage is satirical because it exploits Wormword's fallible use of argument to undermine his patient's faith when mere diversion would be sufficient. It is a direct critique of the book's adult Christian audience who allow meaningless "jargon" to distract them from their faith. As evident in this example, C.S. Lewis masterfully uses satire to establish lesser temptations as valid components of sin in the reader's mind.
  
  Additionally, the satire in Screwtape's letters provides valuable insights on the tactics employed by the beguilers. After offering a slew of tips for diverting people from their prayers, Screwtape states, "It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality, our best work is done by keeping things out" (p. 15). Here he is specifically referring to the spiritual distance fostered by casual or self-promoting prayers, but the technique of distancing his patients from "the Enemy" characterizes all the devil's efforts. This example is satirical because it largely implicates the tempted - not the tempter - for planting seeds of temptation through a careless relationship with God. It reveals the devil's tendency to not only entice, but to encourage conditions where such enticements will be most compelling. By critiquing the audience's possibly cavalier approach to prayer, satire teaches the reader to recognize the devil's underlying tactics in temptation.
  
  In addition to satire, C.S. Lewis uses irony to explore temptation's appeal to human flaws while simultaneously undermining the demon's methodology. On page 37, Screwtape writes, "Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation." Wormwood's patient had recently dropped into a spiritual trough, and Screwtape cautions that such deviations do not of themselves lend to damnation. His statement is ironic because it underscores change as mankind's only dependable feature. But the true irony is that Wormwood's efforts to discourage ultimately undermine his objective because they humble the patient to rely wholly upon "the Enemy." Lewis' irony reveals both human flaws and demonic arrogance associated with sin. It enables his Christian audience to better understand temptation by concisely illustrating both its strengths and failings.
  
  Another example of irony is Screwtape's inability to comprehend love. Referring to God as "the Enemy," he writes, "All His talk about Love must be a disguise for something else - He must have some real motive for creating them and taking so much trouble about them" (p.100). Because, as a devil, he is himself incapable of virtue, Screwtape incorrectly assumes that all righteous actions must also have ulterior motives. This non sequitor fallacy is satirical because it exhibits the tempter's deficiency in understanding, while reinforcing to the Christian audience that love really is "the Enemy's" driving motive. This satire provides dramatic insights by suggesting that temptation is only a pervasion of virtue which cannot supplant righteousness. Through this satirical device, Lewis convinces the reader that while Satan can mimic love as lust and induce man to commit all manner of sexual transgressions, he can never understand the true nature of love. This conundrum is further reinforced by the statement, "We know that He cannot really love: nobody can: it doesn't make sense. If only we could find out what he is really up to!" (p. 101). By satirically emphasizing Satan's misunderstanding of truth, Lewis establishes in his reader's perception the subtlety of sin as a perverted reflection of truth.
  
  Lewis's irony is further bolstered through the use of distorted diction. The polarity of his word choice is best exemplified on page 117. Describing one particularly righteous girl, Screwtape writes, "Not only a Christian but such a Christian - a vile, sneaking, simpering, demure, monosyllabic, mouse-like, watery, insignificant, virginal, bread-and butter miss." The contrast between this vitriolic stream of adjectives and the virtuous purity of Christianity is deliciously ironic. God becomes "the Enemy" while Satan is tenderly patronized as "Our Father Below" (p.2). This ironically polarized diction reinforces the audience's understanding of sin as corruption. What Screwtape loves we should disdain, and Screwtape loathes we should embrace. By intensifying the contrast between good and evil, the irony of Lewis's "black is white" diction immediately alerts his reader to recognize temptation.
  
  Finally, Lewis' rational dissection of temptation as a systematic progression appeals to the reader's sense of logos. Defining his intentions on page 44, Screwtape gloats, "We always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula." With this object established, the devil then works systematically toward his victim's destruction. First he plants doubts so that a patient will question the value of religion. He then lets the person acclimatize to a lowered spiritual condition and finally moderate into complete religious complacency (p. 45-46). This progression toward captivity appeals to the reader's sense of logos because it follows a coherent chronology. By understanding the general logic of temptation and the ensuing misery, the audience is empowered to identify similar patterns in their own lives.
  
  The appeal to logos is similarly employed in Screwtape's discourse on the sin of "fashion." On page 137, the devil lays out the consequences for yielding to fashion in an orderly, logical manner. First, an obsession with novelty "diminishes pleasure while increasing desire." Second, it costs money. Third, it leads to "excesses of lasciviousness, unreason, cruelty, and pride." And ultimately, it "distracts the attention of men from their real dangers." This appeals to the reader's sense of logos because it clearly illustrates the sin-driven regression from desire to danger. By appealing to logos, Lewis clearly displays the mechanics of beguilement to his audience.
  
  As a whole, The Screwtape Letters provide invaluable insights into the world of temptation. From sensual passions to trendy fashions, and distracting jargon to cavalier prayers, C.S. Lewis thoroughly exposes his reader to the twisted realities of the devil Screwtape and his minion Wormwood. In so doing, he empowers his adult Christian audience to resist temptation when it strikes. The scathing satire, delicious irony, and rational appeal to logos unravel the tangled intricacies of temptation by defining its roots, devices, and systematic methodology. In a world filled with temptation, this book is a must read for any Christian adult eager to avoid an unpleasant reunion with "Our Father Below."
  
  
  
• Screwed up letters
  By AAEQUDBFHXRDA on 2005-04-25
  Try as I may, I find C.S.Lewis nearly impossible to read. Maybe that is because I have little interest in living a good Christian life -- as portrayed by a British professor of literature, writing at the time of the second world war.
  His basis premise seems to be that God and the Devil have some "interest" in the way human beings are living their lives. Both are trying to influence that. I just can't for the life of me understand why a God would want to do that. I mean if God is all powerful why couldn't he just create the perfect man and be done with it, why would he have to go around trying to find ways to improve on his design? And what benefit does the devil get by getting the human to do evil and collecting the odd soul? The whole subject is patently ridiculous. And to try to cast an argument, which is dubious at best, using the technique of diabolic ventriloquism or photographic negative is mind boggling. At the end what are we supposed to get out of this -- pure knowledge? an understanding of Lewis' philosophy? or just a chuckle? If it is the chuckle, then I would divide the causes of such a chuckle into Joy, Fun, the Joke Proper, and Flippancy. And I would relegate Lewis to the flippant. "It is a thousand miles away from joy; it deadens, instead of sharpening, the intellect; and it excites no affection between those who practice it." (Page 51 Screwtape.)
  
  
• This book provides hilarious spiritual advice for all...
  By ALCUF77IH8D87 on 1999-12-09
  ...except for a few minor theological points. As the reviews above discuss, this book is a compilation of hilarious letters between demons on how to lead a person, or "patient," astray. Most of the letters provide good advice as to how to lead a good life.

  While the book is deeply routed in orthodox Christianity, anyone can enjoy most, if not all, of the lessons taught here. Some people may want to ignore the implications that evolution, the historical Jesus studies, paganism, state-controlled education, etc., are the ways of the Devil, but these are minor points, which do not get major airplay in the Letters.

  Finally, John Cleese's reading is absolutely inspired. His intonation and timing maximize the comedy. If you can, check out the audiobook. Enjoy
  
  

• No Other Book Like It On The Planet; Should Be 6 Stars!
  By AA4SRCUOMI278 on 2001-05-25
  If you've ever heard the verse "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Cor. 11:14 NIV) and wonder what it means, Lewis masterfully illustrates it in this book. If there is one word that sums up the meaning of this verse and the book, it is distraction. Distraction from God toward anything else.

  The book is a series of letters from a senior devil to a junior devil on how to thwart or subvert a Christian's spiritual growth. This book shows that goal of the enemy is not necessarily overt sin, but anything that diverts focus away from God and his will, which is primarily demonstrating love to other people. By learning how the enemy tries to weaken your Christian walk, you will be better equiped to walk with God.

  I have read this book 4 times in the last 10 years, and will do so many more times. The lessons here are unique and penetrating, and worth reviewing regularly!
  
  

• DEVILISHLY CLEVER!
  By A2VUP5US1F5HG5 on 2002-05-29
  Leave it to C.S. Lewis to do the undoable--write an epistolary novel from Hell's vantage that delights as much as it educates, and illuminates even as it sends cold chills up your spine. But Lewis was a genius, and The Screwtape Letters is literary proof.

  Written as a series of letters from old devil Screwtape to his apprentice nephew, Wormwood, Lewis's novel tells the story of Wormwood's increasingly desperate efforts to ensnare the soul of a young Englishman during World War I. Through this correspondence we follow Wormwood's "patient" through conversion, to doubt, love and his ultimate fate. The novel's suspense comes from the question of whether or not the young man will actually escape becoming a midnight snack for Wormwood, and besides being a genuinely fun read the novel is packed with ingenious observations about innumerable human fallacies: from lust to "falling in love," to cowardice to fanatic patriotism, piety to self-righteousness. One of Lewis's great literary gifts was his ability to pinpoint the subtle flaws in human nature that most of us probably don't think twice about but which we may end up regretting for all eternity. His eye for the touch of evil in the most seemingly innocuous areas of life lets Lewis hit all the major spiritual pressure points with amazing--and sometimes painful--accuracy.

  Deliciously funny as only a grand parody can be, yet likewise terrifying in its implications, The Screwtape Letters is a must-read for everyone who ever even thought about religion. A magical novel of wisdom, encouragement, and dire warning, The Screwtape Letters has my wholehearted recommendation.
  
  

• Screw these letters
  By A3ILBJMW9UL407 on 2005-05-26
  Another step in the Christian brain-washing process. If you enjoy seeing intellectual inquiry portrayed as sin, you'll love this book.
  
  
• An entertaining defense of the religiously committed life
  By A1Z39LA9L0DLHB on 2000-02-14
  When he wrote The Screwtape Letters, with its pretended advocacy of the Devil's point of view, C. S. Lewis found a wonderfully entertaining way to advocate just the opposite: the appeal of a committed religious life. Lewis formulates several "spiritual laws" in the book. Here's a memorable one, taken from chapter six: When we find ourselves in the grip of a toxic emotion (for example, anger), we should attempt to be self-aware and to focus on the fact of our anger, rather than on the object of the anger (e.g., some other person). On the other hand, when we find ourselves under the sway of charitable feelings, we should try to do the opposite-- we should try to fix our attention outward, on the person who is the object of our positive feelings, ignoring the fact that we are feeling charitable, and striving NOT to be self-conscious. It is a simply stated law. But it goes so much against our natural inclinations that if we somehow managed to apply it consistently, it would be radically transformative. (Maybe that's just another way of saying that it is a true spiritual law.)
  
  
• Kind of a scary insight into Hell, when you think about it.
  By A1TNYODHWHT527 on 1998-03-30
  Screwtape, a mid-level bureaucrat in Hell, is coaching his nephew, Wormwood--a recent graduate from the Tempters College fresh on his first job as the tempter to a youngish English man who still lives with his mother, but begins dating a young woman must as World War II breaks out. The first letter begins with Screwtape chiding Wormwood for allowing his "patient" to become a Christian.

  Lewis was given a fair amount of criticism when these letters first were published in the "Guardian" in the 1940's. Most of this criticism was from somewhat dense people who didn't realize Lewis was joking. They actually thought Lewis was trying to get people over to the Devil's side. Lewis' intent was just the opposite.

  I enjoyed the book, but found it somewhat scary. I am also a government bureaucrat and some of Screwtape's verbiage is very familiar to me!

  The best insight I gleaned from the book was one passage where Wormwood is complaining his "patient" is not committing any large, grandiose sins. Screwtape advises his nephew that it doesn't really matter how bad the sin is, only that it is a sin. It helps Screwtape and his fellow minions if their "patients" don't realize the "gentle path, soft underfoot" on which they are traveling is really going downhill.

  Makes you think.
  
  

• a nonbeliever
  By A1DNTC3TOC6A7Q on 2004-03-29
  C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters is a series of essays on apologetics but with a twist. They are written in the form of letters from Screwtape, a senior administrator in Hell, to his nephew, Wormwood. Wormwood's job is tempter--the devil on a person's shoulder. Screwtape's letters are filled with advice on how to capture a person's soul and turn them away from the Enemy (God). So reading the letters is to be taken with a reverse in logic, what is good for the devil is bad for us and vice-versa.

  The letters serve four purposes: to define what faith is and what it isn't, teach morality, defend Christianity, and criticize modernity.

  Lewis doesn't try to actually prove Christianity is Right; he takes this as a matter of faith. Either you believe or you don't--to try to prove it would be wasting breath. But Lewis does give a hard-set definition on what faith is. Lewis working definition of a faith is very simple: you believe there is a creator who loves you, and there is an innate moral code they want you to follow. Faith in Truth is for him foremost, and it is a fallacy to call yourself a Christian for anything else. Christianity must be an end in itself, to use it as a means is false. So Lewis says that you can't be a Christian because "Christianity is the best religion" or that "Christianity will give you inner peace" or that "Christians are better people" but because Christianity is true. All other reasons trail it.

  But there is also another aspect of what faith is, which makes Lewis a radical. In one of his later letters, Screwtape writes, "Even if we contrive to keep them ignorant of explicit religion, the incalculable winds of fantasy and music and poetry--the mere face of a girl, the song of a bird, or the sight of the horizon--are always blowing our whole structure away." Simply put, you don't need to call yourself a Christian to be one!

  For Lewis there are two types of moral fallacy. First are the obvious-the official sins. What Lewis is concerned with are fallacies of fashion, of intent, the difference between charity and unselfishness, humor and flippancy, sadness and despair, humility and understatement. For Lewis, virtue without honest intent is no virtue at all.

  Lewis shows the absurdity of trying to prove that a God does not exist. Using lucid logic, he tears down every Atheistic argument. His most brilliant moment in the book comes when answering the conflict of an all-knowing God and the free will of man. Lewis argues that, God is a being which time has no hold of. God views creation like we view a painting and each of us through free will is contributing to a small part of that painting. For God, what we did is not dead and gone, but present as the present.

  Lastly Lewis, criticizes the modern era's need to label doctrines not as "true" and "false" but as "practical", or "academic", etc and the modern scholars' tendency to not consider the wisdom of old text, but the historical aspect of it. We ask, "why was this written?", or "what historical context was this written in?" Instead of the only important question, what wisdom and truth is in this?

  But what makes _The Screwtape Letters_ great is not only the wisdom in it, but also the ability of C.S. Lewis to write in such a way that avoids vagaries on a subject that is full of it. He not only tells us what something is, but also shows us. Lewis explores the small pleasures of life, humor, the meaning of marriage, the relationship between people, and in these everyday things finds the intricate workings of creation and damnation. Lewis depicts religion as up close and personal, not vague, but real as reality gets.

  It's "didactic", "erudite", "observant", "concise", but most importantly, there's truth here.
  
  

• A Few Tips, I Hope Helpful
  By A2OMATWPPAFJ93 on 2006-01-06
  I enjoy a book for its combination of conciseness, clarity, and profound meaning -- "The Screwtape Letters" has this very enjoyable combination.
  
  An earlier post suggested that those under the age of 17 not read this marvelous book, and I'm supposing this certain someone says so with a good intention, just with not much thought. I am now 17, and when I first read this book I was sixteen.
  
  My suggestion, is, of course, quite different then: no one should be told not to read this book merely because of age, because wisdom has no preference of age. This wisdom that I speak of is not "worldy" wisdom, but heavenly; it comes from only the Good and Eternal Father, our Maker. Worldy wisdom is gained by experience neccesarily, yet heavenly wisdom is freely given by Him.
  
  "The Screwtape Letters" is filled with this heavenly wisdom, this profound meaning which I spoke of at the first. How? Because Lewis was (and is) a son of God; God blessed his heart, soul, and MIND. Each man --whether non-christian or "not of age" -- who reads this book will be possibly graced with this heavenly wisdom. My first tip then is: Do not feel yourself below or above this book, for it has wisdom even for the smallest and biggest of minds.
  
  Lewis accomplished in this book, a very strenuous task: he communicated heavenly wisdom through the view-point of a devil. It is astonishing to think some find this book funny, as suggested by some other reviewers; this book was written with much discipline and if that provokes some laughs, reconsider yourself. Lewis has communicated his thoughts in this book so well, he has poured out so much effort, that this book is not to be taken lightly. God and his creeds, viewed through the eyes of demons, is serious. My second tip is: Much is to be learned from this eloquent work; therefore, be an alert reader, and pray for God's guidance on this one.
  
  Ryan
  
  
• only for the religious
  By on 2000-05-10
  I was very dissappointed when I read (part of) this book. It's really a religious tract and is only interesting for the very religious people. Everyone else will find it super-dull. It's a long series of discussions on various aspects of religious thought thinly disguised as amusing chatter from a daemon. The characterisation and story don't amount to much and are only there to back up the proselytising message.
  
  
• Intelligent Look at the Devil
  By A2V3P1XE33NYC3 on 2002-02-26
  The only C.S. Lewis I had ever read up to this point was the Narnia series, when I was a kid. Those were great books that probably deserve a rereading at some point, even though I'm much older now. The Screwtape Letters find Lewis waxing on his favorite topic: Christianity. The book is a series of letters from Screwtape, a high-ranking administrator in Hell, to his nephew Wormwood, who is a tempter of man. The whole book is a wicked satire that Lewis pulls off well. Not only is this book fun to read, it has a serious message, too.

  I found myself laughing quite a bit with this book, although the laughter tends to be the nervous sort of chuckling that comes from discomfort. Too many times I found myself described within these pages. Especially when Screwtape discusses the types of laughter found among man and how these can be turned to good use in gaining souls for Hell. The most useful type of laughter for Satan is flippancy, when man laughs because he can always see a ridiculous side to everything. It is most useful because men who do this will never take anything as seriously as they should, especially the "Enemy" (the term Screwtape uses to describe God). Another interesting chapter deals with Jesus and the tendency of moderns to try to define and describe Jesus in terms that should be alien to him. Screwtape delights in efforts to make Jesus a Communist, a social theoretician or a magician/philosopher. All of these efforts divert man from whom and what Jesus really was. Screwtape also cackles over intellectuals, who are corrupted by the historical point of view. Intellectuals don't look for truth in what they read; they analyze writing styles, context, and historicity. By not looking for the truth, they are confused and turned away from God. Other topics are covered here as well: sex, marriage, prayer, Christianity and lots more. The best part of the book, by far, is the toast Screwtape gives at the end of the book. Lewis uses this toast to launch one of the most vigorous and thorough attacks on democracy that I've had the pleasure to read. I never knew Lewis had it in him!!

  A great book that should be read by a greater audience. I should make an effort to read more from this author. You should too. Recommended, with highest distinction.
  
  

• The Screwtape Letters
  By A3OI0EAUAS12MH on 2004-01-19
  The book The Screwtape Letters is written for a more mature reader, one that is interested in philosophical thinking. The book is more a theological book, than an exciting book. I would not suggest this book for a high school student. Not that it is too complicated for a teenager to read, because the story is easy to understand and follow. The book was dull, the author could not keep my attention or interest, because there was little action or excitement. Although I found it dull the book is well written, the writing style is very creative. The story makes the reader think about their one life. The "patient" represents the every day man, therefore the situations in the book parallel people's own life experiences.
  
  
• Devils' Devices
  By A2O69JRQ7YSCU6 on 2007-07-20
  In The Screwtape Letters CS Lewis writes of devils and their work, appealing to anyone with an intrest in the purpose of life and in how to succeed in that purpose. In his preface he explains that many symbols of devils and angels produce an undesirable effect. He gives examples such as, "The humorous, sensible, adaptable Mephistopheles has helped to strengthen the illusion that evil is liberating." (9; Revised Edition Preface) It was Lewis' intent to avoid this error. While CS Lewis's depiction of devils is not proven to be true, he successfully uses diction and characterization to appeal to our emotions to build a sense of the evil of devils and appeals to the readers' logic to guide us to our own conclusions on how to protect ourselves from the devils.
  
  Lewis's first appeal to emotion is made in the effective diction of Lewis's preface, "Readers are advised to remember that the devil is a liar," (6; preface) The connotation of the term devils is distinctly evil, thus Lewis gives us a prejudice toward them. Lewis furthers this prejudice with his use of the term liar, indicating that the devil is not to be trusted.
  
  Lewis's second appeal to emotion comes in his characterization of the devils as prideful. In the 31st chapter Screwtape expresses his victory over Wormwood "I have always desired you, as you (pitiful fool) desired me. The difference is I am the stronger," (145; ch.31) through this Lewis shows us one form of Screwtape's pride. This pride, the pride of one looking down on another, leads us to further distrust Screwtape.
  
  It is easy to see the pride of one looking down on another, thinking himself better, but Lewis doesn't confine the devils to a single form of pride. In the 1st chapter he introduces a more complex form of pride, "...oh, that abominable advantage of the Enemy's!"(8; ch.1) Here is shown the pride of the weaker or lower resenting the greater for his strength, and making excuses for his own weakness or failures. This pride shows us another shortcoming of the devils, thus Lewis deepens our distrust of them.
  
  A second characteristic, which Lewis reveals in Wormwood's attempt to send the "Secret Police" after his uncle and mentor Screwtape as displayed in the 22nd chapter is disloyalty. This quality is echoed by Screwtape, "Love you? Why, yes. As dainty a morsel as ever I grew fat on." (145; ch.31) he further explains that because Wormwood had failed he, Screwtape, would get to in some way consume Wormwood. Screwtape displays his disloyalty as he is not upset at his nephew's failure, nor interested in his defense, but rather pleased at the prospect of gaining from Wormwood's punishment. Thus Lewis continues to build our feelings of the evils of the devils right through the final chapter.
  
  Through the words of Screwtape, Lewis appealing to our logic explains the immediate goal of the devils, "the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy." (56; ch.12) One such example is given in the first chapter as Screwtape relates a story of one of his "patients" who he almost lost. This patient, prompted by God, had begun to think religiously, and instead of arguing Screwtape just convinced the man that he needed to go for lunch, thus breaking the line of thought(9;ch.1). Lewis uses this as an appeal to logic, leaving us to conclude that this separation is to our detriment, as it is what our enemy, the devils, desires. This is how Lewis continues to build a foundation for the views he would have us develop.
  
  Lewis again appeals to our logic to guide us to a conclusion showing that the methods by which the devils produce their desired effect are numerous and varied; Lewis, through Screwtape, gives an example of just how varied they can be, "All extremes ... are to be encouraged. Not always, of course, but at this period. Some ages are lukewarm and complacent, and then it is our business to soothe them yet faster asleep," (33; ch.7) the methods given are opposing, so Lewis builds the logical basis for the belief that the devils will do it any way that works. Throughout the work Lewis gives many examples of possible methods of the devils such as, "tortured fear and stupid confidence are both desirable states of mind," (67; ch.15) the devils would encourage either state of mind. So the logical conclusion is that we will be face a wide array of methods of temptation depending on the age in which we live, and the temptations to which we are most susceptible.
  
  Lewis presents another method of the devils as Screwtape warns Wormwood of "strengthening in [his] patient the fatal habit of attending to universal issues," (8; ch.1) and that he should not argue about "doctrines as primarily `true' or `false,'" (8; ch.1) thus we may logically conclude that in order to overcome the temptations of the devils we must think upon the eternities, and consider what is true and what is false. Perhaps this is why Lewis writes in such a way as to require personal thought, so we will think of what is true and false and thwart the devils.
  
  Lewis gives further insight into the methods of the devils through the words of Screwtape, "The safest way to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts,"(56;ch.12) So we know that the devils are not going to be overt. "Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick," (56; ch.12) Lewis, through the words of Screwtape, explains just how small an effective attack can be. Lewis's use of cards as a sufficient method shows just how subtle the way to Hell can be, as many would argue that the use of cards is not wrong at all, but it is what it leads to. If cards are all it takes to get someone to put God out of his mind, to disregard God's word, then it is sufficient, and the devils know it. So again he leads us to a logical conclusion: to protect ourselves from devils we must be aware of the small things that separate us from God.
  
  Through all of this Lewis makes no conclusions. He leaves that to us. As we consider such things as, "So do not allow any temporary excitement to distract you from the real business of undermining faith and preventing the formation of virtues," (25; ch.5) we may learn more of how we should act, perhaps that we should do the opposite, but Lewis never says it. By leaving the conclusions to us Lewis helps us to form our own personal methods of protection, suited to our own strengths and weaknesses.
  
  In his book, The Screwtape Letters, CS Lewis successfully instructs us how to protect ourselves from devils. He carefully appeals to our emotions through his use of diction and characterization of the devils to convince us of a need to protect ourselves. He then gives us logical instruction, but he leaves the conclusions to us, allowing us to form our own methods of protection.
  
  
  
• Know thy enemy is this book's premise.
  By A15A8C9JETD664 on 2000-05-30
  Lewis gives us excellent insight and perspective on the nature of temptation and how Satan works. The work is set up as correspondances between a beaucrat in hell and his nephew Wormwood. The letters are advice and training for Wormwood who is given charge of luring certain people down to Hell. The book is entertaining, humorous, but also deep and should strike a chord with those expiriencing strong temptation in their life towards some form of evil. The best way to fight your enemy is to know him, and this book is an theory on how the devil and his angels might work to take souls away from God. The book is also very easy to read, and without the pretentious philosophical jargon that theologians use. It's down to earth, common sense theology taught in story form. An excellent work!
  
  
• Letters From Uncle
  By A12AG1OXXG1ZNO on 2000-06-12
  "The Screwtape Letters" is one of the more bizzare and popular books in C.S. Lewis' long list of literary accomplishments, but for those of you who don't know the book's premise, it's a simple one. A demon experienced in the art of temptation who calls himself Screwtape corresponds with his up and coming nephew, an apprentice minion named Wormwood.

  If this sounds a bit strange to some of you folks, rest assured, it is. But don't give up just yet. Lewis puts together a quick and witty story of the fragile human will and the devils who seek to destroy us. He mentions temptations of sex, of vanity, of money, and pride to name just a few.

  The book also gives insight into the motivation of hell's corruptors.

  Fear.

  A simple and effective tool used by who the reader naturally assumes is Lucifer(he's mentioned by Screwtape as "Our Father" and there's reference to the conflict between him and God a.k.a "The Enemy")as an encouragement or motivation for each demon to work. There are no failures of corruption allowed. Ever.

  I guess the best way to describe this book would be as a "tap on your moral shoulder." Lewis believes that the world is destroying itself(there's no coincidence in the book's print timing-during the second World War)and that a slip in conscience warrants the blame. He goes out of his way to warn readers against selfish and superficial acts, and expertly weaves in an entertaining collection of narratives along the way.
  
  

• gird yourself for the battle
  By A3QVAKVRAH657N on 2000-11-25
  "the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." -Screwtape

  The Screwtape Letters, originally published in The Guardian in 1941, is an epistolary novel in the form of Letters from the demon Screwtape to his nephew, the apprentice demon Wormwood. Each Letter is a beautifully crafted description of how the forces of evil seek to subvert good men and turn them away from Christianity. Take the following example:

  My dear Wormwood, So you "have great hopes that the patient's religious phase is dying away," have you? I always thought the Training College had gone to pieces since they put old Slubgob at the head of it, and now I am sure. Has no one ever told you about the law of Undulation?

  Humans are amphibians--half spirit and half animal. (The Enemy's determination to produce such a revolting hybrid was one of the things that determined Our Father to withdraw his support from Him.) As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time.

  This means that while their spirits can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in time means to change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation--the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.

  If you had watched your patient carefully, you would have seen this undulation in every department of his life--his interest in his work, his affection for his friends, his physical appetites, all go up and down. As long as he lives on earth, periods of emotional and bodily richness and liveliness will alternate with periods of numbness and poverty. The dryness and dullness through which your patient is now going are not, as you fondly suppose, your workmanship; they are merely a natural phenomenon which will do us no good unless you make a good use of it.

  To decide what the best use of it is, you must ask what use the Enemy wants to make of it, and then do the opposite.... in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else.

  The reason is this. To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of selfhood at its expense.

  But the obedience the Enemy demands of men is quite a different thing.... He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself--creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but because their wills freely conform to His.

  We want cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is full and flows over. Our war aim is a world in which Our Father Below has drawn all other beings into himself: the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still distinct.

  And that is where the troughs come in.... Merely to override a human will (as His felt presence in any but the faintest and most mitigated degree would certainly do) would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo....

  Now obviously I like that because it jibes with my view of the Human Dilemma. Even better is this, from Lewis's Introduction:

  I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of "Admin." The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice. Hence naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the offices of a thoroughly nasty business concern.

  This metaphor, of course, proved to be more prescient than even Lewis could have forseen. For as the Letters were being published, bureaucrats in Berlin and Moscow were exterminating humans by the millions and the Depression and the War would give rise to increasing huge and intrusive Welfare State bureaucracies, bent on destroying Religion, Family, Community, any institution which could rival the power of the State. All the while, and ever so gradually, citizens were willingly ceding more and more of their autonomy (their hard won Free Will), as we slid into the modern Liberal godless Hell.

  To read Lewis now is to realize that things could have been different; that a few voices, crying in the wilderness, warned of the authoritarian netherworld that Western man exiled himself to for much of this Century as he abandoned God and Christianity in favor of the State and statism. We are now in the midst of a twilight struggle that will decide whether we retain sufficient confidence in our ultimate godliness to reclaim our freedom from the grasp of the State, or whether Western man's crisis of confidence will lead us back to the Garden of Eden, with our needs taken care of and our souls extinguished.

  There is no better way to gird yourself for the battle than to read this book.

  Grade: A+
  
  

• More Diverting Than Funny
  By A2V01AK0GD0EXI on 2001-05-24
  I picked up this book because it was recommended to me as very funny and, having been a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia as a child, I wanted to read an example of C.S. Lewis's overt literary argument for Christianity. I thought I might find a Christian counterpoint to Twain's Letters from the Earth. I'm afraid I was somewhat disappointed.

  The Screwtape Letters is an epistolary novel with the central conceit being that C.S. Lewis has recovered letters of advice that a Demon from the depths -- Screwtape -- had written to one of his foot soldiers -- Wormwood -- whose job it was to stick by a mortal and suggest certain lines of thought to him and exaggerate certain emotions in key moments, leading him astray. We are only privy to Screwtape's letters, and it is through his criticism of his apprentice's efforts, and his advice, that the reader is to divine the mortal's story, the efforts of Wormwood, and the nature and methods of Evil and Good.

  But Screwtape is Evil, and thus his advice may not necessarily be intended to help his charge, and I think we are to take The Screwtape Letters as an investigation into the psychology of Evil as it reveals itself in the mischievous advice. The difficulty in knowing which advice is straightforward is illustrative of Lewis's epistemology, "A great human philosopher nearly let our secret out when he said that where Virtue is concerned `Experience is the mother of illusion' ...." -- which is also a dig at the modernist concept of the untrustworthy author. In the final analysis there's not much you can do with liars outside of laugh at them. Hence, "A more modern writer -- someone with a name like Pshaw -- has, however, grasped the truth."

  And Lewis obviously had a lot of Dickensian fun with his demons' names, "Toadpipe", "Triptweeze", "Glubose", "Slubgob" and "Slumtrimpet", and there are some pretty funny lines like "Only the learned read old books and we have now so dealt with the learned that they are of all men the least likely to acquire wisdom by doing so." And "Do not let us be infected by our own propaganda."

  There are also compelling lines like "Humans are amphibians -- half spirit and half animal." and "For the present is the point at which time touches eternity." But in my opinion, to be honest, the book is really not all that funny. It is interesting, very well written, and even describes a profound vision of human psychology. But it is not particularly funny. It is humorous, but not Catch 22, At Swim Two Birds or The Magic Christian belly laugh funny. You end up finding yourself quietly amused.

  I suppose we are warned, the two epigrams at the start of the book refer to scorn and contempt, not humor: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." -- Luther. And "The devil .. the prowde spirite .. cannot endure to be mocked." -- Thomas More. It all reminds me of St. Augustine's vision of the saved gloating over the torments of the damned. (St. Augustine also had some insights into the psychology of man.)

  In fact, in Screwtape Lewis suggests the best method with which to corrupt man is to make him feel like he is doing good, being Christian, when in reality he is only doing so to feed his own pride, his own vanity. Unfortunately, I think more Christians will feel the sting of this critique in Twain's Letters from the Earth than they will in Screwtape. I'm afraid that Lewis inadvertently helps the "saved" feel comfortable in their self-regard, which, of course, would be terribly ironic, but not terribly funny.

  This edition also includes Screwtape Proposes a Toast, which was initially an Op-Ed for the Saturday Evening Post attacking the leveling psychology of democracy, which Lewis sees as dangerous because it produces a type of person who "resents every kind of superiority in others; denigrates it; wishes its annihilation. Presently he suspects every mere difference of being a claim to superiority." He considers this phenomena to be a banal version of envy, and predicts -- in the vein of Arendt -- a new mass of sinners who aren't of the great sinners variety, but damned by their lack of humility nonetheless.
  
  

• Wit and Wisdom on the Cosmic Warfare over the Human Soul
  By A2T3KLY0CCKTG4 on 2003-08-12
  This is a powerful little book which you can read in an evening, full of wit and wisdom regarding the cosmic warfare over the human soul. Screwtape fills his letters to young Wormwood with diabolically clever advice on how to thoroughly entangle his patient in the snares which will keep him from the Enemy, namely Jesus Christ. Screwtape advices Wormwood on how to capitalize on such things as domestic relationships, war, friendship, love, and sex, and includes many critical insights on the nature of pleasure, laughter, triviality, love, lust, humility, pride, anxiety, resignation, fear, etc.

  Reading over Wormwood's shoulder will do two things for you: it will make you laugh (this is an incredibly funny book) and it will make you painfully aware of the demon whispering in your own ear. Few authors understand the psychological labyrinth of the human soul as Lewis does. He has a way of uncovering the subconscious motives and thought-processes of one's soul and forcing them into the bright light of true righteousness and love.

  I read this book last night (it is a quick read) for the fourth time and walked away freshly challenged, convicted, and encouraged in my spiritual life. I highly, highly recommend this book.
  
  

• Our Anti-Father Down Below.
  By A34PAZQ73SL163 on 2005-02-20
  After at least a decade and several personal recommendations to read it each year, I finally got around to buying "The Screwtape Letters." The initial emotion I experienced after reading its introduction was jealously as I could not help but wish that it was I, and not Lewis, who had such an ingenious idea. Once you discover the book's method, which is of a senior demon writing to his nephew with recommendations on how to steal souls, you'll be astounded at the wonderful complexity of the author's mind. His reverse theological technique provided ample opportunity to skewer many of the most powerful members of England's WWII society. What is most remarkable about the book is that it is even more applicable to our present day world than it was to the author's era. Moderate and touchy-feely churches are ubiquitous to our landscape and Screwtape undoubtedly would be most pleased with their constant empthasis on social issues rather than the Lord's Word. The book has tremendous meaning as it difficult to dismiss the possibility that the Devil influences our daily lives and the world around us. One cannot help but wonder if their are Screwtapes and Wormwoods in the air we breath who attempt, with subtle direction, to steer us away from productive activities and into the netherworld of souless entertainment.
  
  
• Mixed Reactions to the Work of a Great Apologist
  By A2YJ9DT9YZ0DUN on 2006-08-15
  I must say that I have mixed reactions to the Screwtape Letters of C.S. Lewis. These reactions are not unfounded and are even acknowledged by the author himself. The work presents itself as a set of imaginary correspondence between a major devil, Screwtape, and his nephew, Wormwood. The overall function of the dialogue in the text is to portray a view of morality from the eyes of Hell. The overall effect is one that is both witty and enlightening. Nonetheless, I share the reservations of Lewis himself and those reportedly held by J.R.R. Tolkien (to whom the text was dedicated) that claimed that Lewis had gone too far into the Enemy's camp. Lewis admitted that it was a difficult task to write these letters, given the spiritual dryness of the correspondents.
  
  Nonetheless, the overall work does a good job at expressing a variety of theological topics. It pursues the ongoing conversion of an individual living during the Second World War. Each chapter presents a different sin that is exploited by the minions of Hell. The action of each chapter indirectly teaches a lesson on the nature of the sin at hand as well as by delving into the nature of Hell. While I disagree on some of the notions of sin held by Lewis, he is mostly on track with standard orthodoxy. There is nothing dangerous in the text, although I feel that his view on the nature of devils' desires is a bit misdirected. The additionally included letter, "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," is a most excellent wake-up call to the educators of the world, exposing the dangers inherent in many modern theories of education.
  
  I suggest the text with the caveat of prudence. The powers of Hell are temping in a great number of ways. It is quite possible that Lewis went too far into the camp of the Enemy in order to write this text. I know that this view may seem wimpy or fundamentalistic. It is based on the same motivating conviction which Tolkien had against such action, a motivation which influenced his own works in Middle Earth. While I must admit that his theology is mostly top-notch and that his writing is humorous, I also send you forth with a partial recommendation, given the afore-mentioned caveat.
  
  
• self-satisfied screed
  By A26O3JWHPGEV6 on 2000-07-21
  For those who do not share Mr. Lewis' smug Christianity these letters are likely to quickly lose their charm. Mr. Lewis' religiousness is of a very narrow, cloistered, sort. It arrogantly dismisses practically all worldly conditions and concerns that we may look to religion to address. Neither does it have the depth or feeling one associates with mysticism. It is a religion of the self-satisfied and elect.

  The conceit of having letters from Screwtape to a favored demon nephew palls at about letter V, there are XXXI. What wittiness there is fades as Lewis settles into his screed.

  In fact it occurred to me that the work is a satire on the self-satisfied perspective it appears to represent. If so Mr. Lewis has brilliantly fooled a lot of people.
  
  

• Mere Christianity
• The Great Divorce
• The Problem of Pain
• The Four Loves
• The Screwtape Letters Study Guide