Lessons from C.S. Lewis's "The Screwtape Letters"...

So after hearing several of the General Authorities quote from C.S. Lewis, I decided to follow their example and read his works for myself. So far I've read: "Mere Christianity" and am now on The Screwtape Letters".

These are a serious of 31 letters to Wormwood the aprentice, from Screwtape, one of Satan, "Our Father"s," leader angels, training him how to keep or get the "patient", the human", away from the "Enemy",Jesus Christ. Sort of like reverse psychology, but non-the-less, I will attempt to analyze them and show the progress the "patient" has made.

Screwtape is training Wormwood how to use Satan's tools to get the "patient" , humans, away from Christ, by explaining how Christ trains the "patient" to follow Him and how they do the opposite, or for opposite reasons. It's very complicated..... as we well know in our own lives. So here goes.....

Letter #1
(Interesting side note: Wormwood means - Bitter or grievous)

Satan's tools
- the media teaches half truths and the people believe them as truth
- doctrine is to be considered - 'academic or practical', 'outworn or contemporary', 'conventional or ruthless' instead of either true or false. Jargon, not argument
- distract from the truth, which the patient is searching for
Christ's tools
- teaches us to reason through whether a thing is true or false
The Patient
Investigates the Chruch

Letter #2

Satan's tools
- keep everything hazy in his mind
- instill in his mind disappointment or anticlimax during every aspect of life marked by transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing.
- compare self to others, who may not be doing or who are doing what the church teaches
Christ's tools
- the Church is rooted in eternity
- become less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt
The Patient
- joins the church

Letter #3

Satan's tools
- keep his mind off the elementary duties by directing him to the most advanced spiritual ones before he is ready to do them
- keep him concerned about state of other peoples souls instead of their temporal needs-
Christ's tools
- precept upon precept-
- the mote and the beam
-what is done to the least is done to Him
The Patient
- attempting to learn about his roll in the church and life and impliment what he learns into his life

Letter #4

Satan's tools
- desire to shift responsibility
- pray superficially
-keeping things out of his mind
-turn his mind away from Christ to himself
-keep him from truly knowing Christ
- pray to that image he has dreamed up of God
Christ's tools
-pray to the Father with whole soul in ernest sincere desire
The Patient
- he learns to pray to God not an object

Letter #5

Satan's tools
- create mental pictures of future terror, despair, horror and astonishment
- undermine faith and prevent the formation of virtues
- war is entertaining
-develop contented worldliness
- sickness excuses every indulgence
- denying the need for blessings when sick or dieing
Christ's tools
- suffering is an essential part of Redemption
- He is always ready to help us
The Patient
- learns that suffereing can bring us closer to God

Letter #6

Satan's tools
- fill him with uncertainty, suspense and anxiety
- become muddled in "what ifs"
- knowledge for the sake of knowledge and analyzing
- diverting his mind from Christ to his own thoughts of Christ
- direct natural malice towards those closest
- shove all virtues into a circle of fantasy
Christ's tools
- Thy Will Be Done relieves anxiety
- divert his mind from the thing feared to the fear itself
-care for those around us as well as those far away
The Patient
-learns to trust in the Lord's will

Letter #7

Satan's tools
- keep him ignorant of our existance
- if Satan doesn't exist neither does God
- the worship of sex
- pride and hate become impersonal
-form cliques
- a sudden, confused, emotional crisis
- choose "pet" causes to follow in the name of religion
- the world is the end and faith the means
- meetings, pamphlets, politics, movements, causes, crusades matter more than prayers, sacrament or charity
Christ's tools
- beware of false pride
- become unified
- temoporal affairs are primarily marerial for obedience
The Patient
- becomes aware of Satan and his angels' influence and learns how to withstand them

Letter #8

Satan's tools
- uses the natural tendency of ebb and flow to prevent forward motion in any endeavor
- he wants to suck up all of our energy through manipulation and take control of our will
- he tempts to vice
Christ's tools
- whats us to willingly obey
- He gives us freedom to choose and be individuals, while we obey Him
- He loves us even when we do not obey
- His love is ever present, even when we turn from Him
- He takes away his hand and allows us to learn to walk on our own
The Patient
- learns to obey even when it is difficult

Now that your appitite has been whetted, enjoy reading them and learn...... what happens to the "patient"!!! :>)