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The Screwtape Letters
by
C.S. Lewis
First, readers should understand that The Screwtape Letters is meant to be satire, and it’s told from the perspective of the devil. So, morality is upside down, everything right is wrong, and Jesus is referred to as “the Enemy.” Lewis’s basis for his satirical style can be summed up in the words of Luther in the book’s epigraph: “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.”
This series of letters is written in the voice of a high-ranking demon called Screwtape advising his nephew and demon in training, Wormwood, on the best ways to tempt a human. The diabolical discourse exposes the covert schemes of the devil and the weaknesses of the unsuspecting human as Screwtape and Wormwood wrestle for the man’s soul. Even when the man, who they call “the patient,” becomes a Christian, the demons don’t let up on him. They still want to trip him up and bring him down any way they can.
We are all “the patient”
Like the Bible, this book is a story of two kingdoms raging in a conflict. The world is divided between only two groups of people – the children of the Lord and children of the devil. Every person belongs to one of these two kingdoms. There is no neutral ground. And like “the patient” in Screwtape’s letters, the battle rages on for control of your soul.
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Even as believers, we can fall prey to the devil. We are capable of all manner of depravity. If we don’t realize that, then we put ourselves more at risk of the devil’s schemes. When we’re walking in the Spirit, we’re more aware of the battle. But when we’re walking in the flesh, we’re not even aware that there’s a battle going on. The more oblivious we are, the more vulnerable we are to the devil’s attacks.
Listen to the podcast to learn the primary strategies the enemy of your soul tries to use against you every day.
