The Screwtape Letters

C.S. Lewis has a wealth of amazing collections. My first book that I ever read from him was "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". We read this book for literature back in high school, I eventually read the entire series "The Chronicles of Narnia" years later. Now more people are familiar with his work thanks to Hollywood for bringing Narnia to the big screen. 

But The Screwtape Letters, is another type of story. After reading it I had to applaud Lewis for himself NOT getting wrapped up in the characters. For anyone to write about the Devil I believe you're toying with something very sinister.

The book is essentially about "letters" between a Senior and Junior Devil or demons so to speak. (relatives actually - an uncle speaking to a nephew).

Strange book to write on! Right? Very true, but this was his way of sharing with  us how he thinks the devil world works against us.

In the book Lewis lays out the systematic methods that the demons employ in attempting to "win" souls to hell! When you read Screwtape letters you realize that the Devil sometimes uses things that are "good" and use them against us for evil. Who would ever think being hospitable is a bad thing ?!!? Or praying? It's a wonderful thing to be hospitable and a very good thing to pray. But when you're hospitable to the point of not paying attention to your guests then this becomes bad. When you're praying so that other people will see you then it's not such a good thing.
The soul that the Junior devil was trying to "win" to hell had a mother just like that. He also interacted with people who the "devils" either liked or disliked at various times in his life. 

They always seemed to position the "evil" in very easy places for access. But our Soul always seemed to have Allies to help get through the rough situations. I described this book as "A slap with the Holy two-by-four piece of wood" - that wakes you up to the games that are being played to bring our souls to eternal hell. It shows how one has to be very aware of who they are and who or what they believe in. The Devil likes nothing better than souls that are indifferent. Our author here gives the impression that these are the souls that are simply collected and groomed for "the kill" so to speak. Very little effort is required to get these souls to hell. 

Our Author however describes how the devils FIGHT for the border line souls AND the good souls! They fight tooth and nail to "win" souls to hell. When one of these souls is "lost" to the glory of Heaven there is a lot of mourning and sorrow in hell. But there is also the destruction (meaning the execution) of the Devil that DID not secure that soul to hell. 

At the end of it all we are given the example of how to live a life that will have the Devils crying in anguish.