The Screwtape Letters
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christian Books & Bibles
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Christian Books & Bibles
Book Type: Paperback
Helpful Score: 1
If I didn't know Lewis was such a devoted Christian, I could swear this was a satire of that very same religion- and a classic one at that! In this book, he has structured the battle for our eternal souls as a demon working tirelessly on one shoulder and an angel on the other- not unlike later parodies seen on Tom & Jerry or Bugs Bunny or The Simpsons.
Putting my religious cynicism (mostly) aside, it is a brilliant study on human motivation and how these motives can become warped if we're not self-aware, asking ourselves the right questions. Screwtape's observation about humility is such an example:
"...humans have been brought to think that humility means pretty women trying to believe they are ugly and clever men trying to believe they are fools. And since what they are trying to believe may, in some cases, be manifest nonsense, they cannot succeed in believing it and we have the chance to keep their minds endlessly revolving on themselves in an effort to achieve the impossible... [God] wants him, in the end, to be so free of any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbour's talents- or in a sunrise, an elephant or a waterfall. He wants each man, in the long run, to recognize all creatures (even himself) as glorious and excellent things."
If Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion is the popular voice and blueprint for atheists, this book is it's equal literary opposite. Though, I do realize this is a work of fiction and Dawkins' book is not. However, this work is a metaphor for Lewis' beliefs and when illustrating a point, isn't metaphor and allegory what religion does best?
My only criticism of this read is, while it is obvious Lewis put a lot thought into Screwtape, his voice becomes monotonous and dry after a while which is an unbearable combination when you are being preached towards.
Finally, a quote from Screwtape directed towards his fellow Gentledevils that resonates on many levels:
"All said and done, my friends, it will be an ill day for us if what most humans mean by 'religion' ever vanishes from Earth. It can still send us the truly delicious sins. The fine flower of unholiness can grow only in the close neighborhood of the Holy. Nowhere do we tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar."
Putting my religious cynicism (mostly) aside, it is a brilliant study on human motivation and how these motives can become warped if we're not self-aware, asking ourselves the right questions. Screwtape's observation about humility is such an example:
"...humans have been brought to think that humility means pretty women trying to believe they are ugly and clever men trying to believe they are fools. And since what they are trying to believe may, in some cases, be manifest nonsense, they cannot succeed in believing it and we have the chance to keep their minds endlessly revolving on themselves in an effort to achieve the impossible... [God] wants him, in the end, to be so free of any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbour's talents- or in a sunrise, an elephant or a waterfall. He wants each man, in the long run, to recognize all creatures (even himself) as glorious and excellent things."
If Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion is the popular voice and blueprint for atheists, this book is it's equal literary opposite. Though, I do realize this is a work of fiction and Dawkins' book is not. However, this work is a metaphor for Lewis' beliefs and when illustrating a point, isn't metaphor and allegory what religion does best?
My only criticism of this read is, while it is obvious Lewis put a lot thought into Screwtape, his voice becomes monotonous and dry after a while which is an unbearable combination when you are being preached towards.
Finally, a quote from Screwtape directed towards his fellow Gentledevils that resonates on many levels:
"All said and done, my friends, it will be an ill day for us if what most humans mean by 'religion' ever vanishes from Earth. It can still send us the truly delicious sins. The fine flower of unholiness can grow only in the close neighborhood of the Holy. Nowhere do we tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar."
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