Screwtape Letters
Screwtape Letters
Entry 1
8/27
Screwtape writes a letter to his helper giving him instructions and suggestions on how to keep the patient naïve and having only basic knowledge. Screwtape only want us to focus on “economics and sociology”. He wants to keep us under his control and keep us from inquiring about the details and not the big picture. Screwtape stresses to Wormwood about focusing on a human’s basic needs and not what we wish to have.
Libraries are filled with knowledge. Books are a gateway to understanding real life. If we were to read books, we might start asking questions, questions about God. The patient is “safe” because if he sees, he believes.
Screwtape suggests, “by the very act of arguing, you awake the patient’s reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result? Libraries are full of opinions, factual information, fantasies, mysteries, and books dedicated to arguments on broad subjects. I can remember lounging in a library chair and reading a theologian who argued about the seven deadly sins. I was captivated by the argument and began researching more about God and inquiring about the trinity. I awoke my reason and the result is still in process.
Screwtape Letters
Entry 2
9/3
Screwtape is telling Wormwood it’s okay to let the patient explore the church and their beliefs. Let the patient welcome the thought of becoming a Christian because “one of our greatest allies is the Church itself with its half-finished, sham Gothic erection and its ridiculous appearance.” Screwtape wants the patient to see everything that isn’t related to Hell, hazy. Wormwood must keep the patient dependent on his emotions and not stray to “independence.” When the patient goes into Church he is supposed to see all the kinds of people in the pews and judge them for the way they appear.
Screwtape mentions, “In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspirations to laborious doing.” For example, going to church can seem easy and
Entry 1
8/27
Screwtape writes a letter to his helper giving him instructions and suggestions on how to keep the patient naïve and having only basic knowledge. Screwtape only want us to focus on “economics and sociology”. He wants to keep us under his control and keep us from inquiring about the details and not the big picture. Screwtape stresses to Wormwood about focusing on a human’s basic needs and not what we wish to have.
Libraries are filled with knowledge. Books are a gateway to understanding real life. If we were to read books, we might start asking questions, questions about God. The patient is “safe” because if he sees, he believes.
Screwtape suggests, “by the very act of arguing, you awake the patient’s reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result? Libraries are full of opinions, factual information, fantasies, mysteries, and books dedicated to arguments on broad subjects. I can remember lounging in a library chair and reading a theologian who argued about the seven deadly sins. I was captivated by the argument and began researching more about God and inquiring about the trinity. I awoke my reason and the result is still in process.
Screwtape Letters
Entry 2
9/3
Screwtape is telling Wormwood it’s okay to let the patient explore the church and their beliefs. Let the patient welcome the thought of becoming a Christian because “one of our greatest allies is the Church itself with its half-finished, sham Gothic erection and its ridiculous appearance.” Screwtape wants the patient to see everything that isn’t related to Hell, hazy. Wormwood must keep the patient dependent on his emotions and not stray to “independence.” When the patient goes into Church he is supposed to see all the kinds of people in the pews and judge them for the way they appear.
Screwtape mentions, “In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspirations to laborious doing.” For example, going to church can seem easy and