Letter 26

I am not sure for what reason, but I still typically cannot understand what point Screwtape is trying to get across. It seems like he uses a lot of words to get across what are actually much more simple ideas. He uses a lot of examples which are usually too complex for me. I like things to be spelled out more plainly for me.
In this letter to Wormwood, Screwtape tells him about how people use love to put aside problems which will come back to get them later. His main point is that of unselfishness and how male and female see the issue differently. This is where he loses me. I don’t really see his differences as being relevant. He also talks about the couple doing charity for each other and self sacrifice. He says that it comes easy at first, before the love wears off. With him talking like this it makes it sound like marriages can never work. I understand he is coming from the side of the devil, but to even believe that is irrational. If there were no marriages how could we pro-create. With no family structure it would lead to a disorderly world. It already happens enough and if everyone was off making babies with whoever they pleased we would not have a good society to live in. I know this may be pretty far off topic from where Screwtape was going with it, but that is the beauty of a book. You can let it take you where ever you want. Especially when there is no one to tell you exactly what you are supposed to think about it.

Letter 24

Letter 24 deals with an issue that I think may happen a lot even in contexts different but similar to how it is addressed here. Love can make people act and think in all sorts of ways. People will some times try to be someone they are not to please the one they are after. There are definitely varying degrees of this problem. Here we see the patient thinking that he belongs to a much higher class of society than he in reality he does. He is doing this because he has fallen so far into love that he has become ignorant to his surroundings. When one becomes so involved into their new group they often think that any other way of doing something is inferior to their new surrounding. They think that anyone else is not as good as them.

This belief, Screwtape, compares to thinkging that one’s religion is better than any other. They believe this in a way that is not loving and goes beyond doing good things for others. People are often rude to others. All the while thinking they are being this “cannot do anything wrong” holy person. They need to watch their communication skills and realize that not everyone is going to make the same efforts towards their relationship with God. This can be a very harmful thing to God. I hope these type of people can come to the realization that some people need to find their own way to God.

Chapter 21

After taking a little break last week I am back to talk about another rousing letter from Screwtape to his dear nephew Worwood. In this letter I hear Screwtape in an entirely different tone than I have throughout the rest of the book. I guess it is just that the content in which he is talking to Wormwood is quite different. It is not so much about outside influences, but more about the person. People are too often consumed with their own lives. Not to say that it is bad to think about oneself. One must be happy with them self in order to do good for anyone else. When these thoughts occur more and more often then they become destructive. They are bringing others down around them through their selfish acts.

While people are possessive about their time it is almost worse about their material things. They are often put on a level equal with God. This is just wrong. People talk about their possessions and just throw God’s name in the mix. They say it like he is just something they can come to when ever they want. People do not think about the how they do not have ownership over anything. People do not think about all their possessions actually being God’s, along with each person that lives on this earth. At least that is his dream that each person can be one of his. The relationship with God needs to be cultivated and then you may be able to speak of him more like a possession. This possession needs to be held in much higher regard than any earthly possession.