A group of eleven gathered last Sunday, June 21, 2009, to read Walter Hooper's Forward to C.S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters." Not all books include this Forward. While it was not the easiest writing to follow, it did help us understand that the book will be a correspondence between an older, experienced Devil working within the "Infernal Civil Service" as the "Abysmal Sublimity Under-Secretary Screwtape" and his cousin Wormwood. A few points that interested us:
1. Some people are taught to picture the "Devil" as some frightening, red, half-goat. C.S. Lewis imagines the Devil as something of a business man working on Wall Street (Hell?). In this way the danger of hell is less obvious (Abysmal sublimity?) and thus more destructive. I think of Wal Mart...it appears that the corporation cares for every employee but is that really the case?
2. The "Devil" is not, according to C.S. Lewis, a divine being opposite to God. Devils are "created beings" like angels who have simply chosen to oppose God. God is more powerful than these devils.
3. Screwtape Letters is not meant to illustrate who the Devil is but rather to address human weakness. in other words, instead of reading along and discovering, "Yep, that's him (the devil)", we may find ourselves saying, "Yep, that's me!"
We will post group progress here each week.
We will read three chapters (they are very short) each week.
in preparation for June 28th, please read:
Screwtape Letters: #1
Where are we most vulnerable to temptation?
Screwtape concludes his letter by telling Wormwood not to use science as a defense against Christianity, why?
Screwtape Letters: #2
Why does Screwtape feel that the church can be his ally?
Screwtape Letters: #3
Screwtape's advice up to now has been both shrewd and subtle. Does evil really work this way?
