I loved this book! It was my second time reading it and I enjoyed it even more the second time around. I loved seeing Screwtape's perspective and felt it was very eye opening. Here's some of the things I've been thinking about:
#1) I definitely believe in "demons", both in a literal and figurative sense. I believe there are actual evil spirits in the world who attempt to persuade us from following after our Father in Heaven and His righteous ways. But on a more day-to-day basis, I think we are all plagued by more figurative, personal "demons" which may come in the forms of sin, habits, low self-esteem, eating disorders, mental illness, disease, emotional baggage, grudges, gossip, etc. I think both types of "demons" are utilized by Lucifer to plague us, haunt us, break us down, make us feel weak and inadequate, and otherwise tear us from the loving, personal relationship we might have with God. I think we all face demons and it is our job to overcome them through Jesus, become stronger, and move closer to our God.
#2) I think the "pressure of the ordinary" refers to humankind's strange abhorrence of being "different". The pressure to fit in and be just like everyone else can be so overwhelming! Even when our differences are good, our natural man cries out that it would rather just fit in. I wonder if we would be more successful at sharing Christianity with others if we weren't battling our natural tendency to blend in with the masses; we're always afraid to be different, to be weird, to stand out.
#3) The church can definitely be an ally to Satan. This is actually what I most thought about and most enjoyed while reading this book. There's a whole laundry list of sins I can say I avoid just because I am a member of the Church (murder, theft, drugs, adultery, the list goes on and on and on). I try hard to follow Jesus' teachings and to live a good Christian life. But this book helped me realize that being a member of the Church can be an ally to Satan as well in that it opens the doorway for a whole new set of sins with which to tempt me. Here I was, thinking I was doing so great because I keep the ten commandments, and then I realized that sometimes I set myself up as "better" or "more righteous" than others because I'm Christian. Whether or not that's true is not my place to judge, not to mention the audacious pride of mine involved with that assumption! Another instance of this occurred this past Sunday when a fellow church member was expressing gratitude for all the service she's been rendered by the congregation. She's a good friend of mine and I've done a lot to help her and for a split second I found myself thinking, "I wonder if she's going to point me out by name." Immediately after that thought I wanted to mentally (and spiritually) slap myself. Is that why I had served her? To make myself look good? Or to build up pride about what a good person I was? I like to think not, but at that moment it felt like my own personal Screwtape was whispering in my ear. :) I think it's also easy to become lackadaisical in our actions and perhaps find ourselves just going through the motions of a Christan life. Go to church, say our prayers, read our Bible... but are we letting it change our hearts? Is it sinking in? Or is it only skin deep? I loved reading through every letter and evaluating myself, asking if each temptation was something I personally had experienced or am experiencing and need to improve on. It definitely made me think and re-evaluate, and it made me want to be better.
I'm so glad you posted, Jac! And I loved your comments on question #3. It's hard not to compare myself to the other women at church because they are probably the demographic closest to me, and therefore an excellent benchmark for my own personal progression in the things that matter most to me. What impressed me most about this was how Satan can and will use anything to kindle our pride and distance us from the Lord. Even church. Kind of impressive in a terrible kind of way.
ReplyDeleteHi Girls,
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving me the opportunity and experience to read the Screwtape Letters, as it is one I had planned to read for a long time. I had even started it once a few years ago, but never finished. I apologize for how long it is taking me to read. This is one of those books in which almost every sentence is so profound that I have to go back and read it and process. What that your guys' experience or am I just majorly OCD?
#1 One of the main things this book had me thinking about is how much it applies to my life, and if I had my own personal “Wormwood” how much of my everyday erroneous thinking comes from sources outside of myself, by “beings” that have studied up on me and know my weaknesses and the triggers to my negative behaviors. Do I believe in demons? Absolutely. Not necessarily in the traditional pitch-fork-holding, little devil on your shoulder sense of the word, but I think when we accept that Satan is real (and there is more than enough evidence in the world to support that) we also have to accept that there are followers of his that seek to do his work on earth, and those and some of there most productive work, I’m sure, is what they do to us on an individual basis.
At the same time I don’t think we should believe too much in demons, if that makes any sense, at least not to the extent that we are absolving ourselves from personal responsibility (i.e. the “devil made me do it” syndrome). God gave us agency, and as mortals we have to accept that thoughts and behaviors are ultimately our own, whether we have a tempter’s influence or not. Maybe these “demons” only know how to take us to the edge, be we push ourselves over. Their influence only goes so far, as Screwtape points out to Wormwood so often in the text. I remember learning somewhere that devils cannot read our minds, that are thoughts are uniquely our own. But for the sake of making his point I can see how C.S. Lewis portrays these tempters in the way he does.
#2 I love this question on the “pressure of the ordinary” because this is the downfall of so many good people in the world, myself often included. I thought it was interesting toward the beginning when Screwtape says that distraction is the best ally, when the “patient” is starting to feel the rumblings of “the enemy” (we would call it The Spirit), to fight back directly would be to lose. He advises only to tell the patient to “think about it later,” and then he inevitably rarely does. When we are present with the Spirit we need to stay in that moment. I have a hard time with this often as worldly matters that at the time seem more pressing and important flow in and out of my mind.
#3 I agree with the statements you both made about this. In fact, I would argue that is it one of Satan’s most effective tools, at least when it comes to church members. We learn about this in the temple. He knows that if we can have any negative association with the church, we will blame the entire organization, thus denying themselves the gift of the gospel of Christ at its core. So I’ve resolved to be better than that. If I ever catch myself focusing more on the people in the pews than the message that is being taught, I try to redirect myself.
#4 This was an interesting question. I love how LDS doctrine emphasizes that the soul is the spirit AND the body. I think we can all agree that we are more receptive to the Spirit when the basic physical needs have been met. But isn’t it interesting how we can be better receptive when we deny our physical needs as well, such as in the case of fasting?
I don’t know about you gals, but I was truly blown away with how insightful and accurate Lewis’ perception is on how we are tried and tempted. This is why I love him so much as a writer. He seems to have a way of just piercing the heart of what is really true and essential. He is truly an inspired man with such a depth of spiritual matters, particularly concerning Christ and the Atonement. I look forward to reading more of his books.