"My Dear Wormwood, I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence. That question, at least for the present phase of the struggle, has been answered for us by the High Command. Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves" " - Letter VII
There are few books that can truly be described as a Christian Classic. If there were ten in the world, CS Lewis' Screwtape Letters would definitely be among them. This is not a book I would encourage you to read " once. It is one of the three books I make it my aim to read every year, the other two being John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and of course the Bible.
Screwtape Letters is a fictional collection of a series of letters written by Screwtape, the under-secretary of a demonic department to his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter. They take the form of advice offered on the best way to befuddle and mislead human beings so that they confidently or quietly tread the broad road to Hell. In actuality, CS Lewis dedicated the book to his good friend JRR Tolkien as an astute observation of the common techniques the Devil and his minions use to attack Christians. As such, it makes for an excellent "Defense Against the Dark Arts' guide.
CS Lewis considered himself a simple layman rather than a theologian, but this humorous account is jam-packed with Biblical insights. From it you can learn about the many ways the Devil can apply his primary tool of deception. You recognize how he encourages us to enflame disagreements and neglect spiritual virtues. Or how he sets about to honeycomb our commitment to Christ with well-meaning exceptions that leave it brittle and ultimately worthless. So much for his interaction with humanity " on the side of the devils, we discover their own greed, resistance to the truth and ruthlessness (after all, why would they possess any characteristics associated with God?).
If there is a negative about books like this one that deal with the dark spiritual forces, then it is one which Lewis identifies for us:
"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight." - Preface
Books like Frank Perretti's This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness spring to mind. However Screwtape Letters neither rationalizes the spiritual world away, nor magnifies it to the point that there are demons lurking in every careless phrase or pagan home. Rather, Lewis pictures them as the ravenous, embittered, and ultimately defeated creatures that they are, and it would do us well to pay attention to his sort of devil who "" prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 3:8).
Screwtape Letters is the sort of book that deserves to be read and referred to often, and the new media are well-placed to assist this. There are plenty of lesson and study guides available free online, as well as a complete edition of the book itself. But it's hard to go by the audio recording of the book by John Cleese, who manages to maintain both CS Lewis’ dry sense of humour alongside his insights. In whatever form you choose, Screwtape Letters continues to oppose the demonic goal to convince Christians as well as non-Christians that they either do not exist, or don't exert any real influence on their day-to-day life. Remembering we are in a battle is encourages us to ensure that our primary weapon, Scripture " the "sword of the spirit " is not left sheathed on the shelf.
