Miscellaneous: "An Attempt at Screwtape" - Ron

One of my favorite works by C.S. Lewis is his book, The Screwtape Letters. In the book, a high-ranking demon by the name of Screwtape is writing letters to his nephew, Wormwood. Wormwood is a young demon who has been assigned to a specific human soul. The task for Wormwood is to get this soul through life without the person coming to know Christ.

The book is brilliant in the way it manifests the subtle ways that temptation greets us each day. Personally, I think it is a book that every Christian should read. It would be a benefit. I have tried to write one short letter from a similar point of view. The main topic of the letter is about the battle of the heart, but holds true to Lewis’s style of Screwtape being just as easily delighted in tormenting Wormwood as they both would be tormenting the soul of a damned patient in hell.

I changed the gender of all three characters. The names have meaning, and as a homework assignment you can look them up and try to figure out why I chose them. I guess you could say they are Easter eggs. 

A few final thoughts to remember:

• As the book goes on, Lewis writes Screwtape in an increasingly menacing way. I’ve tried to bring out a balance.
• Lewis has Screwtape and Wormwood capitalize references to God – even though the words used are Enemy and the like. I always thought this was a stroke of genius on his part. Although Satan and the demons hate God, they cannot deny His authority.

Here you are, an attempt at Screwtape:

My Dearest Artemisia,

Wars and rumors of war once again plague your patient’s mind. You must attempt to keep them there, lest they journey to her heart. You should know why this is, but based upon your bumbling last letter – so unintentionally full of the gravest mistakes that I nearly delivered it to the tormentors myself – I dare not assume too much. The reason, dear niece of mine, is simple enough, though we cannot understand the connection as of yet. The Enemy has attached the issues of life to the heart. Yes, the heart, that great center of personhood for mankind, is a razor’s edge of a battleground. More than one tempter has lost their patient to the Enemy in that arena. Far better ones than you, even.

As I said, we are not sure of the reasons, but the research department is hard at work. What we know is the gamble. Are you a gambler, my dear? Know the stakes well. What these humans love is what they will do. Their affections drive their thinking. This can be used to our advantage, and sickeningly, to His as well. As much as I hate to admit it, and oftentimes do not, He is just as likely to capture their heart as is the best tempter. Our advantage, of course, is that the whole of our Great Dread Lord’s world system is bent to keep the heart of these humans occupied.

Capture the heart of your patient and she is yours forever. You can fill yourself for quite some time on the mere thought of tearing her flesh over and again. That is as near to a sure thing as you can hope for. But, alas! Too many tempters, fueled by lust and greed, have seen their patient open their heart to the Enemy at the last moment. When that happens, she is gone. And as certain as the delight in her eternal torments are the horrors that await you should you lose her. I will rip and tear you myself should you do, as you know.

By all means, then, allow fears of war to fog your patient’s mind. But do not allow her to bring them to the level of her affections. Confusion is a benefit. Fear is a danger. Though it disgusts me to bow before the Enemy’s adages, we cannot help but admit the damage done to our cause by: “perfect love casts out fear.” Keep your patient’s mind in turmoil over the price of goods and how her weekly earnings stretch more thinly than before, but do not let her dwell long on the plight of those worse off than her. This way leads to selflessness, and what you want, more than anything, is for your patient to be self-obsessed.

I conclude this letter with a warning. Just as the arena of the heart boasts high rewards and great risks, so too does youthfulness. My gravest concern is that you place too much emphasis on the young age of your patient. While her youth makes her flighty, prone to self-consciousness, and gives her a yearning to fit in, there is danger here as well. Remember that the Enemy Himself requires faith like a child. Tread carefully, my dear niece, for whether you succeed or fail, I am,

Ravenously yours,

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