The Screwtape Letters
(C.S. Lewis)
The Screwtape Letters is a collection of letters of advice from an experienced senior devil to his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter. Wormwood?s assignment is to ensure that a young man is damned, and that young man has instead become a Christian. Uncle Screwtape alternates between threatening Wormwood and suggesting means to undo the ?Enemy?s? gains. The letters are, of course, a means of conveying advice about leading a Christian life and avoiding damnation. Scarcely any Christian reading this book would fail to recognise himself in one of the situations Screwtape suggests as a stratagem to lead the young man astray. The manner in which the letters are written manages to suggest strategies to avoid or escape the devil?s traps and thereby grow in virtue. C.S. Lewis also uses the book to point out all the gifts God gives to man, gifts which make the ordinary extraordinary, even in the midst of war (the book was published in 1941). Screwtape complains that the ?Enemy? has an unfair advantage over the devil by virtue of having actually become man, and therefore being able to understand what it is to be human in a very personal way. These points are made subtly, even humorously, but no Christian could miss them or fail to find them heartening and helpful. The Screwtape Letters are not entirely original in their conception. St. Gregory the Great also wrote a similar series, but his were written in Latin at the end of the sixth century. Lewis? genius lies in presenting his advice in an entertaining format for his own time. The advice gleaned from each situation is practical in that it can be applied immediately and easily in the Christian life. The Screwtape Letters are still relevant today and just as much fun to read. Every Christian should read Wormwood?s correspondence at least once.
Resumos Relacionados
- The Screwtape Letters
- The Screwtape Letters
- Writing The Romance Novel
- Letters Between Father And A Son
- Piercing The Darkness
|
|