The Screwtape Letters
by C. S. Lewis
Imagine opening someone else's mail and finding it was written by a devil. Screwtape is a senior official in the infernal bureaucracy. Wormwood, his nephew, is a junior tempter assigned to a young Englishman who has just become a Christian. Screwtape's letters are a training manual for damnation. C. S. Lewis's trick is that every piece of bad advice shows, in negative, what holiness looks like.
The letters are short, sly and very funny. Screwtape prefers distraction to dramatic sin. He loves petty irritation with family and spiritual pride dressed up as devotion. He's horrified whenever his “patient” prays honestly or simply enjoys a good walk. Because the world is turned upside down, readers keep catching sight of themselves, and the sting does them good.
It suits anyone beginning to take prayer and temptation seriously, book clubs and OCIA groups that want something lively to discuss, and readers who learn best through story and satire. Each letter runs a few pages, perfect for a daily dose.
Key Takeaways
- How temptation works through distraction and small irritations.
- Why honest prayer is the enemy's nightmare.
- Holiness seen in reverse.
- Short letters suited to daily reading.
It's a sharp, funny look at temptation from an unexpected angle.
