The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

 The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

In our real life, we have a guy who is called the “Too- happy” in an approximate translation and this is not a joke, or a nick name given by enemies!!
On the contrary, it is his Official title which comes along with a big, fat –like the dude- salary, a limousine and even an…Official motorcade


These notes might be affected by current events, where some might say that Demon Screwtape or his nephew Wormwood have gotten involved, whereas the undersign doubts the existence of the devil and his presence anywhere, including within the recent tragedy.
I have read the Screwtape Letters as a young man, when I used to be a member of the British Library, which was then located within the premises of her majesty’s Embassy, with guards asking for the ID at the gates.
That meant that we belonged on some black list and the correspondents of Screwtape & co. on earth kept tabs on visitors to the library.
The version I first listened to was read by the extraordinary John Cleese, universally acclaimed for his part in the Monty Python masterpieces- some of the best comedies ever to hit the screens.
Alas, his involvement in the recording sent me on the wrong path, where I still am if we take into account the main message of The Screwtape Letters, which is that the fire of hell awaits those who fall into the trap set by Satan.
For a long time, I have had doubts about religion, Christianity, the afterlife and more, so I came with a biased perspective and mistaken the book for a light piece, intended to humor and – just- entertain the reader.
For sure, there are important passages where we laugh at the couple of demons who try to screw with “The Enemy” – the very fact that they are scared to mention a name- God- that they also loath is ridiculous.
But the intention of the book could not be any less serious- the reader needs to be aware that there are demons out there to get his soul, there are ways out of the path of the damned, but there are a multitude of temptations.
People fall for fashions, get distracted by themes like-
-          Christianity and vegetarianism, Christianity and the war, etc.
It is a universal truth that we can extract from here, which is that we often engage in the search for Meaning, but get diverted along away; sometimes taking for the main road what is really just an “adjectival” blind alley.
There is an interesting story about the way that the great CS Lewis conceived the plan for this book, while listening to a bring prayer service.
In the book, there are a few references to priests that make mistakes, some even if they really believe, with their obnoxious attitude push the flock away, others speak so much and try to evangelize that they forget the religion about which they speak so much.
Other issues are also analyzed, one of which is the ongoing war that is regarded by the author in an unexpected way, at least for me.
The attitude towards the war could have been one of, if not total reserve at least caution, but CS Lewis seems to be convinced that a good Christian has the duty to fight for his country, which may be very true.
He warns though against putting too much emphasis on hating the Germans, as a people or individuals, for they do not really carry all the blame of the war, if I have gotten this part right, for it is confusing at times to hear the story told by the devil.
There are some arcane views that escape, or just do not interest me that much, with my lack of care for what happens to my soul after death, which I hate to contemplate in a cowardly way, avoiding even movies with too many dead bodies.
And we come to the present day, where the church in my country has taken all the wrong turns in the tragedy that has taken place recently, with 39 deaths- so far- after a fire took place in a club and the head of the church came out saying-
-          Young ones should come to church not go to night clubs
With that, he became the epitome of the prelate that instead of rescuing the lost soul is giving them the wrong guidance, teaching his community to be hateful instead of compassionate, mean instead of kind.
This guy is called the “Too- happy” in an approximate translation and this is not a joke, or a nick name given by enemies!!
On the contrary, it is his Official title which comes along with a big, fat –like the dude- salary, a limousine and even an…Official motorcade
-          Can it get more devilish?
-          I bet it can’t  - it even beats Screwtape and Wormwood


PS- on goodreads, this book is listed twice, because I did read it once twenty five years ago and the second time now.

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