The Screwtape Letters - A Small Group Study

Review: Letter 30 discussed fatigue and reality. Were you tired this past week? How did you react in this state? Outline: The patient is killed by a bomb. The patient now sees the demons for what they really are, as well as angels and the Lord. Lewis uses some dramatic analogies to this new revelation; my favorite being taking off the wet, musty clothes. Terminology: Poppet - like a puppet, affectionate name Pigsnie - A specially cherished or beloved man or boy; a term of endearment. Tetter - any of various vesicular skin diseases (such as ringworm, eczema, and herpes) Prostration - the act of stretching out with face on the ground in adoration or submission Mawkish - sickly or overly sentimental Questions/Discussions: Remember that we have victory through Christ. Satan is a liar and an accuser and our adversary. Discuss the differences between conviction and condemnation? The differences to what the Holy Spirit tells us versus Satan? A comparison chart. Homew...

Review: Letter 29 discussed fear and being a coward. Outline: Screwtape scolds Wormwood for lack of progress and warns him that he will be in trouble if he does not start producing results. The patient was fearful, but still obeyed the Lord. Discusses the merits of fatigue, warning that total exhaustion is not wanted because it can lead to gentleness and absoluteness. Moderate fatigue where they shatter a man's hopes of near relief can be very productive for Satan. Even if real relief is coming shortly, if they get the patient to anger just prior to the relief, then they have won. Differences between the sexes when fatigued: women talk more, men talk less. Also discusses twisting the idea of reality: have the negative things in life be felt as "reality" and the good things as mere sentiment. (e.g. guts splattered = reality, happy children = sentiment). Terminology: Irremediable - impossible to remedy or correct. poppet - puppet, like a toy. Questions/Dis...

Review: Letter 28 talked about growing old and loosing an enthusiasm for doing God's will. Are we relying on our experience rather than the Lord? Outline: Screwtape discusses with Wormwood how to make the patient react to the fact that the Germans will bomb his home town. He bring up three choices: Courage, Cowardice, or Hatred. Courage won't work because the demons have never been successful in producing a virtue. Though if a man has a virtue they can use it against him via pride. Hatred they can produce especially with conditions present (noise, danger, and fatigue). They can use deception in making him feel hatred, not for himself, but for the women and children. (though he doesn't see their enemies as his own) Hatred is great when mixed with Fear (cowardice). It is a painful emotion and offsets the "pleasure" of Hatred. However, fear is one vice of which the Enemy has never been able to make proud. Have to be careful of fear/cowardice because this can...

Review: Letter 27 talked about being petitions in our prayer. While we don't want to be selfish, it is okay to take our requests to the Lord. Outline: Screwtape scolds Wormwood for forgetting that the War is not the important thing at this point. In fact, if the patient were to die at this point he would be lost to the Lord. The impact of the War also serves the Lord by drawing the patient's attention to others and the consequences of death. Death should not be our primary concern. Then discusses the fact that it is difficult to stay in the Lord's camp for years after years. The prosperity and security we gain over the years can weigh us down. Terminology: Eugenics - a science dealing changing the human species by controlling breeding and reproduction. Questions/Discussions: Depending on where you are in life, this letter may not be as meaningful to us as others. It deals with getting older and losing that reckless abandonment. I'd like to think that we...

Review: Letter 26 talked about being charitable versus unselfish. I know I realized that in small group, I often held off saying something that probably needed to be said because I didn't want to take time away from any one else. Outline: Screwtape scolds Wormwood for allowing the patient's  love  and its distraction to become the top topic of the patient's prayers. Screwtape suggests that the patient should be encouraged "to thrust it away by sheer will power" instead of taking it to the Lord. New strategy based on the patient thinking about his happy life on Earth. This in turn has him praying more purely petitioning prayers. While there is some hope by Screwtape that this could be used to make the patient feel he should not pray selfishly, the Lord does command us to pray for our daily bread. Therefore, petitioning prayer is in obedience to the Lord. However, if the patient must petition in his prayers, then use that to make him start to doubt or ques...

Review: Letter 25 talked about Mere Christianity vs. Christianity; And… along with the Horror of the Same Old Thing. Outline: Screwtape points out that Wormwood should be planting seeds during the courtship time that they can use later on. Most of this revolves around the differences between Charity and Unselfishness. Denying or ignoring what we want or wish is not necessarily being unselfish. Men and Women tend to have general difference: Women want to go out of their way to help. Perhaps to the point of getting in the way. Men try to stay out of it all together in order to not trouble anyone. We get self righteous about our unselfishness. Terminology: Foment - to stir up, to instigate Ostensibly - apparently, making well known Altruism - unselfish interest in the welfare of others Obstinacy - stubbornness, unyielding Questions/Discussions: Small group exercise. Ask for input on something, perhaps the next lesson and then start asking for input on a crazy idea ...

Review: Letter 24 talked about Spiritual Pride. What makes Christians different? Did you pray for an opportunity to lift others up? Outline: Screwtape points out the trouble with the group the patient is hanging out with is that they are  merely  Christian. Wormwood needs to work on "their horror of the Same Old Thing". As with other things, change (something different) is a natural and necessary part of life. The Lord, however, does not want us to focus on change just like eating should not be our focus. Examples include the seasons, the school years, etc. The goodness of this attack is: Diminish pleasure while increase desire Needed to produce fashions or vogues Use fashions in thought to draw attention to things which really are not a threat and to draw attention away from things that really are a threat. More jargon attacks. Instead of asking whether it is righteous, ask if it is progressive or reactionary. Terminology: Incessant - continuing without int...