Introduction

These are my notes from the bible study on C.S. Lewis "The Screwtape Letters" that I originally used for a college and career group in the Fall of 1996. I recall some apprehension on my part when I first decided on this study. The group was suppose to be a bible study and the Screwtape Letters are not the Bible. The Letters also deal with Satan and demons and these are not necessarily subjects everyone is comfortable discussing. The Lord was really gracious about this with me. I was able to find (or was pointed) to relevant scripture for all the letters. I also have a new appreciation for C.S. Lewis. He really makes me think and articulates how we think and Satan works. This made it easy to pull in current examples and analogies for each of the letters, which helped with group discussion.

What follows are notes for each of the letters. Some weeks we covered multiple letters, and just one on other weeks. Everyone in the group had a copy of the book and the readings were supplemented with a the audio book read by John Cleese.

Keep in mind:

1. Screwtape is the name of a demon, of some authority, who oversees junior tempters or demons.
2. Wormwood is a junior tempter and the nephew of Screwtape.
3. While the Bible describes hierarchies in the realm of demons, it doesn't discuss relationships such as uncles and nephews.
4. The book is a series of thirty-one letters from Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood. The nephew writes back, but we never see those letters or reports.
5. The term "patient" is used and refers to a man or human.
6. Keep in mind the reverse view since this is written from the demon's view:
1. The Enemy is God
2. Father is Satan
3. Not everything written is the truth; i.e. demons lie.