Letter 22: Twisted Pleasure

Review:
  • Letter 20 showed an end to direct attacks on the patient's chastity and Screwtape wanting to find the proper "type" of wife for the patient. It discussed sexual taste, how it has changed over time, and how it differs from want God wants for us.
  • Letter 21 continues on the road to finding the proper woman for the patient. Also discusses the idea that we can say "mine" of nothing. It is all the Lord's in the first place. This includes time. And most importantly, we should avoid "My God" in relation to "my boots". This ties back into chastity on grounds that we do not really own our bodies.
  • Did anyone read Song of Solomon? Record how they spent their time?
Outline:
  • Patient has fallen in Love with the worse type of woman
    1. Not in report wormwood submitted
    2. Strong Christian
    3. Two faced: faint at the sight of blood, but die with smile on her face
  • Screwtape cries about unfairness of God. God provides us unlimited pleasures. "Everything has to be twisted before it's any use to us."
  • Whole family has strong relationship to God. Screwtape suspects they must be using each other for gain of some type, but not sure what. That's because he doesn't understand unconditional love. (Even the dog and cat are tainted with it).
  • Side note that Screwtape hates music and silence, but that noise is the greatest thing.
  • Screwtape turned into a centipede, but denies that God had anything to do with it.
Terminology:
  • Dossier - a file containing a papers of detailed information or report
  • Simpering - smiling in a silly manner
  • Demure - quietly modest
  • Insipid - dull, uninteresting
  • Milton - John Milton (1608-1674), English poet who defended civil and religious liberties. Probably referred to here for his Paradise Lost or Paradise Regained works.
  • Pshaw - Might be George Bernard Shaw, late 19th, early 20th century English writer and playwright. Had little nice to say about religion and social conventions
Questions/Discussions:
  1. What do you think of Screwtape's attitude and opinion towards this woman? Does Satan feel the same way about you?
  2. Screwtape talks about at His (God's) right hand are "pleasures for ever more", but that everything must be twisted before it's any use to the demons. What did he mean by this? Have you ever seen a child who is surrounded by toys doing something they shouldn't and when asked why they are doing it, they reply 'cause there is nothing to do'? The Lord has given us so many pleasures, but we seem to want something more.
  3. What are some examples of "Noise" that take our focus off the Lord? Angry customers, baby crying, dog barking, people cutting us off in traffic. A comedian talked about anger piling up and being transmitted. Store clerk makes mistake, you call them stupid. They get cut some one off in traffic and that person gets angry, and so on. (the comedian had it all ending up in the middle east). See 1 Corinthians 13:1. Old testament often speaks of destruction with the foreboding thunderous sounds of chariots and pounding hooves.
  4. The home of the woman reeks of that deadly odour. See 2 Corinthians 2:14-17. See Old Testament books of Numbers and Leviticus and count how many times "a pleasing aroma" is used in terms of sacrifices to God. What does this mean to us?
Scripture:
Homework:
  • Find an example of where the aroma of God comes through.

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