The Screwtape Letters

Recent edition cover
Author	C. S. Lewis
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Religious, Christian novel
Publisher	Geoffrey Bles
Publication date	1942
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	160 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0060652934 (2001 paperback print)

The Screwtape Letters is a work of Christian fiction by C.S. Lewis first published in book form in 1942. The story takes the form of a series of letters from a senior devil, Screwtape, to his nephew, a junior tempter named Wormwood, so as to advise him on methods of securing the damnation of an earthly man, known only as "the Patient." Image File history File links Thescrewtapeletters. ... Clive Staples Jack Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... “ISBN” redirects here. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an author and scholar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Titlepage of Aphra Behns Love-Letters (1684) An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. ... This page is about the concept of the Devil. ... “Dammit” redirects here. ...

Screwtape holds an administrative post in the bureaucracy ("Lowerarchy") of Hell, and acts more as a mentor than a supervisor to Wormwood, the inexperienced tempter; almost every letter ends with the signature, "Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape." In the body of the thirty-one letters which make up the book, Screwtape gives Wormwood detailed advice on various methods of undermining faith and promoting sin in his Patient, interspersed with observations on human nature and Christian doctrine.

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life, with all its temptations and failings, as seen from the devil's viewpoint. Wormwood and Screwtape live in a peculiarly morally reversed world, where individual benefit and greed are seen as the greatest good, and neither devil is capable of comprehending or acknowledging true human virtue when he sees it. A preface included in some older publishings of the book included a short dialog on the subject of whether Lewis believed devils to be fact or fiction, exemplifying Lewis' belief that despite the fictional storyline of the book, he believed satan and devils (or demons) are not fictional; Futher that he held a view that they exist for a decidedly evil purpose which must not be portrayed innocuously in art and culture at the risk of obfuscating their true nature.

Versions of the letters were originally published in The Guardian, and the standard edition contains an introduction explaining how the author chose to write his story. The Guardian was a weekly Anglican newspaper published from 1846 to 1951. ...

While The Screwtape Letters is one of Lewis' most popular works, Lewis himself claimed that the book was distasteful to write, and he vowed never to write a direct sequel. However, in 1959 he wrote an addendum, Screwtape Proposes a Toast, which takes the form not of a letter but rather an after-dinner speech given by Screwtape at the Tempters' Training College for Young Devils. It first appeared as an article in the Saturday Evening Post. The Screwtape Letters along with Screwtape Proposes a Toast have also been published on audio CD narrated by John Cleese of Monty Python. Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A public speaker is a person who makes speeches in public settings. ... There have been many publications called the Saturday Evening Post; several were/are local British newspapers. ... “Cleese” redirects here. ... Monty Python, or The Pythons, is the collective name of the creators of Monty Pythons Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. ...

Plot summary

The Screwtape Letters comprises thirty-one letters written by a senior devil named Screwtape to his nephew, a young demon named Wormwood. Screwtape's letters contain advice for how to turn Wormwood's "Patient", an ordinary man living in war-time England, towards the "Father Below" (Satan) and away from "the Enemy" (God). This article is about the concept of Satan. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

After the first letter, the Patient converts to Christianity, and Wormwood is given a severe rebuking and threatened with the "usual penalties" at the House of Correction for Incompetent Tempters. Wormwood's task is now to undermine the Patient's faith as well as to tempt him to explicit sins which may result in his ultimate damnation, thus reflecting the Catholic-Anglican view on "mortal sin" and salvation. It is important to note, however, that the nature of the explicit sins is discussed in such a way as to give rise to a thoughtful and reflective speculation of the nature of the distance sin creates between God and Man, as Screwtape explicitly tells Wormwood that "the gentle, sliding slope of habitual small sins is better" than any grandiose sin (presumably murder, rape, sexual immorality, etc.) in terms of securing the eventual damnation of the Patient. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Look up Wormwood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... According to the beliefs of Roman Catholicism, a mortal sin is a sin that, unless confessed and absolved (or at least sacramental confession is willed if not available), condemns a persons soul to Hell after death. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Photograph of a nude man by Wilhelm von Gloeden, ca. ...

Throughout the book Lewis attempts to show the reader how it is not the large sins that are most effective in sending "patients" to hell, but instead it is the small thoughts and actions which Wormwood attempts deviously to encourage in his patient's mind that can gradually cause the Patient to turn away from God. Screwtape does not mention sexual-temptation until the 21^st letter.

Lewis' use of this 'correspondence' is both varied and hard-hitting. With his own views on theology, Lewis covers areas as diverse as sex, love, pride, gluttony, and war. Lewis, an Oxford scholar himself, suggests in this work that even intellectuals are not impervious to the influence of such devils, especially in regards to being lead towards placated acceptance of the "Historical Point of View." For historicism as a method of interpreting biblical apocalypse, see Historicism (Christian eschatology). ...

In the last letter, it emerges that the Patient has died during an air raid (World War II having broken out between the fourth and fifth letters), and has gone to Heaven. Wormwood is punished for letting a soul 'slip through his fingers' by being handed over to the fate that would have awaited his patient had he been successful: the consumption of his spiritual essence by the other demons. Screwtape responds to his nephew's desperate final letter by assuring him that he may expect just as much assistance from his "increasingly and ravenously affectionate" uncle as Screwtape would expect from Wormwood were their situations reversed. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For other uses, see Heaven (disambiguation). ...

The short sequel essay Screwtape Proposes a Toast, first published in 1959, is Lewis's criticism of levelling and featherbedding trends in public education; more specifically, as he reveals in the foreword to the American edition, public education in America (though in the text, it is English education that is purportedly held up as the awful example). Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Cultural references

Cartoonist Bill Watterson named the fictional first-grade teacher in his Calvin and Hobbes after the devil Wormwood [1]. William B. Bill Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and a few poems (which are mostly embedded in his works). ... Listen to this article (3 parts) (info) Part 1ʉۢ Part 2ʉۢ Part 3 This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2006-01-29, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

In the animated video to U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", a copy of Screwtape Letters is seen falling from Bono's hand. Bono's characters "MacPhisto" and "The Fly", as seen in this and other video and on U2's Zoo TV Tour, were inspired by Screwtape, among other characters. This article is about the Irish rock band. ... For other uses, see Bono (disambiguation). ... For the fan club-exclusive album released from this tour, see Zoo TV Live. ...

The author Peter Kreeft wrote a book "in the style of" The Screwtape Letters called The Snakebite Letters. Author Randy Alcorn also wrote a book similar to The Screwtape Letters called Lord Foulgrin's Letters. In Alcorn's book, references are made to demons, known only as "ST" and "WW" (for it had become a crime in hell to even speak their real names), who had their letters found by a human and were punished by Beelzebub for their incompetence. Peter Kreeft Peter Kreeft is a Catholic apologist for Christianity, professor of philosophy at Boston College and The Kings College, and author of over 45 books including Fundamentals of the Faith, Everything you Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven, and Back to Virtue. ... Randy Alcorn is an American Christian author, teacher, and pro-life activist. ... “Belzebub” redirects here. ...

In the 2006 book The Top Ten, a compilation of "top ten novels" lists by different writers, David Foster Wallace names The Screwtape Letters as the greatest novel in history. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... David Foster Wallace (born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. ...

Orthodox Christian writer Jim Forest has written a book entitled The Wormwood File: Email from Hell, in which Wormwood, now a more senior demon, is coaching his own protegé Greasebeek in the proper temptation of a 21st century man. The term Orthodox Christian refers to two Christian traditions: Oriental Orthodoxy, which separated from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in the 5th century; Eastern Orthodoxy, which the Roman Catholic church separated from in 1054 was the church that was started by the apostles. ...

Comic Book adaptation

Marvel Comics and Thomas Nelson published a comic book adaptation of The Screwtape Letters in 1994.

Film adaptation

On Wednesday, January 31, 2006 it was announced that Walden Media had bought the rights to turn the book into a feature film. Walden Media is the same company that previously developed Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. Ralph Winter (X-Men, Fantastic Four) and Douglas Gresham (Lewis' stepson) will co-produce. "With the right script," Winter said, "dealing with temptation and that whole upside down world, it could be a very, very interesting movie. And it's going to be dark. This isn't a light, happy, Narnia piece." Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Walden Media is a film production and publishing company best known as the producers of The Chronicles of Narnia film series. ...

References

Bibliography

• Hein, David. "A Note on C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters." The Anglican Digest 49.2 (Easter 2007): 55–58. Argues that Lewis's portrayal of the activity of the Devil was influenced by contemporary events--in particular, by the threat of a Nazi invasion of Britain in 1940.
• Lewis, C. S. (2001), The Screwtape Letters, with Screwtape Proposes a Toast, HarperSanFrancisco, ISBN 0-06-065293-4

Clive Staples Jack Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ...

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