Dr. Jim's WebLog

I just found a whole website on The Screwtape Letters! I'll have to see what it has that I haven't thought of. There is also a reading group guide. There is a series of Study Guides on PDF files that Literary Guild put out as well. Go here for letter 2.

Letter One introduces us to the three main characters. Wormwood receives the letters, and is a "junior tempter" in the Devil's Lowerarchy. Screwtape, his uncle, is more experienced and writes letters of advice. The Patient is Wormwood's current assignment on Earth, in 1940 England.

In the first letter, Screwtape tells Wormwood that modern humans have lost the ability to follow a logical argument, and that this is a great achievement. "Your man has been accustomed to have a dozen incompatible philosopies dancing about together inside his head." He goes on to say that his patient won't particularly worry about the truth or falsity of an idea, but rather whether it is modern or old or fashionable.

He then advises keeping the Patient from thinking about anything universal or eternal by fixing his attention on immediate sense experiences. Keep him thinking about the ordinary.

Finally, Science is NOT a good defense against Christianity in his opinoin, because it forces one to thing about invisible realities.

So what do I think about these ideas? First, the "incompatible philosophies", seems to ring true. Postmodernism teaches that there is no absolute truth and many modern professors seem to push that strange idea. (Ever note that "there is no absolute truth" is a statement that makes an absolute claim of truth?) While I agree that sometimes it can be difficult to ascertain truth, it seems a long leap to say "there is no truth."

The idea about ideas having traits other than truth (like fashionability) also rings true to me. The people living two thousand or more years ago were just as intelligent as those alive now. They had complex political systems, friends, and the same biological needs and traits as us. But we have bought the idea that life inevitably progresses (and in a positive, desirable direction.) So the old ideas are outworn. We can ignore 2000 year old ideas not because they are wrong but simply because they are old. Hm. Not too logical of us.

Keeping ones attention off of universal issues makes it pretty easy to tempt a human away from "virtue" which is a higher function. I certainly find this in myself. If I'm thinking about what is really good for me in the long term, I don't have the extra dessert. If I'm just thinking about what happens to sound delicious, though, down the gullet it goes.

So we will move on to the next letter, and see how Wormwood, Screwtape, and the Patient fare in their struggle. We will see that while many of the ideas in this book are stated in explicitly religious terms, the various insights into human nature in The Screwtape Letters translate into modern psychological language rather well.
Letter 2