Back to series
September 2015
One of the themes C.S. Lewis explored in The Screwtape Letters is the subtlety of the methods used by Satan and his angels in seeking to recapture Christians in their snare.
In one letter, senior devil Screwtape advises his nephew Wormwood to avoid anything that would hurry a man he has been tempting to awaken to a sense of his real position. Screwtape explains that while they know they have “introduced a change of direction in his course which is already carrying him out of his orbit around the Enemy,”¹ the man “must be made to imagine that all the choices which have effected this change of course are trivial and revocable.” He adds that he is almost glad to hear that the man is still a churchgoer since “(a)s long as he retains externally the habits of a Christian he can still be made to think of himself as one who has adopted a few new friends and amusements but whose spiritual state is much the same as it was [before].”²
Screwtape concludes his letter:
You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.³
In The Screwtape Letters, Lewis reminds us that, whether we realize it or not, we live on a spiritual battlefield. Is there anything in your life that is edging you out of the orbit around God and onto the gentle slope? In fighting this battle, we need on a daily basis to keep our focus on God, who is infinitely more powerful than Satan. And, as the Apostle Paul exhorted the believers in Ephesus, we need to “put on the whole armor of God” to “be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”4
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith…."
1 PETER 5:8-9 (ESV)
1 C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters. Harper San Francisco, 1996, p. 57.
2 Ibid, pp. 57-8.
3 Ibid, pp. 60-61.
4 Ephesians 6:11 (ESV)
COPYRIGHT: This publication is published by C.S. Lewis Institute; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 301; Springfield, VA 22151. Portions of the publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church or ministry use without prior permission. Electronic copies of the PDF files may be duplicated and transmitted via e-mail for personal and church use. Articles may not be modified without prior written permission of the Institute. For questions, contact the Institute: 703.914.5602 or email us.
-
Recent Podcasts
C.S. Lewis on Faith and Reason
by Aimee Riegert, Arthur W. Lindsley on October 4, 2024C.S. Lewis said: “I am not asking anyone...Read More
-
Keeping God at a Distance – Daniel Ray’s story
by Jana Harmon, Daniel Ray on September 27, 2024
-
Thoughts on Why People Drift from the Faith
by Dan Osborn, Aimee Riegert on September 20, 2024
-
Recent Publications
Should Christians Be Involved with Politics?
by Kerry A. Knott on October 1, 2024In recent years it seems like politics has...Read More
-
Isn ’t Atheism Based on Scientific Fact Whereas Christianity is Based on “Faith”?
by Cameron McAllister on September 1, 2024
-
A Christian Response to Anti-Semitism
by Darrell Bock, Randy Newman, Thomas A. Tarrants on August 15, 2024
0
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
22904
GLOBAL EVENT: 2025 Study Tour of C.S. Lewis’s Belfast & Oxford
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/?event=global-event-2025-study-tour-of-c-s-lewiss-belfast-oxford&event_date=2025-06-21®=1
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
2025-06-21
Next coming event
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
GLOBAL EVENT: 2025 Study Tour of C.S. Lewis’s Belfast & Oxford
On June 21, 2025 at 12:00 pmat Belfast, Northern Ireland & Oxford, EnglandSpeakers
C.S. Lewis Institute
Author
Team Members
C.S. Lewis Institute
Author
C.S. Lewis Institute, in the legacy of C.S. Lewis, works to develop wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ who will articulate, defend, share, and live their faith in personal and public life. Founded in 1976 by Dr. James Houston and James R. Hiskey, the Institute provides leading teachers who address important issues of the day from the perspective of Biblical orthodoxy, while also providing discipleship for individuals in small groups.