Screwtape Letters 22-24

Screwtape’s previous letters talked about love and how people should question it. In Letter 22, Screwtape seems angered at the fact that the patient has fallen in love with a girl who he’s never heard of. I was confused at first because when Screwtape called the girl a two-faced little cheat, I saw that as being a positive thing for the devil. When I looked back to how he was describing her from her record, I realized that he was basically saying that she’s a good Christian and I think he is afraid that with a girl like that around the patient, there is no hope in turning him against God. In letter 23, Screwtape says that because the patient is getting closer to the girl and her very intelligent Christian family that it would be hard to remove spirituality from his life so now they have to corrupt it. Personally, I think that it would be easier to corrupt someone’s beliefs and make then question things that way than to remove spirituality from one’s life.

Screwtape Letters 19-21

I had a hard time staying focused while reading these chapters and had to reread parts more than once. Some parts of this book make sense, but other chapters just confuse me. Letter 19 begins by saying that Screwtape has been thinking very hard about the question in Wormwood's last letter. That comment made me start wondering what the question was. I agree with the statement that came shortly after that where Screwtape said that all selves are by their nature in competition. People turn even the simplest things into competitions. I was confused as to why Screwtape was so concerned with the fact that the letters weren't shown to anyone and that Wormwood "keep everything under lock and key." I don't know that I would trust Screwtape to look after my interests if I were Wormwood, because Screwtape goes from saying that he's doing a good job to criticizing him and picking apart everything he does. I liked that falling in love was referred to as being a state because I think that it's just a phase that people go through. People will always question whether or not love is real, but I think that questioning things benefits God and the devil.

Screwtape Letters 16-18

I was confused at first as to why Screwtape wanted the patient to attend a variety of churches, but it makes sense now. If a person does not care about what is being said or where he is at, than it does not matter, but if a person is consistently going to one church because he wants to be there, than God will always win because the patient will be involving himself in religion. I agree that if a person goes to a variety of churches, he will start to criticize and evaluate them all instead of listening to the word of God and taking part in the mass. God wants people to be pupils who listen and learn from things that are being said, instead of being critical of what is going on. Gluttony at one time might have made people feel guilty or sinful, but in today’s world, people strive to have the biggest and best of everything. People think that money brings power and status and as a result, greed does not have the same impact on a person’s mind as it used to. I personally do not think that with all of the pressures on people today, that there is such a thing as complete abstinence or unmitigated monogamy. I also feel that people say that they are in love as an excuse to do things and that an experience of “being in love” isn’t the only respectable ground for marriage. Love in my mind is just a phase that people go through and nothing can make it permanent or ensure that it will last.