Screwtape 28-31

I thought it was interesting on how Screwtape tells Wormwood to watch out for the patient's safety. It makes sense though that if he dies a Christian before being fully corrupted than God has won. I agree with him saying, "You will notice that the young are generally less unwilling to die than the middle-aged and the old." Although young people sometimes find life to be difficult and say they want to give up, very few people actually mean it. When things go wrong, they realize that they are young and have a lot of time for things to turn out the way they want them to. Middle-aged and older people, on the other hand, have lived thier lives and accomplished the things they wanted to do so although they probably aren't ready to die, they are more willing than the younger people. It makes sense to want people to live longer lives in order to have more time to turn them towards worshiping the devil instead of God.

Screwtape Letters 25-27

I understand that Screwtape does not want people to be Christians and devote all of their energy into worshiping and believing in God, but I do not understand why he would want people that are Christians to have a purpose and be trying to make a difference. I get that if a person was trying to make a difference, they would be devoting less time to God, but they would still be doing positive things and I would not think that Screwtape would want that either. I guess either way he is not benefiting so he is choosing the option that takes less energy away from God, but I am not sure. According to Screwtape, God does not want people to make a change which is why he has "balanced the love of change in them by a love of permanence." I do not believe that. If God did not want people to try to make a differnce in the world, than there would not be so much suffering and hatred. In letter 26, he writes, "let them think they have solved by Love problems they have in fact only waived or postponed under the influence of the enchantment." Love never solves anything and usually the problems that are avoided because you "love" someone only get worse and end it heartbreak. Love is usually the problem, not the solution.