Screwtape Letters Chapter 15

Screwtape Letters Chapter 15 – In last week’s letter, Screwtape described the law of volatility. In today’s letter, he explains how to take advantage of the troughs during volatility.

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Screwtape Letters Chapter 15

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The Screwtape Monologues • A Podcast On Anchor

I hope you are doing well during these difficult times. I’ve been cleaning up some files and stuff and I found these two poems by David that I think you’ll like. I think they are cute. He wrote it in 1992, when I encouraged him to write poems in very short Japanese! Water rushed through my mind, washing away all thoughts and leaving harmony. The light of the sun gives new energy to release my grief. Email from my dyslexia teacher

In season 2, I’ll be writing a haiku for each chapter, so it’s great to read some of the haiku I wrote when I was ten or eleven!

“Let him not doubt the Law of Waves. Let him suppose that the initial fervor of his conversion may last, and should last forever, and that his present dryness is an equally permanent condition.” C.S. Lewis, screw with letters (Chapter 9 Letter) Weekly Drinks

Cindy, if you are in a spiritual low, or if you are going through a low in the future, we pray this is an opportunity to draw closer to the Lord and become one of His dearest friends! Patreon Toast Chapter Summary

The Screwtape Letters By C. S. Lewis

Screwtape explains how to take advantage of a “low” period in a patient’s life… Since the patient’s defenses are weaker, distorted sensory lures during this time may be effective. Another strategy is for patients to assume that the decline is permanent. If a pessimist, he must stay away from Christians and the Bible and instead try to restore his original enthusiasm through sheer willpower. If he’s an optimist, he should be taught to settle for lows and even doubt his initial enthusiasm. Alternatively, the patient must assume that the current dullness somehow means that his beliefs are wrong. 100-word summary of Chapter 9 Discussion Review

Today’s letter is a direct continuation of last week’s letter. If you recall, Wormwood believed that, through his own efforts, the patient’s religious phase was coming to an end. Spiral tape instead explained the patient’s recent downtown for religious fanaticism through the law of waves. This is the idea that the temporal nature of human beings means that it is in a constant state of chance. As a result, the patient’s interest in work, affection for friends, and appetite for the body all ebb and flow. Screw Tape begins today’s letter with a brief review:

I hope my last letter has convinced you that the gloomy or “dry” trough your patient is currently experiencing will not in itself give you his soul, but needs to be used properly. What form the exploitation should take I will now consider. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

So, what should wormwood be focusing on during these low times? They’re a great time for sensual seductions, especially those related to sex, says Screwtape. That seems surprising, says screwtape. After all, would peak prosperity and appetite be more productive? But he said…

The Screwtape Letters

…you have to remember that the strength of resistance is also at its highest level (at its peak)…when the whole inner world of the person is monotonous, cold and empty, the chances of an attack being successful are greater much more. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

… sex at its troughs is slightly different in quality from sex at its peak – less likely to lead to the milk and water [flatness] phenomenon that humans call “love”, more prone to perversion, and less likely to be swayed by those who are generous and rich Imagination, even spiritual accompaniment [accompaniment], often makes human sexuality so disappointing. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

The same goes for the other desires of the flesh. You are more likely to make your man an alcoholic and expansive. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

As a comfort eater, this is true for me! I don’t think about the future. I just want to be happy now.

Letters To An American Christian By Bruce Riley Ashford

Never forget that when we process any pleasure in a healthy, normal, and satisfying form, in a sense, we are on the enemy’s side. I know we have won many souls through joy. Still, it’s his invention, not ours. He was delighted: None of our research so far has allowed us to produce a .C.S. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

We often think happiness is dangerous and sinful, but the screw totally blames God! However, Screwtape had read St. Augustine, so he explained to his nephew what they had to do. Longtime podcast listeners will often hear us say something like this…

All we can do is to encourage human beings to enjoy the pleasures produced by our enemy, sometimes in ways or to the extent that he forbids them. So we always try to move from any happy natural state to the most unnatural, least [suggestive] smelling and unpleasant to its creator. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

To get this man’s soul and give him nothing in return – that’s what truly delights our heavenly Father. The trough is the time to start the process. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

Screwtape Questions 1

A moderate person would enjoy the occasional glass of wine as a treat, he said. In contrast, the alcoholic gains little but a brief relief from his cravings:

For the mild-mannered, the occasional glass of wine is a treat…but for the alcoholic, whose palate and digestion have long since been destroyed, no wine brings any pleasure, expecting relief from unbearable cravings come out. Lewis, Four Loves (Chapter 2)

So the first way to take advantage of the lows is through sensual seduction. Now Screwtape offers what he believes is a better way to use Trough. The second way has to do with the patient’s perception of Trough itself. As William O’Flaherty pointed out in our interview, the first step is to keep the patient from thinking about things, in this case the law of volatility. Screwtape doesn’t want patients to have a conscience about the fact that they have these very natural ebbs and flows:

As always, the first step is to keep knowledge out of his mind. Don’t make him doubt the law of volatility. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

The Screwtape Letters Book Summary, By C.s. Lewis

Let him assume that the initial enthusiasm for his conversion may and should last forever, and that his current dryness is an equally permanent condition. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

Screwtape hopes to exploit these misconceptions in different ways, depending on whether the patient is an optimist or a pessimist. He goes on to explain how to handle each situation.

You just have to keep him away from experienced Christians (an easy task now), direct his attention to the appropriate passages in the Bible, and let him start desperate designs to restore his pure willpower old love, the game is ours. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

Screw Belt wants the patient to start from scratch because his will will eventually fail. Back in season one, Lewis told us

Exploring Screwtape: A Closer Look At The Screwtape Letters By C.s. Lewis

It’s no good trying to stay excited: it’s the worst thing you can do. Let the excitement go – let it go – go on through that death, into the quieter interest and happiness that comes with it – and you’ll find you’ve been living in a world full of new stimuli. Lewis, The Optimistic Patient of Pure Christianity (Book 3, Chapter 6)

If he is the more promising type, your job is to make him acquiesce that his current mental temperature is low, gradually satisfy himself, and convince himself that it is not that low after all. Lewis, screw with letters (9th letter)

Therefore, he should be taught to settle for lows and never expect highs again. Then, Screwtape can even make him doubt his initial enthusiasm:

After a week or two, you’ll have him wondering if his original Christian beliefs were a little over the top. Talk to him about “moderation in all things”… Moderate religion is as good for us as no religion – and more fun C.S. Lewis

Magical C.s. Lewis Quotes On Love, Faith, And Friendship