Book #1 - The Screwtape Letters

If you read my first blog post of 2014, I mentioned that I wanted to improve both my physical health as well as my spiritual health. My 12 hikes in 12 months is the contribution to my physical health. After much thought, I have decided that I would read 12 spiritually-based books in 12 months. Here is my first book review...

Summary (per Wikipedia)

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life, with all its temptations and failings, as seen from devils' viewpoints. Screwtape acts as a mentor to Wormwood, the inexperienced tempter. In the body of the thirty-one letters which make up the book, Screwtape gives Wormwood detailed advice on various methods of undermining faith and promoting sin in the Patient, interspersed with observations on human nature and Christian doctrine. Wormwood and Screwtape live in a peculiarly morally reversed world, where individual benefit and greed are seen as the greatest good, and neither demon is capable of comprehending God's love for man or acknowledging true human virtue when he sees it. The book focuses on highlighting the ways, both large and small, that Christians are distracted from God. Lewis explores the dangers of not being purposeful toward God and life, as well as what happens to people when they give in to temptation. Every Christian needs to get a hold of this book and read it through! It's helped me gain a deep understanding of how the forces of darkness try to undermine joy and truth.

I didn't particularly enjoy this book but am glad that I read it. In fact, at times the book made my skin crawl. Through the letters, you are constantly reminded and made to think about how the adversary tempts us. What is poignant is that the cunning and evil plans are not centered around obvious sins, that so often are what we think about when we think about temptation and sin. Instead, the tempters focus on much more subtle sins such as vanity, pride, distraction,insincerity, forgetting or being too tired say prayers, and how these can achieve the same goal as the more obvious sins which is ultimately to lead us away from God. That's how cunning and evil the devil is. He knows that by chipping away a little at a time he has a better chance at gaining us as his own. You cannot read this book and not think of how pertinent it is to your life. It was a little frightening to find myself in the book as someone who has succumbed to some of these subtle temptations. Perhaps that's why I didn't enjoy the read but still found it very insightful.

I found this "Beatitudes" that somebody else wrote (thanks (Jenelle) and thought it was great so I copied it.

Screwtape Counterfeits
1. Blessed are those who are too tired, too busy, too distracted to spend an hour once a week with their fellow Christians – they are my best workers.
2. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked – I can use them.  
3. Blessed are the touchy who stop going to church – they are my missionaries.
4. Blessed are the trouble makers – they shall be called my children.
5. Blessed are the complainers – I'm all ears to them.
6. Blessed are those who are bored with the minister's mannerisms and mistakes – for they get nothing out of his sermons.
7. Blessed is the church member who expects to be invited to his own church – for he is a part of the problem instead of the solution.
8. Blessed are those who gossip – for they shall cause strife and division that please me.
9. Blessed are those who are easily offended – for they will soon get angry and quit.
10. Blessed are those who do not give their offering to carry on God's work – for they are my helpers.
11. Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister – for he shall be with me forever.
12. Blessed are you who, when you read this, think it is about other people and not yourself – I've got you too!