Welcome

Lesson Reading

Welcome to our study of The Screwtape Letters. Before you begin, a few words on how this course works and why we are doing it.

Lewis wrote the book as a series of letters from a senior devil named Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, a young tempter. Wormwood has been assigned a single human, called only "the patient," a man who becomes a Christian early in the book. Everything is told from the enemy's side. So when Screwtape says "the Enemy," he means God. When he says "Our Father," he means the devil. You read the whole book inside out, and that is the point. Seeing temptation from the tempter's desk shows you tactics you would otherwise never notice in yourself.

We study this book because Scripture commands a kind of watchfulness most of us do not practice. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Screwtape is a long meditation on how that prowling actually works. It is not about dramatic sin. It is about the small, quiet drift of the heart away from God, and the daily fight to stay near him.

Here is the rhythm for each of the six lessons:

  1. Watch the lecture by Dr. Jerry Root. Each runs about thirty-three minutes. Dr. Root teaches at the C.S. Lewis Institute and has spent his life reading Lewis. Let him be your guide into the book.
  2. Read the letters listed for that lesson, with your Bible open beside you. The letters are short. Read them slowly.
  3. Work the discussion and reflection questions. If you are in a group, talk through them together. If you are alone, write your answers down. Do not rush. A question that makes you uncomfortable is doing its job.

One caution. Screwtape is a liar, and Lewis says so in the preface. Not everything the devil says is true even from his own side. Read with discernment. Test everything against Scripture. When Screwtape describes a temptation accurately, learn from it. When he sneers at something good, notice what he is afraid of.

Have a copy of The Screwtape Letters in hand before you start. Let's begin.