Screwtape adds, grudgingly, that God loves humanity and wants them to be rewarded for their virtue in Heaven. Wormwood writes to Screwtape, proud that the patient is “losing his religion.” Screwtape angrily reminds Wormwood that people are always moving between periods of depression and disappointment and periods of happiness-unfortunately, periods of depression are actually good for God, because if people can continue to worship God during this time, then it makes them nearly impossible to corrupt in the future.
Screwtape explains to Wormwood that whether the patient becomes a patriot or a pacifist, if he is extreme in his beliefs then his behavior will be sinful-extremism of any kind, except extremism for God, is a sin. It’s good in the sense that it fills people with fear and makes them turn to sin and sensual pleasure, but it’s also bad because it encourages people to think seriously about death, and therefore behave morally. Screwtape explains that war can be good or bad for the devils’ cause. Wormwood reports to Screwtape that a war (World War II) has broken out in Europe, prompting Screwtape to send Wormwood a series of letters on fear, violence, and bravery. In this way, Wormwood can encourage the patient to focus too exclusively on vice, imperfection, and the material realm, and reject piety, perfection, and the abstract moral realm. Wormwood should try to prevent the patient from thinking about the history of Christianity, and instead influence the patient to focus excessively on the ugliness and imperfection of his peers and of family, especially his mother. Screwtape advises Wormwood to prevent the patient from thinking whenever possible, since reason will only encourage the patient to accept Christianity with greater fervency. Screwtape gives Wormwood advice on how to influence the patient in various small ways, thereby encouraging the patient to move away from God and toward “Our Father,” Satan. In the early letters of the book, Screwtape responds to the news that Wormwood is busy trying to tempt a young man, the patient, to move away from God-the Enemy, as Screwtape calls him-and embrace sin.
Lewis, notes that he has no intention of explaining how he came to acquire these letters. The novel consists of 31 letters written by a devil named Screwtape to his nephew, a young devil named Wormwood.
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