Screwtape Letter #6 – Discussion Guide

Screwtape Letter #6 – Discussion Guide is article #14 in the series: Screwtape Letters. Click button to view titles for entire series

Letter #6

The Screwtape Letters Study Guide

Screwtape recognizes something –
the greatest fear we humans have is –
fear.

 


 

My dear Wormwood,
I am delighted to hear that your patient’s age and profession make it possible, but by no means certain, that he will be called up for military service. We want him to be in the maximum uncertainty, so that his mind will be filled with contradictory pictures of the future, every one of which arouses hope or fear. There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against the Enemy. He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.

 

6.1) Wait a minute here. Wasn’t it just in the last letter that Screwtape wrote –

Consider too what undesirable deaths occur in wartime. Men are killed in places where they knew they might be killed and to which they go, if they are at all of the Enemy’s party, prepared.

So why is it that now – in the very next letter – Screwtape is delighted to hear that the patient may be called up to war? What’s different now? The circumstances? The plan of attack?

 

One big difference is the circumstances - which leads to a different plan of attack.

Screwtape talks about suspense and anxiety. Today – thanks in large part to the computer industry – it’s something now known as FUD. There are several different claims as to exactly who coined the term – but here’s one that I’m familiar with –

FUD was first defined with its specific current meaning by Gene Amdahl about 1975 after he left IBM to found his own company, Amdahl Corp.: “FUD is the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that IBM sales people instill in the minds of potential customers who might be considering Amdahl products.”   (to read more about FUD and Christianity, please check out The problem of FUD – Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.)

And that’s what Screwtape is hoping for here. Instead of maybe waiting to be bombed at home – or in a bomb shelter – now the patient may have to actually go out and fight. Presumably – that means a higher level of fear – more uncertainty as to what might happen to him – and hopefully that’s followed by doubt about his recent Christian activities and friends. Hopefully he’ll be more concerned about himself – and forget about “The Enemy” .

Of course – that also means the Wormwood is supposed to forget – or not realize the importance of – what Screwtape wrote in the previous letter –

Consider too what undesirable deaths occur in wartime. Men are killed in places where they knew they might be killed and to which they go, if they are at all of the Enemy’s party, prepared.

 

 

Your patient will, of course, have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the Enemy’s will. What the Enemy means by this is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him—the present anxiety and suspense. … resignation to present and actual suffering, even where that suffering consists of fear, is easier and is usually helped by this direct action.

An important spiritual law is here involved. I have explained that you can weaken his prayers by diverting his attention from the Enemy Himself to his own states of mind about the Enemy. … Contrariwise let the reflection ‘My feelings are now growing more devout, or more charitable’ so fix his attention inward that he no longer looks beyond himself to see our Enemy or his own neighbours.

 

6.2) An allusion is a reference to a famous historical or literary figure or an event, making a comparison or contrast between that and something in the story, generally to add a deeper level of association or understanding. In Letter 6, Screwtape tells Wormwood to get his patient to regard fears of imagined or possible things as his “crosses,” but not to regard current fear of real things as his “appointed cross.”

To what does this allusion refer?

What do people generally mean when they use this allusion?

Read Mark 8:34—9:1. Is there a difference between Jesus’s statement and the common meaning to one’s “cross”?

Jesus Predicts His Death

Mk 8:31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Mk 8:33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Mk 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Mk 9:1 And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”

 

The cross allusion could come from something as simple as the practice in Roman times of making the convicted person literally carry the cross they were going to die on – all the way to the point where the execution was to take place.

It may come from Jesus’ statements above – especially in Mark 8:34-37. Here – Jesus is talking about someone giving up their own will / desires and maybe even their life – all for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel. It’s about putting God’s priorities above all else.

Another way to look at those verses comes from The Turning Point - The Goal of Discipleship -

What Jesus speaks of as “your cross” is not suffering and death, but rather exposure to the ridicule and rejection experienced by one carrying his cross through life. To follow Jesus, to openly identify yourself as His disciple, is hardly the key to popularity in this world! And it was hardly the path to take if a disciple of Jesus was intent on becoming an honored and respected member of society.

“Our cross” is a symbol for God’s will. It’s significant that Jesus didn’t say disciples are to “take up My cross.” That surely would have meant suffering and death!

But Jesus said, “Take up your cross.” Crucifixion was Jesus’ cross to bear, for it was God’s will for His Son. Jesus accepted the burden of God’s will and went to meet that fate. But God has hardly called every Christian to suffering and death.

God does have a will—a plan and a purpose—for each believer’s life. And, as Jesus’ cross stood for God’s will for Him, so our cross stands for God’s will for each of us. “Your cross” is whatever God’s will for you may be.

Luke’s addition of “daily” is important. The decision to take up our cross and do God’s will is a choice we must make daily, hourly, even moment by moment. And in choosing the will of God as our will we fulfill Jesus’ call to “follow Me.”

The reference in that quote is to Chapter 9, Verse 23 with the wording that Luke used -

Peter’s Confession of Christ

9:18-20 pp — Mt 16:13-16; Mk 8:27-29
9:22-27 pp — Mt 16:21-28; Mk 8:31—9:1

Lk 9:18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

Lk 9:19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

Lk 9:20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Lk 9:21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Lk 9:23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

The bottom line is that “our cross” refers to different things for different people.

It also means different things at different times to the same person.

It’s not a one size fits all kind of thing for us. However – for Satan – the only thing he needs to do is keep us from taking it up at all – possibly by having us not recognize what our cross is at any point if time. As Luke says – we should do it daily. Too along away from the practice will make it that much harder to start again.

 

 

As regards his more general attitude to the war, you must not rely too much on those feelings of hatred which the humans are so fond of discussing in Christian, or anti-Christian, periodicals. … The results of such fanciful hatred are often most disappointing, and of all humans the English are in this respect the most deplorable milksops. They are creatures of that miserable sort who loudly proclaim that torture is too good for their enemies and then give tea and cigarettes to the first wounded German pilot who turns up at the back door.

6.3) In Letter 6, Screwtape tells Wormwood that hatred of the Germans may not be useful in winning the patient away from God. What is his reasoning? Do you agree? Are prejudice or stereotypes similar to the situation described? Have you ever had an experience similar to what Screwtape says English “milksops” experience when they meet real German pilots? If so, how were you changed as a result?

 

The issue for Screwtape here is the difference between anger against a theoretical / imaginary / anticipated enemy versus what happens when one comes face to face with an enemy – and that enemy all of a sudden isn’t make believe or imagined – but is a real live person.

In a way – it’s like a cross between two of the parables – The Two Sons and The Good Samaritan.

The Parable of the Two Sons

The Parable of the Two Sons

Mt 21:28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

Mt 21:29 “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

Mt 21:30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

Mt 21:31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

Here we have two brothers – both of whom said they were going to take a certain course of action – but when it got right down to it – each took the opposite track. One said he would not work – but did. The other said he would work – did didn’t.

So it was expected to be with the British milksops. They would say that they would gladly kill the German enemies – but were more likely – after meeting them – to feed them and sit down to a good chat over tea and cigarettes.

Jesus’ response was that the first son who said he would not work – but did – was the one the father would be pleased with. In the same way – the milksop who said he would kill the Germans but ended up feeding and caring for them is the one God would be pleased with.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

10:25-28 pp — Mt 22:34-40; Mk 12:28-31

Lk 10:25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Lk 10:26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

Lk 10:27 He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’’”

Lk 10:28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Lk 10:29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Lk 10:30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

Lk 10:36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

Lk 10:37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Here we have people – a priest and a Levite – who would have been expected to be among the most likely to help the beaten man – and they passed him by on the opposite side of the road – and did nothing.

And then we have the Samaritan – who would have been among the least likely to help anyone – who stops to aid him – takes him to an inn – and offers to come back and pay for any additional expenses.

It’s the same with the English people. They should have been the ones to kill the Germans on sight. But even Screwtape knows they’re more likely to take them in and take care of them.

Neither of these activities – working in the field and helping people who want to kill them – is going to get people to their Father Below’s house.

 

 

Do what you will, there is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient’s soul. …  All sorts of virtues painted in the fantasy or approved by the intellect or even, in some measure, loved and admired, will not keep a man from Our Father’s house: indeed they may make him more amusing when he gets there.

Your affectionate uncle

SCREWTAPE

6.4) What does Screwtape mean when he says

All sorts of virtues painted in the fantasy or approved by the intellect or even, in some measure, loved and admired, will not keep a man from Our Father’s house: indeed they may make him more amusing when he gets there.

While thinking about your response – remember – although he may not understand it – Satan (and Screwtape) know Scripture.

 

In the end – there will be many surprised people. There will be many who expect to be in Heaven – bit won’t be.

For instance - see Matthew 23:13-15 -

Mt 23:13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

Mt 23:15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”

Clearly – as the leaders of the Jews – the Pharisees expect to be in a good place in Heaven. Here – Jesus is plainly telling them exactly the opposite could happen.

And in Matthew 25:31-46 we read -

The Sheep and the Goats

Mt 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Mt 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

Mt 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

Mt 25:40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Mt 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

Mt 25:44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

Mt 25:45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Mt 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Here we have ordinary people – some who don’t expect to be in Heaven – but they are. But we also have another case of those who feel that where they should be – but won’t be.

What Screwtape is saying is that the group who fully expect to be in Heaven – and especially those who feel entitled to be in Heaven – are the most fun for the devils when they finally realize that they are in the house of the “father below”.

 

Vocabulary:

tribulation — Your patient will, of course, have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the Enemy’s will. What the Enemy means by this is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him—the present anxiety and suspense.

grievous trouble; severe trial or suffering

Contrariwise — Contrariwise let the reflection ‘My feelings are now growing more devout, or more charitable’ so fix his attention inward that he no longer looks beyond himself to see our Enemy or his own neighbours.

on the contrary; in direct opposition to a statement, attitude, etc.

vindictive — In his anguish, the patient can, of course, be encouraged to revenge himself by some vindictive feelings directed towards the German leaders, and that is good so far as it goes.

disposed or inclined to revenge; vengeful

milksops — The results of such fanciful hatred are often most disappointing, and of all humans the English are in this respect the most deplorable milksops. They are creatures of that miserable sort who loudly proclaim that torture is too good for their enemies and then give tea and cigarettes to the first wounded German pilot who turns up at the back door.

a weak or ineffectual person

pernicious — There is no good at all in inflaming his hatred of Germans if, at the same time, a pernicious habit of charity is growing up between him and his mother, his employer, and the man he meets in the train.

deadly; fatal

 

Please leave a comment or ask a question - it's nice to hear from you.

Scroll to Top