Screwtape Letter #8 – Discussion Guide

Screwtape Letter #8 – Discussion Guide is article #18 in the series: Screwtape Letters. Click button to view titles for entire series

Letter #8

The Screwtape Letters Study Guide

The “Law of Undulation”.
Screwtape writes about the peaks and troughs in our lives
– and how to exploit them.

 


 

My dear Wormwood,

So you ‘have great hopes that the patient’s religious phase is dying away’, … law of Undulation?

Humans are amphibians—half spirit and half animal. … The dryness and dullness through which your patient is now going are not, as you fondly suppose, your workmanship; they are merely a natural phenomenon which will do us no good unless you make a good use of it.

 

8.1) Talk about the “Law of Undulation”.

For some background, I point you to a series on Hype Cycles and Revelation” from March – April 2010. The articles and links are:

Part 1 – Revelation & Hype Cycles

Part 2 – People & Hype Cycles

Part 3 – Jesus & the Hype Cycle

Part 4 – Parables & Hype Cycles

The topic is slightly different –
but the concept certainly applies to show how undulations work as explained by Screwtape in this letter.

With that in mind – talk about Screwtape’s Law of Undulation” and how it affects us humans.

 

The disciples were afraid

Consider the disciples – how often they were afraid – and how often Jesus comforted them.
It’s like they were on a roller coaster of peaks and troughs.

For example – See Mark 4:35-41 –

Jesus Calms the Storm

Mk 4:35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Mk 4:39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Mk 4:40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Mk 4:41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

God knows all

And – it’s not like God doesn’t know these things are going to happen to us –
as we see in Mark 14:27-31 –

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

Mk 14:27“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written:

“ ‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Mk 14:29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”

Mk 14:30 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.”

Mk 14:31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.

So – it’s a normal part of being “us”.

 

 

To decide what the best use of it is, you must ask what use the Enemy wants to make of it, and then do the opposite. … Our war aim is a world in which Our Father Below has drawn all other beings into himself: the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still distinct.

 

8.2a) Talk about the statement – Now it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else.

Give some examples both from the Bible and your own experience.

 

Sorry – it’s your examples – no help here.

 

 

8.2b) Consider this statement from Screwtape – One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth. He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself—creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but because their wills freely conform to His.

It is but one example where Screwtape may have it exactly correct. But – do we really get that – do we realize the implications – and especially do we get that point across to non-Christians?

 

Old Testament example: Moses

Moses would be one example. He led the Israelites for forty years through the desert. During that time – Moses messed up big time. The one I’m going to use wasn’t the first – but for an example of how to respond in the trough – this is a good one.

As usual – the people were complaining – this particular time about the lack of water.

We read about it in Numbers 20:1-13 –

Water From the Rock

Nu 20:1 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

Nu 20:2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! 4 Why did you bring the LORD’S community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

Nu 20:6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell face down, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 The LORD said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

Nu 20:9 So Moses took the staff from the LORD’S presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

Nu 20:12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

Nu 20:13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them.

New Testament example: Paul

A New Testament example could be Paul –

He had a lot of issues after his conversion to follow Jesus – being imprisoned – shipwrecked – etc.
There was one instance where he wrote to the Corinthians about what he called a “thorn” in his flesh in 2 Co 12:7-10 –

2Co 12:7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

And that shows us where we could be.
Not that we all have to go through what Paul did – thankfully.
But – it shows that with God’s power – He can get us through anything – even things like that.

 

 

And that is where the troughs come in. … Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

8.3) Screwtape correctly says “It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be.” Why do the troughs of the Christian life encourage more growth than the peaks?

 

This could continue on with the discussion in the previous question related to Paul. However – it can also apply to others that you may have talked about. The concept is the same – regardless of the example.

excerpt from Pathways to His Presence

Below is an excerpt from Pathways to His Presence – by Charles Stanley. 

Life sometimes feels like an endless roller coaster, full of surprising twists and turns—some that excite us and others that severely disappoint us. And during the ride of life, our weaknesses are revealed. As believers, we need to know how to handle the ups and downs so that our relationship with Christ remains consistent in its nature and we can have a victorious walk.

When our weaknesses are revealed, we discover our inability to accomplish something to its full potential. The world leads us to believe that weakness is a liability; however, in our relationship with Christ, it can oftentimes be our greatest asset.

Paul realized his weaknesses. Agonizing over them and bemoaning his situation never accomplished what was necessary. Yet Paul’s accepting attitude of his weaknesses resulted in the avenue God needed to intervene.

In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul wrote, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Paul discovered that strength was found in weaknesses. Instead of trying to lug his cross up a hill, Paul decided it was best turned over to the Lord. When Paul’s strength was insufficient, he turned to God. As a result, Paul humbly walked through life’s ups and downs with a perspective that kept his eyes forever focused on Jesus.

Your Grace Is Enough

There’s a song by Chris Tomlin – Your Grace is Enough –
we sing it –
we “know it” –
but do we live it?

That’s what Paul is about here –
living that them of Your Grace is Enough.

For many of us – it’s hard to even remember when things get tough –
but that’s when we need it the most.

It’s easy to follow God when things are going well –
When they get too good – maybe we start to forget –
But when they get really bad – it’s all to easy to forget.

So – we see that God can bring us back to reality – His reality –
when we get to high on the hype cycle.

As this section points out –
He can also bring us from the depths of the deepest trough –
and that’s where His power and glory are most evident –
through the power to get us through those times.

 

 

But of course the troughs afford opportunities to our side also. …

Your affectionate uncle

SCREWTAPE

8.4) Do you think this all sounds hard enough already – can there be even more opportunities for Screwtape & Wormwood to exploit us?

 

This is a totally personal question –
no guide here –
other than to say – never underestimate Satan –
but then – don’t overestimate his power either –
because – ultimately – he loses – God wins –
and we get to pick which side we want to be on.

 

Vocabulary:

Constancy & undulation – Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation—the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks.

Constancy – the quality of being unchanging as in purpose, love, or loyalty; firmness of mind; faithfulness

Undulation – a wavelike motion. (This is where the peaks and troughs come in – the peaks are like the tops of the waves and the troughs are the very bottom.)

Ignoble – For His ignoble idea is to eat the cake and have it;

Ignoble – of low grade or quality; inferior

 

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

Scroll to Top