Screwtape Letter #9 – Discussion Guide

The Fall of Man

Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Ge 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

Ge 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Ge 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Ge 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Ge 3:10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Ge 3:11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? ”

Ge 3:12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

So we see – what Satan gave to Adam & Eve was:

Lies (OK – half truths – but still lies)
Knowledge – but
knowledge that would lead to their removal from Eden
Knowledge that would turn them against each other – with Adam blaming Eve
Knowledge that would lead them away from God
Knowledge that would result in their death – just as God said.
Which all resulted in Satan getting what he wanted – but having to give up nothing in return. He “gave” some fruit from the tree – although actually convinced Eve to take it rather than giving it to her – on top of which it wasn’t his to give anyway.

Yes – Satan was surely happy about what happened – and gave them absolutely nothing in the process.

The Temptation of Jesus

Lk 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

Lk 4:3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

Lk 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’’”

Lk 4:5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Lk 4:8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’’”

Lk 4:9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully;

Lk 4:11 they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’’”

Lk 4:12 Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’’”

Lk 4:13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

In Jesus’ case – Satan also offered things which weren’t his to give. To make matters worse – Satan tried to give all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus – with both of them knowing full well that they already belonged to Jesus.

The difference – the simple responses of Jesus to answer Satan’s false / twisted words of Scripture with the truth. There was no questioning – no discussion back and forth – just simple statements of truth.

To answer the overall question then – yes – Satan loves to give nothing and get someone’s soul in the process. The simple truth is – Satan has nothing of his own to give. All he has are twisted truths (lies) that lead to his ultimate goal if we aren’t careful – lies that will take us away from God.

The first is “Kingdom Dynamics” from the “Spirit filled life study Bible: based on Genesis 1:26 –

1:26 God Created Man (Male/Female) in His Own Image,
FAMILY ORDER.

These verses introduce a phrase that is the cornerstone of the biblical understanding of man: image of God. The image of God is presented first and foremost in relation to a unique social or community concept of God. “Then God (singular) said, “Let Us (plural) make man in Our (plural) image.’ ” Many scholars interpret this use of both the singular and the plural as an allusion to the Trinity: one God, yet a community of Persons.

God then proceeds to create man in His own image. At this all-important beginning point, Scripture highlights a particular aspect of man’s nature, namely, that which corresponds to the social or community aspect of God’s nature: God creates man as male and female—not a solitary individual, but two people. Yet, as we read on, we discover that the two are, nevertheless, “one” (see 2:24).

The “community” that reflects God’s image is a special community: the community of a man and a woman. When God chose to create man in His own image, He created a marriage, a family. The community of the family is a reflection of the community in the Godhead. Its identity, life, and power come from God.

The second is Paul’s writing from Galatians 6:1-6

Gal 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load.

Gal 6:6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

And the third is Jesus’ own words from Matthew 18:15-20

Mt 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Mt 18:18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Mt 18:19 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

For this comment from Screwtape – consider the events from 2 Kings 22:1-13

The Book of the Law Found

2Ki 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

2Ki 22:3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully.”

2Ki 22:8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

2Ki 22:11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 13 “Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD’S anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

Let’s also look at the various meanings of the word moderated – from dictionary.com

1. kept or keeping within reasonable or proper limits; not extreme, excessive, or intense: a moderate price.

2. of medium quantity, extent, or amount: a moderate income.

3. mediocre or fair: moderate talent.

4. calm or mild, as of the weather.

5. of or pertaining to moderates, as in politics or religion.

One thing to notice here – whether things are off because the Book of the Law was lost – or whether people just assume they know it and never go back to actually read it any more – over time the Law everyone thought they were following looks little like what they’re actually doing.

How this occurs can be seen with the definitions of moderated. There’s a tendency for “progressives” (those who want to change things from what they are now) to label those who don’t want to change things as extremists. The thing to remember here though – we’re talking about God’s Laws – God’s Truth. Who are we to change that?

• The 1st definition implies that there are reasonable limits within which one can operate and still be in compliance with God’s Law. Really? When He says do something – it’s OK to not do it? Or when He says don’t do something – it’s OK to ignore that commandment?
• The 2nd says of medium quantity. How does that fit in with when Jesus says Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. There’s nothing medium about that at all. It’s a go all the way kind of statement.
• The 3rd talks about mediocre. See the previous item – nothing mediocre here either.
• The 4th talks about calm or mild. Similar to the 2nd and 3rd.
• Finally, the 5th talks about moderates – as in politics or religion. That of course means – by circular logic – someone who tries to do one or more of the previous 4 definitions of the word moderated.

No matter how you look at it – any way of moderating (watering down – making less important) takes away from what God says. Let’s face it – it is extreme. There’s no wiggle room with truth. It’s either true – or it isn’t. We have extreme sports – why not extreme Christianity?

People try to use something called “moral equivalence” to make their points. Other terms to describe this would be moral confusion or deceptive moral comparison. There are some good examples of this type of argument at rationalwiki.org.

While it is true that faith cannot come from reason alone – because the very beginning of believing and accepting the gift of salvation has to be from God – reason is far from useless.

In Isaiah 1:18-20 – God Himself invites us to reason with Him –

Isa 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

Isa 1:19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;

Isa 1:20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

I believe part of the point of community is also for members to reason together – along with The Word and the Holy Spirit. It’s a way of staying in the Light – it’s a way of resolving conflicts – it’s a way of living life the way it was meant to be. Everything about the questions in this letter has been about community – and reasoning – about keeping us from falling for Satan’s lies.