It always amazes me how much Lewis can say within such a small amount of words. In the case of The Screwtape Letters, much of what he says through his characters Screwtape and Wormwood is exactly what we learn in Sunday school, and yet we constantly need to be reminded that the Way to Hell is often"...[a] gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts..." For most of us turning away from God is a slow and subtle thing that starts quietly and often without our conscious knowledge.
This is especially true in a time when many of our distractions are also precieved necessities. We have to check our email, answer that text, listen to that song. The pull to do all these things and more each day is strong, as also mostly useless. Most of us are afraid to have silence surround us, or to be alone. That's when that pesky still and silent voice often speaks to us, convicting us. The two issues that seem to go together are this fear of silence and the doubting and wrestling with the fact of God's existance, something most of us thought we had figured out ages ago, and yet here we are, wondering. Not that doubting is a sin, nor is wrestling with our beliefs about God's character or Church. But it is certainly frusterating to struggle with something, and even more so when we feel like we're struggling alone, without God, and that no one is going through what we are. (Because everyone else is busy pretending to be a "good Christian," whatever that means.)
And yet this struggling is much better than the apathy and false 'Christian-like' actions in Lewis's story. We all act to some extent, to be sure, and herein lies the danger. Instead of being honest about our struggles with our brothers and sisters, we keep them to ourselves for fear of other's judgements - and this fear is not unfounded! We Christians are some of the most judgemental people I have ever met. So, what I am saying, as a moral to the experpt, is that we should all be open and honest and loving towards one another. In this way we will all be challenged by each other and grow in Christ, instead of living in the fear that leads to apathy and often spiritual death.
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Yo, good post. It does seem as though the trick of Screwtape is working in the minds of a lot of "Christians" which is sad to say. Like you said, you would think that in light of everything we have learned in sunday school about how the devil deceives we would have learned a thing or two, but also like you said, we have actually managed to become judgmental. Thank God for grace.
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