Use Of Temptations In C. S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters, by C.S Lewis, provides a very refreshing and unusual view on the internal Christian struggle with human nature and spiritual warfare; therefore; it offers itself as a guide to Christians even today on how to resist the temptations of the devil and his servants. The Novel The Screwtape Letters is divided into 31 separate letters, each written as a letter from a high-ranking demon, Screwtape; to his demon-in-training nephew Wormwood. Each letter varies in aggression, topic, and advice given. Considering this is a line of communication between two demons, whose goal is to corrupt humans into giving in to their human nature, this book is an anti-guide for Christians.

Well known reverend and writer, Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, Sinners in the hands of an Angry God, describes the dramatic fate of those who haven 't accepted Jesus Christ. Edwards purpose is to persuade members of his congregation to be “born again”. To be born again means to accept Jesus Christ. He creates a frightening tone in order to frighten unconverted men to believe in Jesus. Throughout his sermon he continuously reminds the reader of hell.

A theme that continuously shows in The Screwtape Letters is proving Christianity true by exploring evil. I have chosen letter four, nineteen, and twenty-one to display this theme. In letter four Wormwood is using praying as an evil. He tells Screwtape that his advice to tempt the Patient to keep pray for his mother non-specific and dull, has “proved singularly unfortunate”.

Told in the famous C.S. Lewis The Screwtape letter, a well-known demon informs his nephew, Wormwood, of a struggle that the Christians face still today. A well lesson to all Christians, Screwtape advises Wormwood to go and let the patient talk like a parrot without discipline when in prayer. As explained by Screwtape, “When the patient is an adult recently reconverted to the Enemy’s party, like your man, this is best done by encouraging him to remember, or to think he remembers, the parrot-like nature of his prayers in childhood.”

Prayer is a prevalent aspect in the Screwtape Letters. In Letter Four, Wormwood struggles to attack the prayer life on his patient. His uncle, Screwtape, advises him that it is best if the patient does not pray at all. By being a recent Christian convert, Screwtape suggests that it would be better if Wormwood could take advantage of the patient’s forgetfulness. “Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself, we are defeated, but there are ways of preventing them from doing so.”

At first glance, The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis might seem like a sympathetic fantasy, but when you search deeper into its roots, a whole universe of analogies is found. Connections found in the book not only add contrast to the Bible but also introduce the reader to new ideas. Religion and differences between heaven and hell are one of many themes that correspond to Christianity and other beliefs. C.S. Lewis is an outstanding author that gives purpose to ordinary themes like sin, free will, and Christianity.

In both “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, there is an overarching motif of sin and the effects that sin has on the characters and the prose itself. Throughout both pieces of literature, the effects of sin are a large driving force that both progress and enhance the plot. In order to attain a deeper insight of the role of sin in both pieces of literature, it is necessary for the reader to not only look at the sins of the characters, but also look at the background and context of both prose, the treatment of the characters due to their sins, and the overall character development throughout the story. While the focal point of this essay will be to compare and contrast the role of sin in both prose, it is necessary to first look at the backgrounds and

Literary analysis of “The sinners in the hands of an angry god” The great awakening was a religious revival that occurred in the 1730s and 1740s. It started in England and then gradually made its way over to the American colonies. During this time, many different preachers and religious speakers went around and gave speeches to the people. Jonathan Edwards was one of Americas most important and original philosophical theologians who also went around and gave speeches about God and hell.

The victimization of fears and securities is a main weapon in the belt of those who wish to lead and conquer. This is proved when in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Edwards uses dark imagery and tone, telling the congregation, “O, Sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in... You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it” (156).

Jonathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” seem at first glance quite similar to one another regarding context, however, after taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences. These differences cannot be understood without the knowledge of cultural context concerning the Puritan belief system and their lifestyle. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was written with the sole purpose of scaring and intimidating the people that purtinans believed to be sinners. Edwards’s work contributed to a movement called “The Great Awakening”. It’s objective was to make the so-called ‘sinners’ aware of their wrongdoings and compel them to repent.

While Satan, “Our Father Below,” is a self-loving, deceitful father. When everyone agrees that Lewis’s style of writing is instructive. Some say Lewis wrote the book for people to understand and feel sympathy for Satan and his followers “demons”. Lewis’s style of writing makes one better equip to reorganize Satan’s subtle deceptions in three ways: it helps people recognize distractions in our thoughts, it helps people recognize distractions

In this chapter, Foster discusses the portrayal of Christ-like figures throughout literature. An allusion to Christ may include: uncanny knowledge of scripture, being good with children, being alone in the wilderness and being burdened with the task of redeeming a sinful world - all of which are traits that Nathan Price from The Poisonwood Bible exhibits or distorts. Nathan Price serves as an ironic depiction of Christ. Like Jesus, Nathan is intimately familiar with the Bible and can summon any portion of it from memory to support his arguments, such as when Anatole tells the Price family why the Kongolese people are not receptive to Nathan’s family. However, Nathan is abusive and dismissive towards anyone who disagrees with him, especially his children and wife, a perversion of

When Goodman Brown is being tempted to go to the witches Sabbath, we see even those who must be the most holy people of the town on their way to the Sabbath, making Goody Cloyse “a marvel, truly, that [she] should be so far in the wilderness at nightfall” (Hawthorne 3). The devil uses this person, especially to try to push Brown over the edge into temptation. Much like there is a ‘Faith’ keeping a person on the mindset of goodness and pureness, there are aspects of life drawing us away from the goodness. Temptation is everywhere and the goal of temptation is to lead you away from purity to the evil. This temptation is often ignored or denied in an attempt to not fall into it.

Edgar Allan Poe addresses the dark and gruesome side of human nature in his writing “The Black Cat”, which during that time and even now are perceived as radical ideas. This dark human nature is displayed in Poe’s writing as the narrator recalls the happenings of a most erratic event. The narrator, a pet lover with a sweet disposition, in this story succumbs to the most challenging aspects of human nature including that of addiction, anger, and perverseness. To the Christian believer, human’s sinful flesh leads people to do wrong because that is their natural tendency.

Psychological Nature Today the world now has medications, therapy, and much more to treat psychological diseases and disorders. Psychological nature is the nature of someone affecting the mind. The psychological nature is very important essentially it is not just affecting someone’s mind but there whole body and the wellbeing of that person.