The Screwtape Letters Interpretive Essay Example

Screwtape shows clever subtlety in tempting patients to self-centeredness in prayer through feelings and images, to gluttony through delicacy, and to pride through membership in an elite Christian social circle. This academic interpretive exercise discusses these three axioms on self-centeredness in prayer, gluttony through delicacy, and pride connected with Christian social membership.
The self-centeredness in prayer through feelings and images spoken of in "The Screwtape Letters" refers to a number of types of this focus on the "self." The temptation during prayer centered trying to create a state of emotionalism keeps the purpose of connecting with God from occurring because the mind convolutes in on itself. When praying to a cross or other object personifying God the connection to the Creator fails. This is the same thing as praying to idols when a person puts emotional importance on the object. A state of prayer connects through the spirit to God's eternal love and emotionally focusing on the self, or concentrating on a thing objectified, as the representation of God has no connection with the Creator.
At the same time, the envisioning of God as something or someone He is not achieves the same undesirable outcomes – a failed connection with His Eternal love. In Mathew 26:36-46 Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane and reveals the true connection with God the Father. Solomon's prayer for wisdom in 2 Chronicles 1:7-12 exhibits the kind of prayer Screwworm hates because it is about serving God in the flesh through understanding that brings wisdom. Daniel's fervent dedication connecting with God three times a day in Daniel 6 shows the purity of purpose, and finally Job's emotional cry "to" God for help in Job 30:20-31 is another example of the kind of praying that connects with God the Creator.
The explanation of gluttony of delicacy representative of tempting a person from living a Spirit-filled life remains "diabolical" in its subtlety because people generally have no idea what this means. Whereas the gluttony of excess is about eating too much food to the point of making one's self ill, the gluttony of what Screwtape calls delicacy is how this exhibits a type of slavery to sensuality. This sensuality hides itself behind the amount or portions of food consumed. This expression of gluttony of delicacy transforms differently among men and women according to Screwtape.
Gluttony of delicacy tempts men away from a spiritual walk with God by putting their focus on eating connected to false pride. This arises from the ritual they create around locating what they view as the only eating establishment fulfilling their expectations of a meal. This false pride lay in the vanity of men and vanity is the temptation. As Screwtape explains this gluttony of delicacy connected to men comes out in the preoccupation of becoming connoisseurs of both food and drink and it makes them easy prey for the temptations of evil spirits called gluttony and pride. Women on the other hand, exhibit the gluttony of delicacy with an ''all I want'' mindset connected to an expectation she has that is rarely capable of fulfillment.
In the face of a man's failure to find the quality of food his expectations demand, the action proceeding is the delight of the devil when he lets demon anger take over his rational mind, he becomes insulting in an ungodly manner, and then shows unforgiving behavior – all the dealings of the devil. Women exhibit this same behavior in the process of their gluttony of delicacy as well. What pervades in the message Lewis conveys in the letter on this topic is to get the reader to examine these two scenarios.
In examining the two subtle but effective temptations presented in the form of food leading to ungodly behavior what comes out is it is not the quantity of food people ingest but, rather, it is a question of the quality in the hearts of people as they eat. This particular letter reveals what a great mind Lewis possessed in his creativity to get across an exceptionally profound examination and explanation of the styles and degrees of peoples' perceptions of sin. The manner explained about gluttony of delicacy makes gluttony of excess seem lesser of the two types of sin.
Pride through membership in an elite Christian social circle is an example of one of the most demonic outcomes of temptation. Again, this idea of moving from church to church looking for the church that particular church that is suitable is a process like the man and gluttony of delicacy. This is because in the process of searching and finding the suitable church – pride in an elite church – the person becomes a connoisseur – a taster – of churches. This kind of connoisseur in seeking and engaging in elite Christian social circles leads to the sin of pride.
This activity suits the aims of the devil because this preoccupation of searching for a church that suits a person's elitist fancy often leads to him or her to forgetting about membership in a church both fitting and building his or her faith. The club-like attitudes of churches that are nothing more than an organization where people join to fulfill emotional needs connected to the actions going on within the church group leads to temporal focus rather than a spiritual. This happens when people in these kinds of churches become committed to a customary and non-confrontational form of fitting in the group. There are never challenges among these groups of church people to grow spiritually. They never recognize or acknowledge their ties to one another as a group super cedes any ties to God.
The devil finds this focus of people to belong to an elite church group desirable because these people often take on the guise of the critic rather than the student. In criticizing activities in the church such as the style of music, the way people dress, and all things not connected to the nourishment of the spirit, this fulfills the desire of the devil keeping people from growing spiritually closer to God.
The watering down of faith through such activities as the criticism of unspiritual aspects of the church undermines a person's Christianity and accomplishes putting his or her soul in jeopardy according to Lewis. Church leaders attempting through lies to get people to think the way they do rather providing a spiritual message of the Truth of God pulling personal and spiritual responses to the message fulfill the devil's deeds as well.
In conclusion, the discussion in the academic investigation of the clever subtleties in tempting patients to self-centeredness in prayer through feelings and images, to gluttony through delicacy, and to pride through membership in an elite Christian social circle fulfill the intentions of the devil in leading people away from a spirit filled relationship with God. Each of these subtle but effective temptations impede the spiritual growth of people with the unspiritual activities they engage people