In the introduction to the series, I laid out some of C.S. Lewis’s demonology and theology related to the powers and limitations of Satan and his hordes. Now we will move into more specific areas of satanic attack in The Screwtape Letters and how believers can respond.
Because Wormwood’s “patient” becomes a Christian as early as the second letter, Screwtape reveals lines of attack against a person’s faith, worship, church attendance, and fellowship with other Christians.
Genesis 3:1 affirms the shrewdness of the serpent we know to be the devil. Beginning in the garden, his primary goal is to turn people away from worshiping God and toward serving Satan. When the enemy of everything God calls sacred goes to work against our souls, he does it in very sneaky, sinister ways.
Screwtape and Wormwood begin to reckon with the bad news that their man now professes to be a Christian. Though this is a huge setback to their destructive mission, Screwtape assures Wormwood that all is not lost. They can still sabotage his newfound faith, and the sooner the better.
Time is of the essence with new believers if demons want to keep them ensnared in sin-consciousness and doubt. Living in the same circumstances and social context they occupied before conversion, they are still surrounded by stimuli that can keep them mired in their besetting sins and addictions.
As Christians navigate their new faith in their old world, they begin to discern the conviction, power, and revelation of the Holy Spirit. However, lacking experience walking by the Holy Spirit, they still try to apply their own strength to the fight against sin. Satan loves this.
Sexual temptation is a reliable standby for sabotaging a new believer who wants to be holy. Alcohol is also a useful tool for demons when undermining the faith of believers, new and old.
Wormwood’s patient experiences what people in the recovery field call a “pink cloud” period as a new believer, experiencing a profound sense of God’s love, protection and presence. Like a loving parent, God does this to cushion his children from the world’s dangers until they mature and can fight spiritual battles with spiritual weapons. The author of Hebrews notes that God sends angels to hover nearby to minister to God’s people (Heb. 1:14).
After the excitement and joy of conversion subside, Screwtape assures Wormwood that the man will grow tired of fighting sin in his own strength and will succumb to temptation. The result is that he will start to doubt that he has changed and that his salvation was real. Screwtape is confident that this will slow any growth he might enjoy.
Another line of attack relates to his feelings about church and the people he encounters there. At first he was bathed in feelings of love, relief, and gratitude, especially toward those who had taken part in leading him to Christ. After a while, however, the man will notice that the church consists of flawed, irritating, annoyingly ordinary people. Demons want him to feel superior and condescend, at least inwardly. His lack of humility at this stage may further hinder his growth.
The man can be tempted to look askance at other aspects of his church as well: the shabbiness of the building, the worn-out hymnals, and the old-fashioned songs that offend his musical sensibilities. He will spend much of his time criticizing the church inwardly.
When not in critic mode, demons will ensure he is distracted by sensory stimuli in church—an old woman with a too-big hat, a young woman with alluring bare legs, the greengrocer down the pew with bad teeth who smells bad. This all works to keep the man from experiencing true worship.
Further on, Screwtape instructs Wormwood to discourage the man from committing to one church, especially if it is a church where the Scriptures are taught accurately and consistently. It is best to keep him critical and dissatisfied wherever he goes. (Sound familiar?)
Screwtape writes, cynically, “If a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that ‘suits’ him” (81).
C.S. Lewis cleverly describes the characteristics of a few local pastors in the man’s village. One is a vicar “who has been so long engaged in watering down the faith…that it is now he who shocks his parishioners with his unbelief, not vice versa.” (82). Another is a preacher who changes his messages constantly in reaction to the social and political issues of the day. He presents his own beliefs and philosophies as though they represent the teachings of Christ, without providing biblical evidence.
Screwtape recommends either one of these churches for Wormwood’s man. In either one, he is likely to develop the idea that the church he has chosen is the “right” one with the best people and teachings, and all others are inferior. This human tendency to join a “party” is useful to demons because it keeps believers focused on themselves and their partisan beliefs. While occupied with these thoughts, they will not truly reverence or serve God.
Lewis illustrates throughout the book how Satan manipulates perceptions of groups, their norms, and how group members treat one another. Because Wormwood’s man had socialized with a very hip and progressive group of friends before his conversion, he developed an affinity for worldliness and liberalism.
Now the man is surrounded by people more interested in faith, service, and loving community. They are more mature and more pious than he. They accept him unconditionally, mentoring him gently and kindly. Screwtape wants the man to believe they have accepted him because of his sophistication and wonderfulness, and they are lucky to have him among them. Screwtape wants him constantly reminded of the secular, progressive cultural environment he used to enjoy, and how sophisticated he felt within it. Simultaneously, he suggests using words like “Puritanical” and “old-fashioned” to cause the man to crave novelty and become bored with his wholesome Christian friends.
The man can be tempted to view them as out of step with the current historical moment and its more enlightened values. It is crucial for the demons that believers’ devotional lives remain disconnected from how they conduct themselves and how they treat others. Satan certainly doesn’t want a Christian ethic of social justice to take root,“for the establishment of anything like a really just society would be a major disaster.” (126)
Screwtape shrewdly summarizes the difference between God’s will and Satan’s, concerning the church and God’s people:
“[God] wants men, so far as I can see, to ask very simple questions; it is righteous? Is it prudent? Is it possible? Now if we can keep men asking “Is in accordance with the general movement of our times? Is it progressive or reactionary? Is this the way that History is going?’ they will neglect the relevant questions.” (139).
In summary, Satan and his underlings, as represented by C.S. Lewis, stay busy distracting, misleading, and confusing believers about their faith, their worship of God, and their relationships with other believers. When we know this is the enemy’s agenda, we can prepare our hearts and minds so we do not become his victims.
Here are some ways to resist him and keep ourselves growing in faith:
• We stay immersed in God’s word so we know how to refute “arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and…take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
• We find a church where God is worshipped in Spirit and truth (Jn. 4:24) where the Bible is taught with integrity, and we faithfully fellowship and serve there.
• We guard our hearts against pride, comparison, criticism, and contempt for others. We submit to others who are more mature in the faith, and engage in relationships of accountability, as befits true disciples of Christ.
