Screwtape Proposes a Toast

Temptation is big in this section! I agree with what screwtape had to say about temptation. I think that temptation can knock anyone out of their path to goodness. I agree that what you surround yourself with is what you are. When I was reading this, it reminded me of my parents, they have always said that to me. They also said to me before" tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are". As I have been growing up and maturing, I have found that I have been surrounding myself by different things, not necessarily surrounding myself with different people, but excluding certain people from my environment. I remember telling my parents that wasn't true, that no matter what others were like or what they did, I am my own person that is it. Unconsciously, I have managed to slowly change my surroundings.

26

I was a bit confused when Screwtape stated that he substitutes the negative selfishness with the positive charity of the enemy. It took me a bit to be able to figure out what he meant by this. I think that the enemy just wants to confuse others in that matter and gain from the confusion. I think that more than sympathetic we should be able to empathise with others. Feeling sorry for someone is different from understanding what they are feeling or going through, or at least wanting to understand. I think that even people who think that they are good go around saying that they feel sorry for people but only do it to keep their reputation of being a good person. When someone truly cares and truly wants to help, it isn't necessary to make it known to the world that you have done something good. God knows it, and that is all that matters.

Letter 22

In this letter, Wormwood appears to be very frustrated. He seems to have encountered more obstacles than what he probably thought he would. I understood in this letter that as human beings we have other forces that drive us, not just evil, good, and religious thoughts. In this letter his nephew is in love, and the love that is presented is not that of just loving God, but he now loves a woman. I was able to sense that to a certain point Wormwood feels defeated. Whether we love God, a woman, a man, etc., we all have something that we either fully enjoy or absolutely love. What some of us love others hate and those same things that others hate we may at some point enjoy. Regardless of those differences, we all share the fact that we all have some sort of strong love or interest about a specific person or thing.

Letter 21

This letter focuses on ownership. It is implied that as humans, we want to take up all of our day to do whatever it is that "we" want. I guess it is easy to assume that everything should be our way and our way only. It is easy to think that we own something and not be aware of how quickly we can lose it. I feel that we take things for granted, which could be harmful to some extent. I feel that we also take God for granted. Some assume that since he loves us so much we can do whatever we please and it will be ok because we can repent and be forgiven.

Letter 15

The reason why I decided to write about this letter is because it confused me the most and I would like to understand it. If there is anyone that can clarify this letter or correct me, I will appreciate it. I understood that it is ideal for satan for us as humans to live in the future, to think about the future, and be concerned about the future. God (the enemy in this chapter) wants for us to live in the present. Living in the present we are grateful for current pleasures, we meditate, we are in touch with God, and we are also concerned about our union with God when the end comes. Thinking about the future brings hope and fear, the enemy wants a whole race concerned about the rainbows end.

Screwtape Letter 8

From what I understood from this letter (correct me if i am wrong), Wormwood's uncle is talking about how crucial human temptations and weaknesses are for the enemy. All it takes is for the patient to reach one of those peaks and get a little taste, the enemy withdraws, and allows for the patient to stand on his own meaning that he will choose to remain in that state. He also talks about how God created creatures who are replicas of himself, unlike the enemy likes distinct creatures. I guess that in certain situations, as humans, when encountered with a devastating situation where we weaken can be damaging. We become hungry and temptations will become our first escape. That is all that the enemy is waiting for, for the patient to have that little taste. He also talked about how even after the patient doesn't want to be on their side anymore, as long as he is there is all that matters. That reminded me of many people who attempt to stop certain destructive habits, to stop sinning, etc. find themselves in a loop hole because wanting to stop isn't enough. It takes lots of courage and will, which many lack.

Letter 4

I must agree with what was being discussed about prayer in this fourth letter. When C.S. Lewis was talking about the fact that sometimes what the patient calls "GOD" is located on a bedroom corner or inside the patients head. What I took from this was that we pray to an object that God himself made and not who made us. I guess we sometimes tend to forget the meaning of prayer and I feel that sometimes we ask for unrealistic things through prayer, rather than focusing on the spirituality of it and its meaning. I believe that we all get through our prayers in our own individual way and I do not know what the correct way to pray is, but I know that I am comfortable with my prayers. At this point of my life I have learned that I shouldn't get close to "GOD" through a prayer only when I want to ask for something. I have learned to concentrate and somehow talk to God. When I was young I was taught to get on my knees and put my hands together. When I was a kid I really didn't ask for anything specific in my prayers, my mom would have me recite "Our Heavenly Father" and another prayer, I don't recall its name but it was to a Gurdian Angel. Now I realize how important it is that when you pray you concentrate and give your full attention to God.