Christian Morality and Apologetics
The Screwtape Letters is a novel and a treatise on Christian apologetics, a branch of Christian theology primarily focused on defending or proving the truth of religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. The obvious twist is that it is written and presented through the perspective of evil--truly evil--beings: devils. In the novel the titular Screwtape instructs his protégé and nephew, Wormwood, on the best way to corrupt human souls. In the process of instructing his junior, Screwtape narrates his reflections about human nature, the failings of humans as well as their potential for virtue. In presenting these diametrically opposed concept-forces Screwtape is able to present a mirror image of Christianity, i.e. what Christianity is vis-à-vis a presentation of what it shouldn’t be.
Blind Faith versus Logical Reasoning
One of the goals that the two demons set out to achieve is to prevent The Patient, the human soul they’re trying to corrupt, from engaging in any critical thinking. The author posits the argument through the eponymous Screwtape that through applying critical thinking and logical analysis to Christianity a person will come not just to an understanding of it but embrace it wholeheartedly for the benefits it brings. The author makes it a point to emphasize the fact that over time many authorities, Christian or otherwise, have inhibited critical thinking about religion and have used that as an effective tool of slavery. The author encourages the use of critical thought and logical analysis, rather than guilt or scare tactics--a critical departure from many other Christian writers--to support Christian teachings. He also points out that mere cold logic and orderly, rational reason isn’t enough to push a person to embrace Christianity. After all, Screwtape was a completely logical being that understood Christianity with a surprising amount of depth and comprehension; despite all that he hated God and all that Christianity stood for. This is where the theme of Love as both a counter-weight and complimentary element to reason and logic comes into play.
Love
Being a creature of pure malevolence it is unsurprising that Screwtape is completely incapable of understanding love, and as a result incapable of understanding God. He cannot wrap his head around the idea that God created humanity, initiated a plan for their eternal salvation, or His desire for them to be good was all because He loved them. He tries applying reason and logic but his failure to comprehend love. Screwtape makes do with what he can approximate to be the closest thing to love he can understand, a concept he calls “realism” that is, the only purpose in life being to one-up each other because life is ultimately about accumulating goods for one’s self. Love is the anathema of this concept as love by its very nature is self-sacrificing. While love is a vital virtue, it must still be restrained with other virtues such as honesty, fidelity, and the like. Love, the author reasons, is only acceptable in its extreme form when it is focused upon God.
Freewill and the Nature of Sin
God created humanity with free will and this presents a unique challenge: there are consequences and responsibilities that come automatically tied up with the decisions that are made. This fact coupled with the finite nature of humanity--our flawed understanding of creation and ourselves, our tendency to be ruled by emotions, our incorrect or incomplete understanding of God--all conditions perfect for devils to exploit. The theme of freewill and the nature of sin are exceedingly complex so the author doesn’t attempt to get into it too deeply. Despite that it is frequently used as a plot device in that the devils cannot compel The Patient to do anything that directly opposes free will as the blatant manipulation of circumstances mean that evil and/or rebellion to God’s will was not willingly chosen, therefore the act ceases to count as sin---the end objective of the devils. The presence of freewill exposes humanity to temptation but it also presents the opportunity for virtue thus making it as much a boon and a bane for the cause of evil.
Change
Change is in evitable and unavoidable, it is also, by and large, a neutral occurrence. Change will affect all aspect of human life but this, the author argues, should not be reason to simply discard Christianity merely because it isn’t new. He posits that because the Christianity stands to reason and logic and because things like virtue are transcendent of time, the primacy of God’s existence, His role in the lives of humanity and the Christian faith, should never go out of fashion.
