Letter 5....A Call to War

Here we go again, more reasons this book confuses me. In this letter, Screwtape warns his nephew Wormwood, not to revel too long in the development of the war. That quite to the contrary, war which a cruel and horrible experience can actually work for God. He goes on to say that Wormwood may find success in working with extreme patriotism or pacificism in his patient. That is what made my head spin. How can patriotism be bad? After thinking about it awhile you can certainly see how someone could put that ahead of God, the same with pacificism. An extreme in anything can become a negative.

So, the question of this letter is how can war work for God? Screwtape tells his nephew, "We may hope for a good deal of cruelty and unchastity (Unpure conduct~I had to look this one up). But,if we are not careful, we shall see thousands turning in this tribulation to the Enemy, while tens of thousands who do not go so far as that will nevertheless have their attention diverted from themselves to values and causes which they believe to be higher than the self."

Remeber from the last letter, the devil loves for us to look inward. War, even though it may not be approved by God, brings people together, fighting for causes other than themselves, and forces them to think about death and what they believe will happen after death. Screwtape says the devil's best weapon is "Contented Worldliness" when one is content with thinking of things of this world, and not things that are beyond this world, such as death and faith.

In this letter Screwtape points out that the devils can not even use suffering to bring humans to turn against God. For God has told them, that "suffering is a natural part of what He calls Redemption."

Vocabulary words for students:
unchastity
tribulation
tantalise
pacifist
redemption

Discussion ?'s: How can God win souls from war?
What is the devil's best weapon for winning souls?
What does suffering produce?
What does contentment produce?
How can extreme patriotism or pacifism lead one away from God?