The Screwtape Letters.....one by one

I must admit I'm probably the only person who had a hard time reading The Screwtape Letters. I had to twist my mind to process the opposite of what Screwtape, the devil, is suggesting. So, I've spent some time wrestling with it and have come up with a basis for my literature co-op class which I teach.

I'll be posting (hopefully) a lesson for each letter. I'm using literature circles to teach this book, but the questions produced by the literature circles could easily become discussion questions for the family. When using literature circles the students take the role of the teacher. Each student has a different role. If you're interested, the roles I've chosen are here:
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/basics/reading/literature_circles/
The students are to read one letter and then complete their role sheet which they will first discuss with their small group and then with the class at large.

The first lesson is based on the first letter. In this letter, Wormwood, tries to gain his patient for his father down under, by guiding his reading and encouraging time with his materialistic friend. Screwtape, the elder devil, suggests instead overloading the patient with jargon.

There were two words in this letter that I wasn't truly sure of the concrete meaning. The first was materialism. Materialism is the theory that physical matter is the only reality and that all processes and phenomena can be explained by physical matter. One can see how this belief would interfere with Christianity and why Wormwood would use it.

The other word I was not sure about was jargon. Jargon means confused,, unintelligible language. Strange, outlandish or barbarious language or dialect. It can also mean obscure or pretentious speech marked by circumlocution and long words. This is what Screwtape considers a superior method in keeping the patient from his enemy, God. We can definitely see this used in media today. And think how this applies to texting and how that threatens to change our language.

I think the overall purpose of this letter is to show how multiple media streams can distract a person. If Lewis felt this in his time, just think how much media has increased in the last decade with increased computer use, cell phones and multiple news channels filled with spin.

Back to the lesson. I put myself in all the roles, so I'd have material to help the students in case they are stuck doing this for the first time.
Questions from the discussion-director:
How does Wormwood attempt to hold onto his patient?
What does Screwtape suggest is the better way to keep him from the church?
How does the enemy use this idea today?

Literary Luminary: the passage I chose as most significant is: "Thanks to processes which we set to work in them centuries ago, they find it all but impossible to believe in the unfamiliar while the familiar is before their eyes. Keep pressing on him the ordinariness of things.

Connector:
How are we distracted from God today? How can we prevent distraction? Why must we prevent distraction? How can we benefit from limiting distractions?

You'll have to read the letter to find the answers.