Screwtape Letters (((SPOILER)))

[Mike]

Nick, I had to put this in a new thread under "Spoiler" in case anyone is reading The Screwtape Letters or plans on it. Not that there's any big twist at the end.

But I had a question that wasn't clear to me. At the end of the letters, he talks about losing his chance with the "patient" he was working on. I was trying to figure out if the patient died in the war or if he fully accepted Jesus. I would think he had died, because they don't stop working on you when you become a Christian. If anything, the spiritual warfare picks up intensity.

I was probably tired when I read through that part. It also had the Toast addition in the end. I don't know, Nick. I'm glad you liked it so much. It was just monotonous to me.

Still, much love for C.S. Lewis, among the greats!

 

[Cheyenne K]

He died in the war. First there is mention of bombings and such, with descriptions of how it felt to be leaving the body. On page 172 in my book:

The more I think about it, the worse it becomes. He got through so easily! No gradual misgivings, no doctor's sentence, no nursing home, no operating the theatre, no false hopes of life; sheer, instantaneous liberation. One moment it seemed to be all our world; the scream of bombs, the fall of houses, the stink and taste of high explosive on the lip and in the lungs, the feet burning with weariness, the heart cold with horrors, the brain reeling, the legs aching, next moment all this was gone, gone like a bad dream, never again to be of any account.

Then, on page 174:

He saw not only Them; he saw Him.This animal, this thing begotten in bed, could look on Him.

"Him" here is referring to God. Naturally, if we were to see God and we were alive, we would die right there. The patient is dead at the point to see Him.

 

[Mike]

Thanks Cheyenne. Yeah, I was half asleep at that point, trying to finish. There was a lot to consider in the book when thinking about spiritual warfare, but for some reason, I just couldn't get into it. I found it very monotonous. But it is often cited in Christian circles, so it's touching a lot of people. Lewis was special. I wish he wrote more than the books he did.

 

[Cheyenne K]

You're welcome.
I never found the book monotonous per se, though there were many times I did have to read over a paragraph or two. That being one of them the first time I read it.