The Screwtape Letters: Letter XII

I've always heard about the interesting way that The Screwtape Letters was written, but I have never read anything from it until now. Despite the "spoiler" about its literary technique, I still find it fascinating to read a Christian book from the perspective of our enemies. As fascinating as it is, it's also a terrifying thing to read because of all the hints of temptation you are in fact facing at the moment. It's scary because I see some of Letter XII of Screwtape being applied to situations in my life right now.

Screwtape writes:

My only fear is lest in attempting to hurry the patient you awaken him to a sense of his real position. ... We know that we have introduced a change of direction in his course which is already carrying him out of his orbit around the Enemy; but he must be made to imagine that all the choices which have effected this change of course are trivial and revocable.

To see the devil using what seems to be "trivial and revocable" changes to lure us astray is a scary thought. Small things like forgetting to say grace before a meal can lead to skipping church one week to study for an exam, which can lead to regularly skipping church. As Screwtape later writes, "the safest road to Hell is the gradual one," little signs of unfaithfulness will only lead to greater acts of unfaithfulness.

Another part that stood out is how the devil uses even churchgoing as a way to lead us astray.

For this reason I am almost glad to hear that he is still a churchgoer and a communicant. I know there are dangers in this; but anything is better than that he should realize the break it has made with the first months of his Christian life. As long as he retains externally the habits of a Christian he can still be made to think of himself as one who has adopted a few new friends and amusements but whose spiritual state is much the same as it was six weeks ago. And while he thinks that, we do not have to contend with the explicit repentance of a definite, fully recognized, sin, but only with his vague, though uneasy, feeling that he hasn't been doing very well lately.

I think there are several dangers presented here. The devil takes these external "Christian habits" to make one think that he's still doing pretty well spiritually. As a new Christian, after the first few weeks of church and making supportive friends, spiritual growth should already be happening. Another danger that's also a part of it, is the idea of habitual churchgoing. When there is no spiritual growth, going to church becomes a habit, much like any other habit that you do without thinking; you are going through the motions.

As if God is simply there on Sunday morning to take roll.