What occurs in letters 13, 14, and 15 of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis?
In letter 13, Screwtape reprimands Wormwood for allowing his patient to repent and enjoy simple pleasures, such as reading a book or taking a walk for enjoyment. If the patient continues on this path, he will realize that simple pleasures are far better than the hollow pleasures of the world.
In letter 14 something alarming is happening. Screwtape says that Wormwood's subject is growing in humility, which is a key Christian virtue. In light of this, Screwtape urges Wormwood to get his patient to focus on his humility, so that he will be proud of his humility (paradoxically, I know). False humility is no humility at all.
Letter 15 is the most insightful. In this letter, there is a lull in the war. So, Screwtape urges Wormwood to make people think of the future. Screwtape argues, paradoxically, that the future is the least like eternity. The future is the place...
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for fears and lusts. In this way, people cannot focus on the present and do what is best. Here is an excerpt:
Hence nearly all vices are rooted in the future. Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead. Do not think lust an exception. When the present pleasure arrives, the sin (which alone interests us) is already over. The pleasure is just the part of the process which we regret and would exclude if we could do so without losing the sin; it is the part contributed by the Enemy, and therefore experienced in a Present. The sin, which is our contribution, looked forward.
What are letters 16 and 17 about in C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters?
Letter 16 and 17 are masterful ways in which Screwtape advises Wormwood to treat the "patient." Just in case you did not know, these letters are from a higher level demon to a lower level demon to hinder people from deepening their faith.
In letter 16, Screwtape advises Wormwood to get his subject to take the stance of a consumer. If a person church hops or shops, then he or she will become a critic rather than a worshipper. This is a great point, because a critic will not grow in faith. Moreover, Screwtape urges Wormwood to send him either to a liberal church whose minister does not believe in the Bible or a radically conservative church that believes in the Bible with literal precision. Both are distortions of orthodox Christianity, and both do not understand the importance of unity. Here is an excerpt:
Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that "suits" him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.
In letter 17, Screwtape teaches Wormwood the power of gluttony. Gluttony does not have to be a desire for excessive amounts of food or things but a commitment to a person's appetite. If a person's appetites are the highest priority, then the person is a slave to himself and will never become a maturing Christian. Keep in mind a strong strand in Christian theology is about denying appetites.
Here are the words of the letter:
The woman is in what may be called the "All-I-want" state of mind. All she wants is a cup of tea properly made, or an egg properly boiled, or a slice of bread properly toasted. But she never finds any servant or any friend who can do these simple things "properly"—because her "properly" conceals an insatiable demand for the exact, and almost impossible, palatal pleasures which she imagines she remembers from the past...
What events occur in chapters 25 and 26 of Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis?
In letter 25, Screwtape hits upon an aspect of humanity: the desire for change or novelty. Wormwood must encourage this desire for change in his patient, because it is this desire for novelty that causes heresies, marital unfaithfulness, breaking up of friendships, and so much more. To put it another way, this desire for change cuts the legs of faithfulness, so that it cannot stand. Here are Screwtape's own words:
The horror of the Same Old Thing is one of the most valuable passions we have produced in the human heart—an endless source of heresies in religion, folly in counsel, infidelity in marriage, and inconstancy in friendship. The humans live in time, and experience reality successively.
The irony here is that Screwtape also acknowledges that the enemy (God) has created rhythms. So, Wormwood must not allow these rhythms to be experienced, which only happens by steadfastness.
In letter 26, Screwtape urges Wormwood to do two things. First, he must sow seeds of discontent while the couple is still courting each other. While there is erotic attraction, the couple will sacrifice for each other, but the time will come when this feeling will pass. If seeds of selfishness can be sown now, they will cause many problems later. The subtle way this can be done is by allowing both people to believe that they are being selfless, when in fact they are acting for their own gain. Bitterness will be the result.
What is the meaning of C. S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters?
Letters 18-20 are about love. If Wormwood can misdirect his patient in his understanding of love, then the patient will go awry. Two points stand out. First, since all people are fallen, their love is also selfish. So, if Wormwood can work on that point and make the patient love himself in his pursuit of love, then Wormwood would have done his job well. Second, Screwtape reminds Wormwood that shallow concepts of beauty are a great way to cause a person to marry the wrong person for the wrong reasons.
In letters 22-23 Screwtape is angry, because the patient is now dating a Christian woman. So, the tactics must change. Screwtape wants to attack the patient in a different way: the desire for novelty (letter 25) and bitterness in view of the perceived selfishness of other people (letter 26).
The last letters in your list concern the bombings that are about to take place in the city. With these bombings, Screwtape wants to cause temptation in a different way: prideful courage, shameful cowardice, or hatred of the Germans.
As you can see, these letters are attacks on Christians to prohibit them from growing in faith.