#the screwtape letters

[the-magic-school-bus]

"Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

- C.S Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

#was talking to some friends about doubting and this quote came up #and holy crap #does that perfect describe my situation #c.s. lewis #not surprised he had a quote for my exact situation #hes just like that #the screwtape letters

[rivermask]

Tumblr Book Clubs I am Currently Following, in order of how hard I think they would be to catch up on if you wanted to join the fun:

Around the World Hourly (Around the World in Eighty Days with entries sent according to the in-story hour of events, started Oct 2)

The Public Domain Book Club (started Frankenstein for the month of October on Oct 1)

Lord of the Rings Newsletter (started late September with some very long posts, but will be variable length as they follow the dates of events in the story)

Dracula Daily via Re:Dracula (chronological Dracula by Bram Stoker - OK, you've missed most of this one, but the audio format is very engaging - you could still catch up for the exciting conclusion!)

My Dear Wormwood (The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis - 22 short letters so far, posted on a weekly basis)

What Manner of Man (original vampire romance by St John Starling - 24 shortish and very fun chapters so far, posted on a weekly basis)

Whale Weekly (Moby Dick by Herman Melville with roughly chronological timescale - we're 70-some chapters in but there are often long breaks between them so you could probably catch up)

Les Mis Letters (a chapter of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo every day for a year - catch-up difficulty level: impossible)

Please add your own!

#dracula daily #whale weekly #moby dick #dracula #around the world hourly #around the world in 80 days #jules verne #frankenstein #mary shelley #re: dracula #bram stoker #herman melville #lotr newsletter #lord of the rings #jrr tolkien #my dear wormwood #the screwtape letters #cs lewis #what manner of man #st john starling #stjohnstarling #les mis #les mis letters #les miserables #victor hugo #tumblr book club #join the chaos #the public domain book club

[flickeringflame216]

the thing about the Screwtape Letters is it’s snarky and sarcastic and funny. also it will pierce your soul and make you cry.

#the screwtape letters #zaki spiels #reading and rambles

[chavisory]

"C.S. Lewis's 'hell is an office building' as realized in both Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchet's Good Omens and Apple's Severance, in this essay I will..."

#good omens #severance #c.s. lewis #the screwtape letters #someone's written this right? #right?

[chirhos]

#i hope this is funny. i did my best #cs lewis #christian #the space trilogy #the screwtape letters #till we have faces

[allieinarden]

Of course I know that the Enemy also wants to detach men from themselves, but in a different way. Remember always, that He really likes the little vermin, and sets an absurd value on the distinctness of every one of them. When He talks of their losing their selves, He only means abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done that, He really gives them back all their personality, and boasts (I am afraid, sincerely) that when they are wholly His they will be more themselves than ever. Hence, while He is delighted to see them sacrificing even their innocent wills to His, He hates to see them drifting away from their own nature for any other reason. And we should always encourage them to do so. The deepest likings and impulses of any man are the raw material, the starting-point, with which the Enemy has furnished him. To get him away from those is therefore always a point gained; even in things indifferent it is always desirable to substitute the standards of the World, or convention, or fashion, for a human’s own real likings and dislikings. I myself would carry this very far. I would make it a rule to eradicate from my patient any strong personal taste which is not actually a sin, even if it is something quite trivial such as a fondness for county cricket or collecting stamps or drinking cocoa. Such things, I grant you, have nothing of virtue in them; but there is a sort of innocence and humility and self-forgetfulness about them which I distrust.

C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

#The Screwtape Letters #C.S. Lewis #this may really be the book I’ve reread the most out of any book

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

This is GROUND LEVEL in New York City right now, NOT mars! Gerald Kelly (twitter)

* * * *

“I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of "Admin." The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern."

[From the Preface]” ― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

#NYC #Canadian fires #C.S.Lewis #Hell #The Screwtape Letters #quotes #Admin #just business

[thomasstaples]

Is there an active C.S. Lewis fandom on here?

#c.s. lewis #chronicles of narnia #till we have faces #mere christianity #surprised by joy #a grief observed #The Abolition of Man #the great divorce #the screwtape letters #out of the silent planet #perelandra #that hideous strength

[momentsbeforemass]

The Enemy

I got a great question after Sunday’s homily (Monday’s post).

“Why do you always say, ‘The Enemy?’ Why don’t you ever say, ‘the devil’ or ‘Satan?’”

There are two big reasons, the first is cultural. When you say “Satan” or “the devil,” our minds go off in so many different directions.

From cartoon figures with pitchforks and horns, to Halloween costumes, to music we don’t like, to teens wearing black clothes to annoy their parents, to Charles Baudelaire’s observation (quoted in The Usual Suspects) that,

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

All of which serves to distract us, to keep us from thinking about reality. Which is?

Jesus tells us, that the devil was a liar and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).

For some people, saying “The Enemy” helps them get a glimpse of reality past the distractions.

The other reason goes back to the desert fathers and mothers, early Christian monks and nuns living in the Egyptian desert in the 3rd and 4th centuries.

When you read their writings, they talk about the devil as a tempter – outside of themselves, leading them astray. Someone or something trying to come between them and God.

Like the junior devil, Wormwood, in C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.

But if you keep reading, you’ll find them moving fluidly from talking about that bent towards pride and separation as being “the other,” something outside – to talking about that bent towards pride and separation as being part of themselves, something inside.

With the same seriousness. Because both present the same dangers.

The desert fathers and mothers knew that we are just as capable of leading ourselves astray as any fallen angel.

In the immortal words of Walt Kelly, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

Today’s Readings

#The Enemy #Pride #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #Getting between you and God #Charles Baudelaire #Walt Kelly #The Usual Suspects #C.S. Lewis #The Screwtape Letters #Satan #The Devil #Desert Fathers and Mothers

[zeldastrife]

Starting the year with C.S. Lewis.

It’s so cool that he dedicated this book to Tolkien.

#c. s. lewis #the screwtape letters #reading #books books books #books and reading #books #christianity #christian writer #apologetics #epistolary

[flickeringflame216]

#THINKING ABOUT THIS #the screwtape letters

[pink-fiat003]

When you’re reading The Screwtape Letters and Screwtape talks fondly about a habit you have 🫢

#the screwtape letters #cs lewis #Christian #christianblr #bookblr

[chirhos]

Category is: CS Lewis quotes that run through my mind all night while I'm not sleeping

#cs lewis #all are from: #the great divorce #till we have faces #the screwtape letters #perelandra

[michaelmoonsbookshop]

#old #books #old bookshop #bibliophile #old books #antiquarian bookshop #michaelmoonsbookshop #vintage #whitehaven #c s lewis #the screwtape letters #findingnewhomesforoldbookssince1970

[zara2148]

I got my substacks mixed up so looking at the tagline of “Indulge in the peculiar clarity that Hell affords” had me thinking it was talking about the Dramatic IronyTM of going to Mina’s POV for the first time today and screaming at her that her boyfriend is in trouble, but to no avail. Honestly, Screwtape, going to have to bring your A-game to top the torment of being unable to help Good Friend Jonathan Harker.

#my dear wormwood #dracula daily #dracula #screwtape letters #the screwtape letters