Reading Guide for “The Screwtape Letters”
Our hope is that each of our podcast episodes will encourage you to read and discuss the books we cover in your communities and circles of influence. We will come up with a reading guide for each book we talk about in order to foster discussions amongst you and your friends. So, we encourage you to read the book in the episode and to use the questions below to talk about it with another friend or a group of friends! You can listen to Episode 4: “Spiritual Warfare and ‘The Screwtape Letters’ by C.S. Lewis” here.
What did you think about Lewis’ writing style in The Screwtape Letters?
Do you think spiritual warfare still exists today? Why or why not?
What do you make of this quote by C.S. Lewis?: : “Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part...Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing…”
What do you think about the idea of pleasure Lewis presents in the book?
One theme that is brought up repeatedly in The Screwtape Letters is time. What can we learn about time from the issues brought up in this book?
Another theme that stands out is Lewis’ commentary on what, in our day today, we might call “church hopping” or “dating the church.” He writes, “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 connoisseur of churches.” What do you think about his portrayal of “church hopping?” What is harmful about this way of viewing church?
Lewis also frequently brings up death. How should this book affect the way we think about mortality and death?
What else stood out to you in your reading of The Screwtape Letters?