The topic that will be discussed in this essay is a difficult one to think through. The book, Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, is an epistolary novel that focuses on a series of letters that a demon sent to his nephew. His nephew was a young demon who had a “patient.” In this fictional world, a patient is a human that a demon is assigned to, in order to keep the human from learning the ways of Christ. The nephew, Wormwood, had a little dilemma. His patient became a Christian. Screwtape, the author of the letters, was trying to help get the patient away from God by sending advice in his letters. This book is very helpful in seeing how Satan pulls us away from our faith. The book shows the manipulation that Satan uses, the character flaws that Satan exploits, and the overall hatred that fills Satan and all of his followers. …show more content…
This book points out how thoughts, behavior, and even some of the people that are surrounding Christians can be inherently damaging to the Christian walk. The letters often speak about how Wormwood would talk to his “patient’ and make him think that his words were the patient’s own thoughts and beliefs. The book also pointed out how Satan can use the people around a Christian in order to manipulate their behavior towards others, most of the time damaging other relationships in the process. The second reason that was mentioned was that the book points out that Satan exploits a Christian’s character flaws for his own benefit. It has been said many times in the bible that humans are wicked and evil without salvation. So, Satan uses that as a way to pull Christians away from their walk. Previous traits and evil tendencies can also be used in order to put space between a Christian and his
Life is unpredictable, and through trial and error humanity learns how to respond to conflicts and learns how to benefit from mistakes. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a character who changes and gains knowledge from the trials he faces, but first he has to go through physical, spiritual, and emotional agony. In the midst of all the havoc, the young theologian is contaminated with evil but fortunately his character develops from fragile to powerful, and the transformation Dimmesdale undergoes contributes to the plot’s climax.
The Screwtape letters is from the perspective of demons. The screwtape letters is put together by 31 letters from a devil named Scretape. In the letters, Screwtape gives his nephew advice as he tries to get the soul of a human being, which they call the patient. In the beginning of the book, the patient has just be converted to Christianity. All through the book,Screwtape is trying to help Wormwood lead the patient away from God.
The Screwtape Letters is one of the most popular works of prominent Christian writer C.S. Lewis. It documents the letters sent from the demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood regarding the damnation of an English gentleman living just before and during World War II. This novel is considered by many to be one of the best works by Lewis, but whether it is really worth the hype surrounding it is more subjective. Regardless of if it’s that good, however, it’s still a very interesting read and a fascinating glimpse into 1940s Britain and the moral dilemmas that were faced by good Christian people at the time.
David Entwistle’s (2010) is the author of the Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity. In the book Entwistle embarks on a journey to explore Psychology and Christianity. As the title suggests several approaches that are used to define the relationship of Phycology and Christianity. In the book Entwistle begins to takes us on shows that psychology and Christianity go in two different directions and meet up someplace in the middle. This allows them to provide different approaches to understanding and studying the human behavior. Entwistle, (2010) took a new approach that has rarely been used in other books that discussed the topic of integration. Entwistle, (2010) began to talk about the relationship of psychology and Christianity
In the Screwtape Tape Letters, Wormwood was the main character. He has graduated from devil Temptation College and is ready to begin his first assignment. Wormwood is given the task to distract his patient who has just been converted over into Christian lifestyle. With the help from his uncle Screwtape, they begin the process of conversion. Screwtape attempts to help wormwood stir his patient away from heaven. By giving Wormwood several suggestions first suggestion was to enter the patient's mind. Secondly, Wormwood was to influence and take him down the wrong path. Wormwood had several personality traits: such as destructive, dependent, and devious. He is constantly trying to get the patient off the right track for example, in letter number
In 1741, Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan preacher of that time, had one thing on his mind: to convert sinners, on the road to hell, to salvation. It just so happened to be, that his way of doing that was to preach the reality to them and scare them to the point of conversion. Sermons of this time were preached to persuade people to be converted and to me it seemed that Edwards just had a special way of doing it. Just as people are being influenced by rhetoric appeals today Edwards used the same method on his congregation. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathan Edwards positively affected his readers using pathos, logos, and ethos, while trying to convince the unconverted members of his sermon to be born again.
The allusion of Jim Casy as Jesus Christ serves the purpose of the novel, which is to encourage society to become self-reliant, rather than relying on a religion for guidance and solutions. The author emphasizes the true capabilities of each individual in destroying the corrupted aspects of society. Jesus Christ was a preacher, encouraging people to follow the religion, while Casy became an advocate for the reliance on humanity. Both of them remained passionate two opposing beliefs, yet their actions remain similar. This correlation supports the concept of self-reliance. Individuals have the capabilities of solving their own issue, and demolishing the corrupted structure in society, instead of asking for such solutions and answers. In fact, it is this reliance in God that prevents an end for the problems in humanity.
Milton makes Satan out to be a loveable likeable character that we can relate to, for a man of principle and a godly man why does he do this “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”Revelation 1: 8 in the King James Version John Milton’s Paradise lost is a poetic amalgam of vice and virtue it is an epic navigates the perils of right, wrong and the grey area that humans themselvesstraddle. An epic inherently conflicted at its very core stemming from the writer and the environment around him. He delves into the evil that is orchestrated by Satan and the divine directly by god himself. Milton delves deeply into Adam and Eve and the exodus from Eden, he creates a character within Satan that is so narcissistic so irreverent and so immoral all the while without malism andnot sadistic in its truest form. A character whose sole transgression Is a belief system that goes against his creator a belief that he is not good or evil but pursuing his own capital vices in reality transferring his unto the moderately innocent Eve and by extension Adam. “Th’ infernal Serpent. He it was whose guile stirred up with envy and revenge deceived the mother of mankind, what time his pride had cast him out from heav’n with all his host of rebel angels, by whose aid aspiring to set himself in glory ‘bove his peers he trusted to have equaled the most high if he opposed and with amnitious aim against the throne and monarchy of god” PG4 34 Although Satan is the archetype of evil he is convoluted if not at the very least vocally conflicted about his place within the kingdom of heaven and the role that god has upon Satan. Satan is internally conflicted, he finds himself not subservient to god, he revels in his own narcissism he finds pleasure in carnal de...
Some of the motivations of Satan in this epic poem come from his loss of power and punishment by God. These motivations can be seen as both evil and heroic, especially depending on perspective. One of his motivations that can be seen as extremely dangerous would be that of keeping Satan’s pride intact. Because of this motivation, he caused the corruption of mankind. A motivation that is seen as less dangerous and evil and more heroic is that of creating a good situation out of a bad one. To always have a decent outlook on issues is something that is very important to all epic heroes, because without this characteristic, they could never be seen as a hero. All of Satan’s motivations keep this epic poem by John Milton very strong and allow Milton to gain his goal of being one of the
One of the most challenging ideas of The turn of the screw is if the ghosts are real or purely the governess’s imagination. As haunting as the ghosts appear, the real fear is what society feared. Each one of the relationships between the characters indicates the violation of social class and hidden sexuality. With examples of pedophilia activity, relationships developing between people on different social classes, and children corrupted to adultery the narrative focuses on the dark themes. The inequality of social classes is emphasized through the characters’
Knowing Christ 's character traits help us chose correctly. By looking at the fruits of the spirit as the 9 qualities that we all should show to be like Christ, helps us make the right choices in life. God develops and ripens these fruits by allowing us to experience temptations where we are faced with either growing more loving, patient, full of joy, grace, knowledge, self-control, etc, or by growing in the opposite direction. Life is a choice and God uses circumstances to teach us what He needs us to learn. Joy is based on our relationship to God and is not to be equated with happiness which is based on circumstances. The fruits of the spirit are developed in us as we become closer to Christ. Chaos and Peace, lies and truth, irritation and patience, are all opposites and signs we are either growing closer or further from our Master’s desire for us. Satan is predictable, he wishes to trip us up and use our weaknesses. First, he uses a specific pattern to do this in our lives, and one needs to be able to recognize it. He finds a desire inside of us, he suggest with a thought that we should pursue it, it starts in the mind and moves into the heart. Satan then will try to get us to doubt God’s word and plan for us. Next, Satan will lie to us to get us to believe that it will be okay and tries to convince us that there is no real consequence. Lastly, the temptation leads us into disobedience and traps us in the sin. To overcome temptation one needs to refuse to become intimidated in the first place. Understanding that we will never outgrow temptation helps us learn it is a process to become strong against Satan. Temptation from Satan is actually to be seen as a compliment because it is a sign that Satan hates those who are followers of Christ, is fearful of those trying to make a difference for Christ, and is
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Minister's Black Veil A Parable." Kinsella, Kate. Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 2002. 336-348. Print.
In our own Christian struggles, people tend to believe that it is simple as good evil. People don't realize however that in this fight, the Devil can infiltrate a seemingly normal, Christian Human Being, but it's true. Better yet, in our own walk with God the Devil lurks near to test what might look like a strong relationship with Christ. As shown in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," even a grounded, sincere Christian can have his or her faith tested.
As the reader reads of the horror of hell and Satan's struggle, the reader almost becomes sucked in like one of his minions. Milton portrays Satan's position as a sad state that is blamed on everyone else but himself, when in reality that's exactly whose fault it is, Satan's.
All temptations give people a chance not to be suffered but to be better. When growing through temptation it gives us the rights to choose the good from the bad, but to know this, we have to understand the characters of Jesus and developed them in our lives and that was the fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we applied His characters, love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, self control and faithfulness we would make right choices every time whenever we have come across temptations (warren, 2002, p.130). (Mayhew, 2000, p. 131)Satan came to Jesus in the open wide desert and tempts Him and said, ‘Jesus you have come to this earth to stay as a normal human, but there is an easy way to satisfy your basic human needs.’ Satan‘s tactics are still the same when tempting us. He may te...