Screwtape XIII-XVII

Ch. XIII: “Let him do anything but act” (67). Screwtape encourages his nephew to not let his Patient do any actions to fuel his faith and repentance. As long as there is no action, he would only feel the joy of his new faith and eventually this feeling would die away. Actions in the faith is what helps a Christian grow in Christ, and without them, Christians become distant from God and it loses meaning.

Ch. XIV: “Pride at his own humility” (69). Screwtape points out that Wormwood’s Patient is becoming humble. He encourages Wormwood to take advantage of the Patient’s humility to turn him against his faith. Screwtape suggests using the power of pride. The patient would see that he is being humble and be proud of his good works. However, he would eventually see his pride in his works and try to correct this. When he tries to correct his pride of his humility, add pride in him for his efforts. Screwtape is suggesting a constant cycle of pride to pull the Patient away from God. This is using the aphorism of “pride goes before a fall.” However, Screwtape warns that the Patient could see through the tricks and turn his back on Wormwood.

Ch. XV:  “Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead” (76). Screwtape believes that the future is the greatest point of time to use against a person. The past has already been lived and looking back on it could open new thoughts and a desire for answers. The present is where we live now and like the past, new thoughts and desires could emerge. However, we can’t tell what would happen in the future. The devils could fill the mind with fear of an unpleasant and dark future. The anxiety of not knowing the future causes one to focus on himself more in the present and making it difficult for him to see God in his life.

Ch. XVI: “…the search for a ‘suitable’ church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil” (81-82). A churches purpose is to worship God and to teach about His ways. With this, Screwtape fears that the Patient would go closer to God. However, Screwtape encourages his nephew to send the Patient off for church hunting. The two nearest churches have different forms of worship and teachings. While visiting different churches, Screwtape hopes for the Patient to become a critic and show signs of hatred toward the many different teachings.

Ch. XVII:  “… ‘All-I-want’ state of mind” (88). Screwtape tells his nephew about his Patient’s mother and her desires for properly made food. Another devil has influenced the woman to have her belly control her life. Every food has to be properly made to her liking. However, this is impossible, because there is always disappointment in the world. This disappointment causes distance between people and thus isolating the person due to their greed.