Doctrines of Demons, from C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters – Part 3

The following points are from notes I took while reading C. S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters. The book is a compilation of thirty-one letters from a demon named Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood. In it Screwtape gives instructions to his nephew on how to seduce and take down certain humans, mostly new Christians. I think it is an excellent manual on the doctrine of demons (but of course, it is according to one human’s perspective, C. S. Lewis; hence, we can’t be sure it is perfectly accurate).  The following points are ways the demons will draw a person over to the evil path.

• They (the demons) make it their business to get us away from the eternal present and into the past or the future; both of which will cause us anxiety.
• (p. 72) They say that if a human can’t be cured of church going, send him to other churches more lacking in faith and that are more party churches. The more lukewarm he is the better.
• On gluttony. They desire that the belly dominate the whole life of the human.
• In gluttony, they say that excess of food is less powerful than wanting (lusting after) certain tastes of food. They say that this is a good preparation for attacks on chastity.
• They feed us the lie that “being in love” is the only ground for marriage and if lost the marriage will no longer be binding.
• They will try to persuade a Christian to marry someone who will be difficult.
• They may try to persuade a single human that chastity is unhealthy; and they will try to use unchastity to land a desirable marriage.
• (p. 93) They will try to direct men to more desirable (sexual) woman.
• They will prepare the human for sexual temptation by darkening his intellect (fill it with deceptions).
• They will fill the human with ideas that “my time is my own.” And when anyone invades his time he is angered.
• They fill men’s beliefs with false ideas that they “own” their bodies.
• (p. 101) They are revulsed at the pleasures that God gives His own, especially young couples in love.
• (p. 107) They want believers to treat Jesus only as a great man, but not someone who is divine. This will destroy their devotional life.
• (p. 110) They will continue to haunt a good person until they find a chink in their armor—to create in them pride or bitterness or lust.
• (p. 115) They want a Christian to be of a mind of “Christian and.” That is, to add something to their faith, like psychology, or faith healing, or vegetarianism, etc.
• Instead of asking the question: “Is it righteous, or is it prudent?” they would rather we ask, “Is it in accordance with the general movement of our time?” As a result, they have a better chance to bend our thoughts to what they want for us.