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The screwtape letters

The man. The myth.

re: The screwtape letters

Postby VixenMage » July 7th, 2006, 6:30 pm

...that has to be the best commentary of that book I've ever read.

Thank you sooo much for the link!
"The only thing I know for certain is that I know nothing for certain."
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby Sven » July 7th, 2006, 8:59 pm

Split and moved the question about signatures to the Support forum.
Rat! he found breath to whisper, shaking. Are you afraid?
Afraid? murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love.
Afraid! Of Him? O, never, never! And yet -- and yet -- O, Mole, I am afraid!
Then the two animals, crouching to the earth, bowed their heads and did worship.
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby Guinea-Pig » July 7th, 2006, 10:48 pm

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re: The screwtape letters

Postby rusmeister » July 9th, 2006, 9:34 am

Absolutely do NOT read the Screwtape Letters!

That might get you thinking about Truth!

You want to think only about here and now, trust me! Life is about having a good time! Not in reading books that positively encourage you to think!

And if you do pick it up, never, NEVER, ask yourself whether any of these ideas are TRUE!

And if they ARE true, DON'T take any action. Just try to forget it quickly.

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Wormwood
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Re: re: The screwtape letters

Postby Theo » July 9th, 2006, 8:03 pm

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“First they came for Abdul Rahman and I spoke out because I was a Muslim. Then they came for the Palestinians and I raised hell because I was a Jew. Then they came for the Iraqis and I protested because I was an American. Then they came for the Muslims and I spoke out because I was a Christian, Then they came for the poor and I spoke out because I was rich. By the time they came for me, I had all the support a man could ask for.”
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby rusmeister » July 10th, 2006, 2:51 am

I like what Chesterton said about the concept "old-fashioned"vs. progress.

"My attitude toward progress has passed from antagonism to boredom. I have long ceased to argue with people who prefer Thursday to Wednesday because it is Thursday."

To say those ideas are old-fashioned is to imply that they are somehow no longer relevant.
("...just don't think of them as true or false..."
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby Theo » July 10th, 2006, 7:39 am

I thought it would be perfectly obvious from my post that I was not using "old-fashioned" as a judgement of merit but simply descriptively. The book is written using a device that was more common in religious and political polemical literature in previous centuries - the instance I recall most readily is 1864 Dialogue in hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu, a satire aimed at Napoleon III which was later plagiarized as the blueprint for the infamous Protocol of the Elders of Zion; the Dialogue uses a similar device.
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“First they came for Abdul Rahman and I spoke out because I was a Muslim. Then they came for the Palestinians and I raised hell because I was a Jew. Then they came for the Iraqis and I protested because I was an American. Then they came for the Muslims and I spoke out because I was a Christian, Then they came for the poor and I spoke out because I was rich. By the time they came for me, I had all the support a man could ask for.”
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby rusmeister » July 10th, 2006, 8:51 am

Fair enough, and thanks for the clarification!
(Wish they had a "bow" emoticon, like in Christian Forums.)
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby Robyn » July 13th, 2006, 9:58 am

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re: The screwtape letters

Postby The Bigsleep J » July 13th, 2006, 10:38 am

Insert supposedly witty but random absurd comment here and add water
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby Robyn » July 13th, 2006, 11:01 am

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Re: re: The screwtape letters

Postby davidjuniorthefirst » July 26th, 2006, 3:35 pm

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Re: re: The screwtape letters

Postby rusmeister » July 26th, 2006, 6:58 pm

[quote="davidjuniorthefirst"]

I read out of the silent planet, but I didnt understand it. But The Chronicles of Narnia rocked my sox.

quote]

Lewis's Space Trilogy is more philosophical than most. Try returning to it in a couple of years, or read commentary on it first. Understanding Weston's monologue and Ransom's translation of it requires having had significant exposure to the bogus humanistic ideas Weston spouts, for example. I still find Perelandra almost boring, although I get it now, but That Hideous Strength is a real blast!
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby David » July 27th, 2006, 12:55 am

The first time I read The Screwtape Letters I found the sense of evil in it was oppressive. Screwtape is so evil and you can sense it in his words and attitudes. Lewis himself says he was bothered by the same thing when he wrote it.

Yet . . . as Hamlet says to the actors, The purpose of playing [and of literature in general] was and always has been to hold up the mirror to nature: to show evil and good for what they really are (my paraphrase). Lewis does that very well in Screwtape. Looking evil right in the face is not very pleasant but it is instructive.
The way, the weather, the terrain, the discipline, the leadership. --Sun Tzu
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re: The screwtape letters

Postby friendofaslan » July 28th, 2006, 1:43 pm

:toothy-grin: Screwtape Letters is by far one of my favorite Lewis books. It was what turned me on to him when I was in college. Now, I am a college teacher and try to introduce my students to Lewis in every class. I use Screwtape Letters in World Literature, and we see how it compares to Dante's Inferno. It is creative and quite, quite profound. Every time I read it, it hits me differently. It is awesome and powerful!!!!!! There's nothing like it. Go ahead and check it out! But fasten your seatbelt, and don't go too fast. You may have to stop and think about just one sentence a while before you can go forward.
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