Jimmy Robson - Outside Reading #2

Clive Staples Lewis was one of the most brilliant Christian thinkers of the twentieth century. The only thing that I do not like about Lewis is that his brilliance makes me read each paragraph at least twice, which means reading his works takes twice as long to read. This is a price I'm very much willing to pay to receive his insights on Christian theology. One of my personal favorite books by Lewis is The Screwtape Letters. The book is fascinating because it looks at Christianity through the lens of a demon attempting to defeat it. Often times, Christians are afraid to write or read anything involving the demonic, afraid that it would seem as though they condone it. However, I think this view is naive and frankly dangerous. As a Christian acknowledging the existence of God and other Christian doctrine, it is important to also acknowledge the existence of demons. I was very impressed to see that Lewis was willing to step outside the normal Christian comfort zone and address a scary reality. The book describes how the Enemy and his followers use temptations and unfortunate circumstances to lead people into sin. I was shocked to realize that many of the tactics the demons use in the book have been present in my life. For instance, in the book, Screwtape, the upper level demon, tells his nephew Wormwood that one of the best methods of leading people away from God is to lead them into a religious routine. I immediately remembered a time of my life in high school when my faith and relationship with God felt stagnant, as I fell into a pattern of going to church every Sunday and Youth Group every Wednesday, believing I had done enough to please God. In reality, I was not worshiping God, but rather filling in my schedule as I thought I should. This book taught me so much about how to fight off temptation and ensure that my relationship with God remains strong.