Week 6: Letters 23–26 — The Church, Spiritual Fashions, and 'Unselfishness'

1.In Letter 23, Screwtape celebrates the 'Church-hopper' — the Christian who has developed a critical eye for finding fault with every congregation and thus remains permanently detached from real, costly community. Does this portrait resonate with anything you've observed? What is the spiritual cost of approaching church as a consumer?

2.Screwtape notes with delight that hell has successfully introduced the concept of the 'Spiritual' as a category distinct from and superior to the 'ordinary' — so that Christians neglect everyday duties in pursuit of dramatic religious experience. How does this split between the 'spiritual' and the 'ordinary' appear in contemporary Christian life?

3.In Letter 25, Screwtape introduces the concept of using historical change and 'the stream of tendency' to keep Christians perpetually anxious about whether their faith is keeping up with the times. He wants them to ask 'what is Christianity doing for democracy?' rather than 'what is God like and what does He demand of me?' What is the difference between these two orientations, and why does it matter?