Riddles

1. Shield

• I think the answer is a shield. The writer says things like "wounded by steel," "sated with battle deeds," "Often I see war," "In fortress cities the forged swords strike," "Bite into me there," "For me the scars of sword wounds only sink deeper," these all brought to my mind the image of a shield.

2. Bookworm

• I found this riddle to be harder to understand than the previous one. However, I think the answer is a bookworm. The writer says things like "A moth devoured words," "That the worm devoured a certain man's song," "the thief in the darkness ate a glorious speech," "that he swallowed those words," all of these phrases have something to do with eating. A moth is mentioned in the beginning of the riddle; moths sometimes eat paper which relates the the writer's use of "words" in the first line. A bookworm can be defined as someone who really loves reading but it can also be defined as the larva of a certain type of beetle that feeds off of paper and glue in books. This description of a bookworm fits in perfectly with the riddle.

3. Tree

• This riddle was also a little hard to understand. I think the answer to this riddle is a tree. "My breast is inflated, my neck as well" could relate to the size of a tree in diameter and length. The writer mentions "eyes and ears and just one foot," old myths could have said that trees in the forest can see and hear things, "just one foot" could be referring to the stump of a tree. The part that talks about "two sides, with a pole in the middle," could be referencing a type of house. In the next line it also says "I dwell aloft over men" which also contributes to the previous sentence. "When he who stirs the forest moves me, I suffer distress" could be talking about when a human cuts down trees to make a house the trees suffer distress from being cut down. Trees "stand alone as rain-streams beat on me, sharp hail pounds, hoar-frost covers, and snow falls upon all." Through all these natural things a tree still stands high and says "nothing."

4. Iceberg

• This riddle was also kind of difficult to understand. At first I thought it was talking about a battleship with a canon, but then lines 9-12 did not make sense with that. I think that the answer to this riddle is an iceberg. An iceberg can look beautiful floating on the water, however it can also be very deadly. The edges of an iceberg are sharp and men who would travel in ships back then probably feared icebergs. Icebergs do not move fast but they are a bitter foe to anyone who faces them on the water. They can "break ship hulls in crushing destruction." Lines 9-12 I think relate to snow and how it is kind of the mother of an iceberg. Snow is "known to all nations as on earth she falls, standing beloved in everything by all lands."

Caedmon's Hymn

At this moment we will admire the one who watches over the kingdom of heaven,
God's power and the thoughts of His mind,
The Great Father's work - how the Everlasting Ruler,
The Divine Creator, who created the beginning of everything.
For those sons of men He made the sky as their roof;
Then the Everlasting Lord, He who protects and takes care of all people,
Created the earth we live on as a place for humans to live -
He, the all-powerful God, did all this for mankind.

Chapters 26-28 Questions

1. How does "prosperity knit a man to the world" (Lewis, 155)?

• I think that by "prosperity knit a man to the world," Screwtape is talking about the fact that as people get older and if they become successful with age, they feel more connected to the world. Prosperity in the world causes people to enjoy being involved with things in the world. Screwtape says that people feel that they are finding their place in the world, when in reality the world is finding it's place in them. As someone becomes successful in life over the years and they gain more influence, money, and a higher position, they begin to feel at home in the world. Like the world is the place they are most comfortable in. If someone is successful in life, they probably don't want to give up anything that has come with their success. 

2. What do you think of the following? "...death as the prime evil and survival as the greatest good..."

• I think that to the demons, they believe that death is the worst thing that could happen to their patient, while survival is the best thing. Death would be detrimental to a demon's efforts if their human had recently converted to Christianity. A demon would want their human to live so that they can tempt them as they grow old. If a demon's human died and they had converted to Christianity, that demon would have "lost" his human to the Enemy. Survival is considered the greatest good to a demon because as long as a demon's human is alive, there is always hope to bring him away from the "Enemy" and to the "Father." When a human is alive and not afraid of death (i.e., not sick, there is no war going on, etc.) the human often becomes complacent toward the idea of dying. This type of thinking causes people to think that they can do whatever they want because there will always be tomorrow, however tomorrow is not promised for everyone.

Chapters 23-25 Questions

1. "...they must experience change" (Lewis, 136). Check out page 82 (eText link) and give me your thoughts

• I think the quote "they must experience change" means that because we "live in time, and experience reality successively" we are made to adapt to all sorts of change. However, God created humans to not only want to experience change in their lives but to have a love of permanency in certain situations. Screwtape calls this balance of change and permanence Rhythm. I think that as humans we have been made to seek after change, new things, and a sense of variety in life; but at the same time we have been made to want a sense of permanence in our lives, a constant. The example Screwtape uses of the seasons said that each season is different from another but every year they are the same. It encompasses that concept of Rhythm mentioned earlier. I think that everyone has that desire for change and desire for something new and different while at the same time wanting to have a constant in their lives that will always be there. God does not want us to be fully focused on having change in our lives, nor does he want everything in our lives to be the same. Having a balance of both change and permanence is very important. We should be aware that we don't fall too far towards one side of the spectrum.

Chapters 21-22 Questions

1. "The more claims on life, therefore, that your patient can be induced to make, the more often he will feel injured..." What does this mean? What does this mean to you?

• I think this means that the more Wormwood's patient makes claims on life, such as the time example given in the letter, the more he will feel hurt or angry when those claims have been taken from him. In the time example, if we were to think of time as our own, in that we own the time we have every day and are in control of it, we would become hurt if some other obligation caused us to "lose" time that we thought we had. The expression "waste of my time" relates to this too. So the more of these claims on life that Wormwood's patient makes, the more he will feel injured and this will lead to bitterness or anger. To me this also relates to time, because I noticed as I was reading this that I do think of time as my own and most of the time I do become irritable when it is "taken" from me. Time however, is not my own, I have no control over it. Time is God's, and it is a gift he provides for me everyday.

Chapters 19-20 Questions

1. Do you think most people are "...haunted by at least two imaginary women - a terrestrial and an infernal Venus..." (women, switch genders for this statement). And does this apply to you personally?

• Screwtape refers to two types of women in this letter: the terrestrial and an infernal Venus. The terrestrial woman is described as "readily mixed with charity, readily obedient to marriage, coloured all through with that golden light of reverence and naturalness which we detest." The infernal Venus is described as "a type best used to draw him away from marriage altogether but which, even within marriage, he would tend to treat as a slave, an idol, or an accomplice." This type of woman is also said to be best as a prostitute or mistress but can be used to Wormwood's advantage as a wife. I think that most people are haunted by these two types of characters in the opposite sex. A woman who is a Christian and knows Biblical truths should be knowledgeable of what type of spouse she should be seeking in her life. However, women (even Christian women) are often tempted by good looks, a suave personality, and a "sexy" demeanor. What we see on television and watch in the movie theater greatly influences how we expect men to look and act like. Girls who are obsessed with romance movies often have a very distorted view of what their "perfect guy" should look and act like. I think this applies to me personally in some ways because I know what I should be looking for in someone that I am considering spending the rest of my life with. I want to live with someone who is a "terrestrial" and is well-grounded in Biblical principles and can be an encouragement to me. I don't think I'm haunted by an "infernal Venus" because I'm already interested in someone. That person is a really good influence on me, and he is always guiding me to live for God. So I would say that he is definitely a "terrestrial" and not an "infernal Venus." 

2. How is the World "...making the role of the eye in sexuality more and more important and at the same time making its demands more and more impossible"?

• I think the World is doing this through television, movies, and music specifically. All three of these pop culture media outlets can be easily reached by most people in the world. Many television shows today are focused on outward appearances and things other than what is really important in life. Young girls on television shows are made to look older than they are by the way the dress and the makeup they wear. Most women on television strive to be seen as the epitome of sexiness; they act, look, and dress a certain way to attract a male audience. Even commercials that we see on television every day are geared toward the idea of a "perfect looking woman." A big example would be the Victoria's Secret commercials. Those are on all the time and we see them quite often. A lot of movies always have some "hot" or "sexy" girl to go along with the lead male character. There is a lot of sex in movies too, and the way women dress and the looks they give men also exude a feeling of attractiveness. Men are also used to look really good in movies. Romance movies make the lead male character seem to be so attractive. It causes people who watch those kinds of movies to think that they will also get a "prince charming" who looks and acts just like how the movie characters do. The motto: "sex sells," is seen all over the culture of modern man. Music is another avenue through which sex plays a huge part of. Vulgar and inappropriate references to women and sex are in all kinds of music. Most people just listen to a song because it's catchy or they like the tune but sometimes they never really listen to the lyrics and what the artist is trying to convey. Music videos are a huge part of the music industry too. There are tons of music videos out there with very inappropriate things focused on both men and women. With all these avenues through which we can view what the world thinks of sexuality, some people tend to create a fantasy idea of what the "perfect" man or woman should look like. It is probably impossible to find someone who matches all the criteria of the "perfect" man or woman. 

Chapters 17-18 Questions

1. "...insatiable demand for the exact, and almost impossible, palatal pleasures which she imagines she remembers from the past." Gone are the days "...when her sense were more easily pleased and she had pleasures of other kinds which made her less dependent on those of the table." What does this mean?

• I think this means that the mother has a certain memory of food in which she finds pleasure from the past and she is constantly trying to regain that same feeling. She demands for her food to be prepared exactly how it had been years before and to give her the same pleasure she enjoyed from eating it in the past. However, the days that she is trying to remember were days when she was not so precise about her food and she had other things in her life that were giving her pleasure. Those previous things in life that gave her pleasure kept her from being so picky about her food and made her less dependent on finding joy from "the table." 

2. Why would God want "complete abstinence or unmitigated monogamy" for us?

• "Complete abstinence or unmitigated monogamy" are both good according to what the Bible says. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 says "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor." God wants us to be in control of our bodies. If we can control our sinful desires and the lusts of our flesh then we are either in "complete abstinence or unmitigated monogamy." Complete abstinence would be to not engage in sexual activities at all. Unmitigated monogamy would mean to be in a complete relationship with one spouse. Hebrews 13:4 says "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous." God would either want us to fully abstain from any sexual conduct or to be married and stay completely committed to one person. God created sex for humans to enjoy, but He created it to be used in the proper way. 

Chapters 15-16 Questions

1. What does it mean to have "...nearly all vices are rooted in the future?"

• To have "nearly all vices rooted in the future" means that all one's thoughts are placed in the future. A person can never truly live in the present if they are placing all their concentration in future things that have not yet happened. Screwtape gives examples of Creative Evolution, Scientific Humanism, and Communism that are all things humans fixated in the future spend their time thinking about. Many people today spend their whole lives thinking on the previous three examples and they are not truly living in the present. A vice is a wicked or immoral practice or habit taken up by someone. To have "nearly all vices rooted in the future" means that wicked and bad things all come from placing one's thoughts on the future things to come.

2. Describe your ideal church

• My ideal church would be one where believers from all backgrounds can come together in harmony to praise and worship God. A church with a pastor who has a good grasp on scripture and is able to interpret and share confusing passages with church members, and help them understand God's word much better than they would on their own. My ideal church would provide Sunday School for small children and teens who want to learn more about God in smaller group settings. The music would be a mix of hymns and more modern Christian music. People would wear nice clothes, not just jeans and a t-shirt to church. 

Chapters 13-14 Questions

1. Wormwood says that he will "...eradicate from my patient any strong personal taste which is not actually a sin, even if it is something quite trivial such as a fondness for country cricket or collecting stamps or drinking cocoa." What strong personal tastes do you have, even if they seem to be trivial?

• One of my strong personal tastes would be drinking coffee. I love drinking coffee and I usually drink a cup of coffee every morning. My family owns a keurig coffee maker and it's super easy to put in the k-cup and make coffee. My favorite type of coffee is kona coffee or any dark roast from Starbucks. I have to drink my coffee black, I don't think it tastes good with cream and sugar. Another strong personal taste I have is a love for my society, the Monkeys. I love everything about my society and I even bought bright orange shoes because the Monkeys' color is orange. I also have an orange planner because it is the same shade of orange as my shoes are.

2. "...to be so free from any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor's talents." How can you see this applied in your own life? Give specific examples.

• I can see this applied to my life specifically through school work and other school-related things like college applications or SAT scores. If I can be "free from any bias in his own favour" then if someone gets a better test score than me or gets a better grade on a project than I do, I can rejoice with them and congratulate them on their good work. I don't have to be bitter because someone else did better than I did. This can also apply to society too. If we're playing society football and the Monkeys lose but another society wins I can congratulate them on a good game instead of being angry and bitter because my society didn't win. In relation to SAT scores I shouldn't brag about my score to others or get a little bitter if someone else got a higher score than I did. I should be rejoicing with someone who got a high score or be there for someone who got a low score and is feeling sad about it. When college acceptance letters come back to all the seniors I need to be rejoicing with those who got into the college of their choice even if I didn't get into the same college or I can't afford to go to that college. 

Chapters 11-12 Questions

1. What is the "safest road to Hell"? Do you agree or disagree?

• According to Screwtape, the "safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." I agree with this because if you just do the "small things" those are more likely to go unnoticed by you and those around you who are Christians. If you don't realize the "small sins" that you are doing, you will never be able to correct them. Many small sins can add up to being something very dangerous. A person could potentially go through life thinking that they will be "okay" after they die but instead they will end up in Hell. "Bigger sins" are far more noticeable and usually cause other people to tell the person what they are doing wrong. If someone keeps their sins "low-key" then they won't be noticeable things but they are still very dangerous things. "Low-key" sins keep a person from realizing what they are doing wrong and prevent them from making future corrections to their sins. 

2. What is the role of "nothing" and "small sins"? What does that mean for you?

• I would say that the role of "nothing" is the absence of doing something productive or doing something that is a complete waste of time and energy. Doing "nothing" is spending time doing things of little or no interest for the rest/majority of one's life. People who do "nothing" their entire life get to the end realizing that they have wasted years spending time doing things that are completely unappealing to them, or things that they don't even remember. People who do "nothing" lack ambition and a will to do productive things. They become lazy and apathetic to everything in life and some even get to a point where they are too lazy to change their apathetic ways. I would say that "small sins" are forgetting to do the most basic tasks in growing in a relationship with God. Putting off reading the Bible, talking or praying to God, and worshiping Him are all "small sins." However, just because they are "small sins" does not mean they do not add up. Screwtape said "...the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing." The intensity of the sin does not matter, the only thing that matters is the separation of a person from God. If you're not growing in your relationship with God then you're relationship is stagnant and weakening. For me this means that I need to be growing in my relationship with God every day. I can't put off doing devotions or praying to Him or worshiping Him every day. I also can't let my mind and body get into a state of "nothingness." This would cause me to become lazy in everything I do, especially in my walk with God. After reading this I also think that I should try to encourage others around me to get out of their state of "nothing" (if they are in one), and to start or keep up with their Bible devotions and talking to God on a daily basis.