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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Reconstruct the argument of Screwtape's twenty-ninth letter to Wormwood in sequence — the policy choice among cowardice, courage, and hatred; the concession that the devils cannot manufacture virtue and must use what is 'supplied by the Enemy'; the conversion of fear into hatred; the warning that inducing cowardice risks 'self-knowledge and self-loathing with consequent repentance and humility'; the claim that courage is 'the form of every virtue at the testing point'; and the closing tactic of leaving the will 'honeycombed' with reservations. Then state the single corruption you take to organize the letter, and weigh why courage is the hinge on which the whole strategy turns.
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape distinguishes 'the emotion of fear,' which is 'in itself, no sin,' from 'the act of cowardice,' which 'is all that matters.' Is the moral life rightly judged by what we feel under pressure or only by what we will and do, and what account of responsibility does his distinction assume? Use his words to Wormwood, and explain why your reading is stronger.
- Screwtape calls courage 'the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality,' adding that 'Pilate was merciful till it became risky.' Is courage best understood as one virtue among many or as the condition under which any virtue becomes real, and why? Weigh both using his words to Wormwood, then answer the strongest objection to your verdict.
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Critical Thinking
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