The Screwtape Letters: Coming to the Big Screen

Is there an unseen world where demons and angels battle for the souls of humanity?  I think so.  So did C.S. Lewis.  His classic tale of how the demonic hierarchy of hell battled for one man's soul is finally coming to the big screen...

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The Screwtape Letters

Dan Brown recently wrote a bestseller titled Demons and Angels but the contents didn't really have much to do with the title.  Had C.S. Lewis's 1942 classic The Screwtape Letters been given another name, it could have easily been the one Brown chose.

In Screwtape we have the exchange of letters between two demons: Wormwood and Screwtape.  Wormwood is assigned to a particular individual with the task of ensuring that he remains unsaved by rejecting Jesus Christ.  Screwtape is Wormwood's immediate superior and acts as a mentor of sorts to his "protege."  Yes, there are org charts in hell.  The idea of hierarchies among demonic ranks should come as no surprise to the Christian, since the Bible talks about powers, principalties, forces of darkness, and the like.  In one place in the Bible (Dan 10:13), we are told that a prayer from Daniel resulted in an angel being dispatched to help him, but the angel was delayed for 21 days because he was in a sort of stalemate with the "Prince of Persia" (a demonic power). Finally, the archangel Michael (one of heaven's most powerful angels), was sent to assist, freeing the messenger angel to complete his mission and answer Daniel's prayer.  Thus, just as there is a hierarchical arrangement of angels in heaven, so is there a hierarchical arrangement of demons in hell who rank in power and authority.  

I'm proud to say that one of my college buddies, Randy Argue (or J. Randall Argue as he goes by these days), is one of the producers of the movie.  Randy acquired a lease on the screenplay rights some years ago and has been waiting for the right time to turn it into a movie.  With the Hollywood success of The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, and an upcoming sequel, it looks like the time is right and plans are moving ahead.  This article in Variety Magazine gives some of the details. 

I read Screwtape when I was still in high school 30 years ago.  Might be time for me to re-read.  I won't give away the plot here, but it's a book that makes you think about the unseen forces that battle for our eternal souls and try to persuade us to choose for God or against Him. 

It made for a good book - one that has shown no signs of slowing down.  Indeed, the paperback edition by Harper has sold one million copies in the last six years alone.  Not bad for a book that is over 60 years old.

Here's hoping it makes for an equally good movie.