The Screwtape Letters, Session 7: Choosing Love Over the Ego’s Scraps

In this fragmented world, a universal religion is impossible, but I think a universal experience of God is possible.

This week, in Letter 23, Lewis mentions Jesus for the only time in The Screwtape Letters. I could ignore the mention since, for some, the name is controversial, or I can try to add a bit of value to your reading. I’ll ask for your indulgence as I try my best to do the latter.

When we think of Jesus, many of us immediately think of Jesus Christ. That is natural, but it can also make the word Christ feel narrower than Lewis’s larger concern: how easily the ego shrinks transcendent reality into a usable image.

Richard Rohr is an American Franciscan priest who has written multiple books. In The Universal Christ, Rohr points to the universality of the word Christ as he asks,