The Screwtape Letters: Confronting Evil in Our Time – Practical Christian Living & Spiritual Warfare

NEW Book "The Devil's Story of Christmas" on Amazon https://amzn.to/4r9xXPS

The episode marks the return of The Screwtape Letters Podcast after the summer break, with Ian and Michael continuing their Lenses series by examining emotional repression and spiritual numbness. They explore how numbness can appear to be maturity when it is actually a form of self-protection. Suppressing pain may feel safe, but it also suppresses joy, connection, and spiritual awareness. Both hosts emphasize that true Christian joy is deeper than temporary happiness—it comes from knowing Christ and being content in His presence regardless of circumstances.

A major theme is the connection between emotional health, relationships, and spiritual life. Ian and Michael discuss how childhood experiences can teach people to suppress emotions rather than process them, eventually leading to isolation and difficulty being vulnerable with others. They point to David as an example of someone who experienced the full breadth of human emotion while continually turning back toward God. Social media is also examined as a potential source of emotional and spiritual numbness, providing temporary dopamine hits and external validation rather than the lasting fulfillment that comes from God. The episode encourages listeners to honestly examine what they may be avoiding or numbing rather than allowing small problems to grow into larger spiritual strongholds.

The conversation ultimately challenges Christians to pursue a fully engaged, seven-day faith, rather than treating Christianity as something reserved for Sunday or church. Spiritual awareness means being present with God, present with other people, and willing to enter into their struggles, joys, and pain. The hosts encourage listeners to move beyond isolation and self-focus, build genuine brotherhood, examine their hearts, and recognize that ministry happens everywhere—in workplaces, families, friendships, and everyday conversations. The goal is not simply to avoid pain, but to endure it with Christ and rediscover the deeper joy and peace that come from knowing Him.

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After a summer break, Ian and Michael are returning with new episodes, including the completion of our popular Lenses series and a deeper exploration of Confronting Evil in Our Time. With more than 500 copies of the companion book sold, we’re excited to continue exploring the Christian wisdom needed to recognize and confront evil in our time.

We’ll also be expanding our journey through the great works that have shaped Christian thought, including C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce and Mere Christianity, along with John Milton’s Paradise Lost. And on September 8, Ian’s new book, The Devil’s Story of Christmas, arrives—a fictional journey through the Christmas story that explores prophecy, Christ’s birth, spiritual warfare, and the battle between Heaven and Hell.

We also had a difficult conversation about the Lindsay Clancy case and what it forces us to consider about the relationship between mothers and children. When does love become possession? When does protection cross the line into control? And how do we distinguish compassion for someone’s circumstances from accountability for their actions? These are uncomfortable questions, but they matter because our culture increasingly struggles to define the boundaries between love, responsibility, autonomy, and protection. Interestingly, these same themes appear in The Devil’s Story of Christmas, particularly in the “Killing of Innocents” chapter, where Ian explores the darker side of what can happen when love and control become dangerously intertwined.

At the heart of it all is a question we can’t ignore: How do we confront evil without surrendering our responsibility to choose what is right? Spiritual warfare is real, but so is human free will. The answer begins with Christian wisdom, Scripture, community, and the courage to face difficult questions. Subscribe and follow along—the podcast is coming back this fall.

If you’re tired of pretending everything is fine, this is the book you need. Confronting Evil in Our Time - Now on Amazon https://amzn.to/3XgCodL

In this special milestone episode of the Screwtape Letters podcast, host Ian explores C.S. Lewis’s nuanced perspective on patriotism, democracy, and freedom to mark America's 250th Independence Day. Drawing from Lewis’s Christian philosophy, the discussion centers on balancing a natural love for one’s homeland with the critical warning against political idolatry. While healthy patriotism fosters community and a willingness to sacrifice for one's neighbors, Ian notes that Lewis strongly cautioned against extreme nationalism. True patriotism, through a Lewisian lens, requires historical honesty, celebrating founding ideals while humbly acknowledging past systemic injustices rather than succumbing to historical amnesia.

The podcast deeper connects the American Declaration of Independence to objective moral law, highlighting Lewis’s belief that "unalienable rights" are inherently derived from a Creator God rather than mere social convention. Ian explains Lewis’s paradox of freedom: while political independence is worth celebrating, true spiritual freedom is found not in absolute self-will, but in surrender to God. Furthermore, Lewis viewed democracy not as a testament to human perfection, but as a necessary safeguard against mankind's fallen nature, protecting society from the unchecked tyranny of flawed leaders who might otherwise abuse total power.

Concluding on a reflective note, Ian imagines a casual July 4th barbecue with the Oxford scholar, envisioning conversations centered on home, community, and Christ. The episode serves as a call to celebrate national liberties with profound humility, recognizing that human rights ultimately stem from a divine source. Ian closes the broadcast by encouraging listeners to cherish time with family over the holiday weekend while lifting up prayers for individuals globally who are still yearning for true freedom from oppression.

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If you’re tired of pretending everything is fine, this is the book you need. Confronting Evil in Our Time - Now on Amazon https://amzn.to/3XgCodL

In this special listener feedback episode, Ian Faith reflects on the growth of Confronting Evil in Our Time and shares updates on the podcast's co-hosts, including Galen Balinski's exciting expansion into a historic winery and Michael Blueitt’s Montana cowboy adventures. Ian explains why prayer requests from listeners are taken seriously, emphasizing that prayer is an act of sincere faith submitted to God's will rather than a means of controlling outcomes. He encourages listeners to make prayer an everyday part of family, work, and community life, trusting that God often answers in ways greater than we could have imagined.

The episode also answers several listener questions about The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis, and the ministry behind the podcast. Ian reflects on his interview with renowned Lewis scholar Dr. Michael Ward, highlighting the importance of genuine conversation, careful listening, and understanding how small thoughts can shape habits and ultimately our spiritual lives. He also announces a new book, The Devil's Story of Christmas, scheduled for release this fall, while asking listeners to support the ministry by reviewing Confronting Evil in Our Time and helping its message reach more people through word of mouth rather than profit.

Finally, Ian responds to heartfelt letters from listeners who share their struggles and aspirations. He encourages aspiring Christian writers to use storytelling to communicate biblical truth, discusses the dangers of churches becoming exclusive or cliquish instead of welcoming, and reminds listeners that "the ground is level at the foot of the cross." The episode concludes with practical answers about podcast sponsorship, the Screwtape Letters stage production, and raising children in a culture that exposes them to mature influences too early. Above all, the message is one of gratitude, encouragement, and a renewed commitment to helping believers deepen their faith, discern spiritual warfare, and proclaim Christ with humility and hope.

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Ian Faith interviews Dr. Michael Ward , Oxford scholar, Catholic priest, and leading C.S. Lewis expert, about the depth and relevance of The Screwtape Letters. Dr. Ward traces his lifelong immersion in Lewis's work from childhood, through living at The Kilns, to his Oxford PhD and beyond. The conversation opens with the book's dual purpose: mocking the devil (drawing on Luther and More) while simultaneously holding spiritual warfare in deadly seriousness, a balance Lewis maintained by focusing on ordinary, accumulative sin rather than dramatic evil, captured in the famous line that "the safest road to hell is the gradual one."

The discussion moves through several of Lewis's central themes: the church-pew temptation of spiritual pride, the psychological age's tendency to medicalize what may be spiritual, and the connection between The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce, particularly the lizard-of-lust passage as Lewis's most vivid portrait of the painful but transformative cost of holiness. Dr. Ward also shares his thesis from Planet Narnia, that the Narnia books are structured around the seven medieval planets, reflecting Lewis's conviction that no corner of the universe is spiritually neutral.

The interview closes with Dr. Ward recommending The Horse and His Boy or Till We Have Faces for spiritually exhausted modern readers, and identifying social media's role in diabolical polarization, the scattering, dividing work of diabolos, as what a modern Screwtape would most exploit today.

"Michael Ward has established himself not only as the foremost living Lewis scholar, but also as a brilliant writer" (N.T. Wright in The Times Literary Supplement). Dr Ward is Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford and Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University, Texas. On the fiftieth anniversary of C.S. Lewis's death, Ward unveiled a permanent national memorial to him in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey. He presented the BBC television documentary, 'The Narnia Code', made by Bafta-winning director, Norman Stone. He handed a pair of X-ray spectacles to Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond film, 'The World Is Not Enough', and played the part of C.S. Lewis's vicar in 'The Most Reluctant Convert', starring Max McLean and Nicholas Ralph. A Catholic priest in real life, Ward assists at Hinksey Parish in Oxford, alongside his work as an academic. He read English at Oxford, Theology at Cambridge, and has a PhD from St Andrews. More details at www.michaelward.net.

Michael Ward - Amazon Books
Planet Narnia https://amzn.to/4omcemh
The Narnia Code https://amzn.to/3SmbstA
After Humanity https://amzn.to/3S5qyUn

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