letter eight and nine

In this letter screwtape teaches wormwood about the use of troughs. He explains that every human needs God. God created them like that. God wants people to serve him and become like sons. Satan wants them to brought like cattle to hell and used for food. This is why we have troughs. It is a time when we feel separated from God. Screwtape describes these as extremely dangerous. He states that if a person is in a trough and still obeys then their hope is lost. They are done for. He explains that they need to use these troughs to bring the person against God. He shows that when they go through these troughs it is a great time to tempt them with sexual sins. They are weak and much more willing to give into these sins during troughs. He also explains how they can use their ideas of religion against them. He explains the use of easily despairing Christians to make them unsure of Christianity. He says they can also bring the hopeful ones down by making them think that all is well. He states that they eventually become comfortable with it all and believe that this is where they should be. He describes this as a moderate religion. He also states that a moderate religion is just as good as no religion at all. This is extremely good to know because it allows us to look into our own lives and see when we are living moderately. When we do this we are living outside of God's kingdom. It's a good thing to be aware of. It's also good to know that troughs are generally normal. When we come to expect them it is easier to deal with them. Then when the next one comes it won't be nearly as hard as the first one was.