Emotion vs reason (Screwtape letter II)

Letter II

"Once they get through this initial dryness successfully, they become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt."

Too dependent on emotion.

In a backhanded way, Lewis tells the believer in Christ, that when you rely solely on emotion you are a easy target for Satan. There is a way of thinking that says to be super spiritual, you need to be led by the Spirit. This means the emotional, tingly feeling Spirit, not the Spirit of Truth. It's most likely a reaction to the image of the monks studying all day. Off in their monastary learning to be more holy.  Chanting Latin phrase and being somber.

We have the good news! We should be excited about this and spread it everywhere. Christian belief is all about the heart. You need to feel it. This would be the argument against being too worried about the mind.

Lewis is addressing the danger in this. It opens up one to be an easy target. The Bible actually has much to say about the mind. Unfortunately, not always seen. Mark Noll in his book, "The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind," written in 1994, addresses this issue. In fact , he writes, "The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind."

Almost 20 years later John Piper wrote a book entitled, Think. C.S. Lewis also brought this up back in 1942. So why does this subject keep coming up? 

It is easier to "go with my heart" than to be like the Bereans in Acts 17 who "examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."

We need to examine, think, discuss the things of God to be built up in the truth. We also need to be led by the Spirit. There needs to be a balance.

Here are a few verses to think about.

Acts 17:17 "So he(Paul) reasoned in the synagogue..."

Ephesians 3:4 "By reading this you are able to understand my insight about the mystery of the Messiah." 

So how do you have balance in this area in your life? Do you rely on emotions more than reason?