Letter 8

Dear Blankweed,

You raise an interesting question – how do we know that the Enemy wants our patient to attend this church group, and how can we know that she is in greatest danger there? In one way the issue is irrelevant: regardless of what any human being does (except when engaged in activity which is directly sinful), they are exposed to the Enemy. He is always present to them in some form or another, and their eyes may be opened to that presence at any moment. That is why we must be always vigilant: any moment is the moment at which they may fall into the Enemy’s clutches. So, if she decides not to go to the Church group (for any reason – even a reason we have fed her), the Enemy may well reveal himself to her while she is lounging in an old armchair watching re-runs of a soap opera with her husband or sitting at the kitchen table doing homework with one of her children. Sear this truth into your brain, Blankweed: the Enemy is always there, in any situation, looking for an opportunity.

But it has to be said that the context of any situation means that the patient is more likely or less likely to recognise and correctly interpret the presence of the Enemy. Now you need to remember that human beings’ experience of the Enemy is very different to ours. We experience him – in those appalling moments when we are required to challenge him in a deathly duel (and I earnestly hope, Blankweed, that you never encounter such a situation)– as searing, destructive, eternal fire, a fire that even in its most limited form threatens, promises instant annihilation. But humans’ experience of him is much more muted. If he were to reveal himself in any more direct form than the faintest glow of that ghastly light he shines on everything, the human being would instantly be overwhelmed, overcome, and thrown to their knees. They too would not be able to resist that dreadful light. Their lives would change in the instant, their obedience would be unquestioned. They would see, with a certainty that could not be challenged, that this was what they were made for – for service to this….fffffffire. But for some reason, the Enemy makes  a great deal about not exposing himself in a way that would overpower their puny wills. He goes on about wanting them to choose, to give themselves of their own free will to his service – and so he does not reveal himself directly, but shines with only the faintest glow that these humans can recognise, if they are attentive,  without being overpowered. He calls this grrrrrace. This is where we get our chance.

The trick is to reinterpret that light so they do not realise it is the Enemy. So, for example, supposing the Enemy reveals himself (well, he is revealed at all times – so it is more a matter of preparing the patient’s mind to be receptive to that revelation) to our patient when she is watching television with her husband, relaxing over a glass of wine after a hard day.  She knows something has happened. She feels a change in herself, that ghastly receptive impulse which all humans have to something that comes from h-----.  (Incidentally, High Command  has worked hard to remove that impulse, but to no avail. It’s like a homing beacon: they are made for that ghastly place, and with the revelation of the Enemy, that receptor lights up.). She somehow opens up…..and here we have to work quickly.

Our task is to convince her that what she feels is not the Enemy, but something else. We tell her that her body is unwinding after that hard day – that what she’s feeling is not grace but the experience of being relaxed and healthy. Or we tell her she is simply feeling happy about being at home with her husband, with the children tucked up in bed, in the quiet evening.  We distract her by congratulating her on how the lampshade she chose throws a pleasing colour on the wall colour she chose – and that her feeling is an artistic one. Or we tell her – this is ridiculous, but you’ve no idea how often it works – that she’s feeling sexual desire. Objectively, of course, it’s impossible to compare any of these things – or anything at all - with the experience of the Enemy’s awful light. But if they’re not used to feeling his presence, and if there are other contextual factors that distract her, we can do it very neatly.

Now, to go back to your question: if, on the other hand, the Enemy chooses to reveal himself to her in a church, or in a room full of people praying or discussing the enemy’s textbook, or singing a song about the Enemy, then it is much harder for us to find issues that might distract her from recognising what is going on. Furthermore, she is surrounded by people experienced in the Enemy’s presence, who can correctly interpret her experience for her. You see – the context works against us. We are in terrible danger.

And this is why, even though the Enemy can ambush a human at any time, she must be prevented from spending time in a context which in dominated by the Enemy. She is more likely to recognise him, and the people around her are more likely to encourage that recognition, and explain the consequences of that experience to her. And, worst of all, they might encourage her to respond to that experience by pledging her allegiance. A husband with a headache and no experience of the Enemy (who, indeed, feels derision about the Enemy) is highly unlikely to encourage such a response. And the patient herself, even if she did recognise what has happened, is unlikely to understand what to do next. We then send her to bed, and in the morning, when her ‘real’ life rushes in at her (lunches to make, trains to catch, meetings to prepare for), we ensure that the whole experience slips away from her.

So it’s simple: stop her from getting to that meeting.

Your affectionate friend

Screwtape

Letter 7

Letter 7

Dear Blankweed, 
 Oh, get a grip! Of course I didn’t mean to imply all groups in all churches are full of vice and dissension and we should just let them get on with their own journey to Hell. Would that it were so. No, no, no – you must remember that churches are also full of saints, and saints-in-the-making, each of which can have a pernicious effect on the rest of any group they are in. Any church is a danger to us. Any church group is a threat to Our Leader’s great and glorious plan. You see, in any group at all (not just church groups but professional, social and familial groups) which contains a single servant of the Enemy there is a whiff of h-----. The others may not feel it directly, but they will be influenced it. This rot-filled individual does not even have to do or say anything specific: just by being there, they bring the Enemy into the circle. Sometimes with disastrous effect. Now, in a church group you can multiply that whiff of h----- by the number of people who have committed their lives to the Enemy. The impact of this is an appalling volatility. Despite all our careful planning and preparation, dreadful things can happen without warning. 

 Let me give you an example. A skilled but junior tempter I was once mentoring, was caring for a patient whose primary driver was power over others. He wasn’t aware of this, of course – we’d taken care to develop in him what he saw as an almost impregnable sense of justice and righteousness. In other words, he thought he was saving the world, when in fact all he was trying to do was establish his control over those around him, and extend his sphere of power. What fun we had working with him! He had no difficulty at all in saying, in that prayer they’re all so keen on, “Thy will be done” because he saw his will as being indistinguishable from what he called g--. Which it was, because he had invented that god, unbeknownst to him, in his own image. For years, even though he was an active and influential member of a church, we had him well in hand, and he was a wonderfully destructive force in his community. 

Then he joined one of these small, church groups. He joined for quite innocent and admirable reasons: because there were members of this group who he wanted to bring under his influence. We weren’t even worried. And then one day, in this group, almost as if a light had been shone on his soul, he saw what he was. That appalling whiff of You Know What, which reeked out of the saints around him in that group, had undone years of fine work on our part. We never got him back. It was a terrible tragedy. And his act of repentance had a profound effect on others, and the ripples of his revelation were felt through that community like an earthquake. Soul after soul escaped our grasp. I lost a fine tempter because of that group. Let that be a warning to you. 

 Now, sadly, to your dossier. I have to say it looks bad. We have much to concern us here. She has joined a bible study, which means she will be directly exposed to the Enemy and his teaching. And what’s more, she was invited to join this bible study by someone she genuinely admires and likes – not by someone she sees as useful to her career, or someone she envies and resents, or someone she feels patronising about. And this person is, I’m appalled to say, someone who is deeply immersed in the Enemy camp. What were you thinking of in letting her sit next to this woman on Sunday? She’s flattered to have been invited to join, and excitedly sees this as a step toward becoming more immersed in the church community – and yet not in such a way that she feels she’s been invited to join an inner sanctum of power. 

 And when I look at who is in this group, my heart sinks. The whole group stinks of smugness and righteousness and charity and faith. They enjoy one another’s company but they don’t form a clique. They laugh at each other’s jokes, but they don’t laugh at other people. They are more educated and dedicated than their pastor, but they honour his authority. They work hard – but they also find a way to work for the church. They are – well, words fail me. Of course, it must all be a con at some level. They must all be taking secret advantage of one another somehow. But we cannot yet see how. It will be our first priority, Blankweed, to figure out what they’re really up to. 

 What, then, to do? Our first priority is clear and simply, we must stop her from actually getting there. She has many other demands on her life, and other priorities. Can you arrange for her to be offered new responsibilities at work, which would require her to work at home in the evenings, without her reflecting on whether this will impede her ability to attend this group? You also need to stop her from even entertaining the question of whether attending this group might be more important than professional advancement. 

The Enemy, of course, will try to draw this to her attention, but with enough distraction from you, and subtle hints about the importance of this new work, we should be able to counter him. I suggest this work strategy because she’s ambitious professionally, and subject to flattery, so she might easily be distracted in this way. If she’s working at night, she’ll have less time to spend with her family and husband, so she’s likely to feel guilty about leaving them for another evening each week. Even without the extra work, can we work with her husband’s tempter to stir up opposition in him about this group? He might be persuaded to feel slighted, or jealous, or excluded. Use the pressures and conflicts of her ordinary life to make attendance too difficult.




If you can’t stop her from getting there, then we need to work on her feelings while she’s there. Now, I can give you broad advice here, but it’s really up to you to think on your feet and use the material that presents itself on a minute-by-minute basis. The key is to pay attention, Blankweed. Every thought that flickers across her mind must be instantly analysed and taken advantage of where possible. She will feel anxious and socially inept: these people are in so many ways her superiors that she will feel out of place. And her awareness of their superiority will make her feel insecure. Can you persuade her that these are not really her sort of people? That she’s out of her depth? They will be kind to her: can you make her think they’re not kind but patronising? They all know each other well and have many ‘in’ jokes and shared references that she cannot as yet share. Can you make her feel there is no way in and it’s a waste of time trying. Especially when she’s so very tired. Humans are always tired, Blankweed – remind her of how demanding and chaotic her life is. Does she really need to make effort in the evening after a hard day at work? 

 

tempt her to unkindness....

 And when she gets home and the house is a mess, or she still has to start preparations for the next day, and her husband is lying on the couch watching a trashy movie, can you tempt her to anger and self-pity and unkindness? Of course you can! Get to it. Pay attention, remember your lessons, and enjoy the mayhem.



 Your affectionate friend

Screwtape.

Letter #6 

 

 

Dear Blankweed,

either our esteemed training establishment has gone downhill badly, and you have no idea of the disaster you’re facing, or you have learnt your lessons in Stealth and Subterfuge all too well. What do you mean she’s joined a church group?? Did you think I wouldn’t notice that sentence thrown innocuously into the middle of a whole three pages of twaddle and nonsense? And if you’re drawing on those lessons from Professor Hellgang in Deception 101to hide things from me, can I just point out that those lessons weren’t designed to help you deceive your mentor. How can I help you when you are being intentionally deceptive? What can be achieved by such behaviour? If – Hell preserve us – your patient eventually enters that Place Which Shall Not Named, and you fall into the pit of everlasting destruction, do you think, as you fall, you will be thinking “well, at least I pulled the wool over old Screwtape’s eyes??” Do you??? Straighten up, Blankweed. You’re playing a fool’s game.

Let me remind you here that we are not playing for laughs. This is no role play. You aren’t out in the playground now, Blankweed. A whole soul is in your hands. And so is your  destiny. I hate to deal in clichés, and I hate repetition, but this is no game. And my job, as an experienced tempter, is to guide you, to protect you, to save you for further work in the perpetuation of our Glorious and Infernal Kingdom. The True Prince of this world is relying on us – you and me, Blankweed – to do His work on earth. There is no greater glory than the capture of a soul for Hell. But what is the point of appealing to your sense of honour, or your sense of gratitude for all your careful years of training,  when you have none? Let me appeal, then, to your sense of ambition and desire:  trust me, there is no greater, no more exquisite pleasure than the success of claiming a soul for Hell.

So – no more of this nonsense. I hope you have seen the error of your ways. Let’s to business. She’s joined a group at church. Could you be more precise? Has she joined the flower arranging guild? The choir or music group? Not a bible study? And most of all, please tell me she hasn’t joined a course? There are some terrible courses available in some churches. There is one – I forget its name, Alfalfa or some such thing – which has done terrible damage to our cause. It’s not that? I sincerely hope not. Please provide me with full information so that we can plan our strategic defence.

Of course it may not be a disaster. But it’s hard to tell until we know the detail. How did she come to join this group? Was she invited or was this an initiative of her own? If she was invited: by whom? If she was invited by someone she admires and respects, then we are facing a real problem. If it was her own initiative, then what was the basis of it? If she joined the choir or the flower guild because she thinks they’re ineffectual and could use her help, we’re (almost certainly) sitting pretty. If she joined because she wants to get in with some influential people, we have nothing to worry about. But if she joined because she wants to engage more deeply in the church, or she heard a sermon about service and felt a call, then…..

But no, let’s not panic yet. Tell me more. And remember that, whatever the situation, there are bound to elements we can draw on to our own advantage.

Let’s start with functional groups. In any group that has an actual function in the church (leadership team, music group, altar guild), there is always a mixture of people, motivated by various impulses. There will probably be some saints, alas. There may be some members who simply bring a talent to bear on the task – you know, choristers who simply love to sing, people who care for the linen because they love ironing, or sound system operators who love technology.  Such individuals may have no real commitment to the Enemy but you should always distrust anyone who does anything just because they enjoy it. Enjoyment (unless it is related to an actual sin) is the stuff of h------, and the Enemy will often find a way to use it to his advantage.

But there will also(probably) be those who have no commitment to the Enemy at all, and who are motivated by a desire for power and prestige. This is why you find in churches organists who make the pastor or vicar’s life a misery, vestry or leadership team members who terrorise the clergy, and florists and cleaners who make members of the congregation afraid to walk into their own church. 

 a promising power base.....

Groups who are comprised of power-mongers form cliques. They’re usually very careful about who is able to join their group, and they carefully indoctrinate new members on how things must be done. If your patient has joined a group like this, we have a very promising situation on our hands.

Then there are the groups that meet to study the bible or share their life experiences, or pray together. Such groups are utterly disgusting – the very thought of them brings the taste of bile to my mouth. They make churches very dangerous places indeed. Because if the Enemy can only bring people into a large building for one hour per week, you’re really not facing any danger. But if he can bring them together regularly for whole evenings in smaller groups, where they must connect at a personal level, to engage in discussion about the Enemy, and things can start to go very wrong. 

this is precisely what we don't want....

Be that as it may, such groups can develop their own destructive tendencies if we work carefully. If they are a cohesive group, we can work on their exclusivity, making them feel as if they’re special, and as if they alone within their church are engaging in ‘true spirituality’ or ‘true worship’. If they have any issues with the church leadership, then we can fan that flame. The aim is to make them work against rather within the church they belong to. Let them sit together in church and roll their collective eyes when a particular person gets up to preach or pray. 

No, no, no.....

But it’s far more likely that they will be an incohesive group. And, let’s face it, humans do not like difference. There’s bound to be an odd person in the group – someone who doesn’t quite fit in. Group members may come from different social groups, or different theologies. Or they may have a dominant member who plays for power. Yet these people have been brought together and made a commitment to one another, so they can’t easily leave. The Enemy likes this because it gives group members opportunities to exercise charity and perseverance, and to eventually accept, even admire and value, difference. But we are at an advantage, because all their instincts are in our favour. With just a little work on our part, such groups can become hot beds of dissatisfaction and distrust.

And then we come to courses. Well, they’re a mixed bag. Some courses are simply humanistic life courses in disguise: you know, how to be more assertive, how to get more out of life, how to manage your divorce/children, how to have a more positive attitude. They may have a churchified clothing, but that’s what they come down to. No worries at all if she’s joined a course like this. But if she’s joined a course which aims to lead her to a deeper understanding of and commitment to the Enemy we will need to bring in reinforcements. This would be a very, very dangerous situation. Again, it may not be a disaster – I’ve known leaders of such groups who are actually well in our care, motivated by hatred, or a desire for power and control. But – well, it’s best to be forewarned.

So stop writing me insignificant rubbish and let’s plan our attack. I need a complete dossier on the group and its members. Tomorrow.

Your affectionate guide

Screwtape.