Devious and Diabolical

Devious and diabolical. C.S. Lewis will not let us forget. Definitely read the Screwtape Letters...
-Hannah


My version of a modern "Screwtape Letter":

My Dear Wormwood,

I have a new assignment for you. There is a young man who should be brought to our side. I think that you are just the tempter to do the job. This advice might help you with the challenging task that lies ahead. This young man is a Christian but he is weak and easily befuddled. His interests are particularly noteworthy, school, music, friends, and girls to name a few. You need to pour your attention into these interests and bring along temptation into his life.

Let’s begin with, school, for example, help him to avoid mixing Christian themes into his papers for fear that the Enemy will blend his thoughts with this young man’s. Do this subtly so to not arose suspicion in the patient. For if he is the slightest bit in the know, the Enemy will swoop down and take him from our clutches. We must not let this happen.

As far as music is concerned, there is plenty of music to deter his thoughts from the Enemy. Maybe the band that a friend recommended starts to sound good, or perhaps the song on the radio filled with lines about sex and drugs will start to ring in his head and draw him away from the Enemy. This is considered movement in the right direction.

Some humans find that friends are not easy to come by, as they are shy or whatnot. This young man seems to be shy but I could be mistaken. Possibly he is afraid of rejection and will try to fit in any way he can. Perhaps the people that begin to accept him are the youth on the “wrong side” of the track. Perchance he starts to drift away from his “good” Christian friends and gets involved with more “dishonest” things. Let us hope that day draws near!

The matter of the opposite sex is quite a simple one. Just avoid the vile, sneaking, sniveling, Christian sort of girls that will turn his thoughts in the wrong way. High school is full of the right kind of girls that will help you to easily tempt him into our delicious abyss. Just make him notice them whatever you do.

Please follow my advice and hopefully you will succeed! I cringe to think of what will happen if you don’t.

Your affectionate uncle
Screwtape

Scheming

After reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis, an interesting English assignment developed. I was to write a letter in which Screwtape advises Wormwood on how to best tempt an imaginary peer. Trying to expand upon common issues, this letter evolved. The Screwtape Letters offered me an intriguing perspective on the constant battle between good and evil and the schemes of those mysterious creatures known as demons.

-Evelyn


Dearest nephew,

Despite the muddled account of your patient’s recent behavior, which I received in your last letter, I do say I’m pleased with your progress. On the other hand, suspicion tells me you’ve become bored with your patient. Although being the inexperienced tempter of a detestable, vile, hormonal, Christian teenage girl, may not be an ideal situation, you must learn to make the most of it. Have a bit of fun. Play with her head. Amuse yourself with the frantic, anxious thoughts spilling from her quivering brain. At this age the teenage mind is in a very fragile and penetrable state. Therefore, you ought to take advantage of her easily aroused emotions, so they can be harnessed for our purposes.

Now I will address the matter at hand: Exposure to lectures in a Christian setting. This is never a desirable occurrence. However, with all the filthy humans raising their children in the church it is often unpreventable. You commented on how your patient is excessively dwelling upon a certain Christian lecture. If I recall correctly, the talk dealt primarily with the effects of gossip and the exclusion of peers. For these repugnant words to have as little impact as possible, your first approach is to introduce to her the mentality of the extremes. Remind her of the people she sees everyday on campus, “the cheerleaders”, “the popular crowd”, and all the drama that goes on in what she considers cliques. This shall yield excellent results. She will then begin to tell herself that they are the extremists and that her own gossiping and segregating acts are insignificant in comparison. With this frame of mind she’ll be able to wave away any trace of the Enemy’s ever whispering voice, which might lure her out of our clutches. If all goes well, the patient will become oblivious to her own sinful actions. Her mentality of the extremes will eventually spread like wildfire throughout her group of friends. The more the merrier! Our ultimate goal is to have them thinking of themselves as the innocent victims of those countless stereotypes.

All of this must be done without the slightest suspicion of our presence on the part of the patient. It is prudent to keep her conscience out of such affairs, for it is a powerful tool of the Enemy. If that little voice becomes louder and is eventually acknowledged by the patient, we have lost half the battle. Disastrous to be sure! Allowing the patient to ask herself, “Am I considering others as higher than myself?” would be catastrophic in this situation. The only way of counteracting such feelings of guilt are with those of the extremist mentality. By the time a patient has given in to her conscience it is usually too late.
Overwhelming the patient’s mind with sinful thoughts is just as dangerous. If your patient becomes alert to the treacherous opinions and feelings bombarding her, your presence will undoubtedly be revealed. When a human is aware that they are being tempted, they posses the power to dismiss our temptations, but only temporarily. It takes merely one of these unfortunate occurrences to make our job that much more difficult.

A certain passage in the bible, the disgraceful book our Enemy has hoodwinked humans into believing, does hold one precarious truth, “Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted.” The Enemy’s son has certainly been tempted, (thanks to our Father Below), but because he was able to withstand our temptations while on earth, he too is capable of snatching back a human soul. We certainly do not wish to contend with this problematic power.

Do not be discouraged my young nephew, for I have explained this to you in the hope of relaying the great importance of our secrecy. It is a vital part of the life we have come to know and love. With all this said, I wish to leave you in good spirits. Pun intended, my lad. Sometimes I chuckle at my own choice of words. Nevertheless, be confident in the continuous battle with the Enemy for the claim of your patient’s soul. Utilizing the tools available, you will be able to master your patient’s spiritual condition in no time. Taking my suggestions into account will certainly aid your cause and perhaps land your patient a place in our Father’s House,

Your devoted uncle
Screwtape

Behold

Behold
By Evelyn Evans
01.09.07


I look unto the heavens
A black abyss of sky
And ask myself, “how and why?”

Swirling sea in color
Drawn into whorls of imagination
How did a dream, those studded burning orbs of yellow,
Come upon such a simple fellow?

Cypress yearning, steeple in distress
Hills and atmosphere roll onto an invisible shore
Why do they reach, and what for?

His eyes saw differently than most
The poor were captivating
Stars had lives of their own
Finding splendor in the ordinary became his mission
Van Gogh’s extraordinary vision