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Bill Long 8/29/07
A Recently-"Discovered" Letter Seemingly About Mother Teresa
Anyone who is the least bit familiar with the work of CS Lewis knows that he penned an immensely popular book in a series of columns in the Guardian in 1941, published in book-form in 1942, which he called The Screwtape Letters. These 31 letters purported to be a correspondence from a high-ranking demon, Screwtape, to his junior associate Wormwood, with advice about how gradually to wean a Christian man away from his newly-found faith. The power of the Screwtape Letters rested in two things: (1) the fact that the advice was given regarding a "normal" or "typical" Christian believer (and thus the advice to Wormwood would be applicable to the great majority of believers); and (2) the psychological "tips" which Screwtape gave Wormwood--on how to manipulate the subject's mind, pride and emotions in making him feel that he was more committed to Christ than he actually was.
Well, more than 60 years have passed since Screwtape wrote, and now he writes again! Or, at least, I have been the privileged discoverer of one of his letters. While the goal this time is the same--to wean a Christian away from faith, the object of Screwtape's attempt is different. Now Screwtape wants to try to wean a "big Christian" away from faith through subtlety and deceptive machinations. Screwtape changed his philosophy in the last 60+ years because he realizes that the age in which we live in the late 20th-early 21st century is one that is "star-struck." We are so influenced and obsessed with the life of celebs that we follow their lives, habits, likes and dislikes with the minutest scrutiny. Therefore, Screwtape reasons that if he can cause a "big Christian" to fall, he can bring thousands, if not millions, of other Christians "down" with the "big one."
It is this context which helps explain the following "letter" to Wormwood, Jr., Wormwood's oldest son. Wormwood, the recipient of the original letters, was demoted in 1951 to a non-ministerial role by virtue of his failure to wean the first Christian from his faith in Screwtape Letters. Now he cleans toilets in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. We don't know the actual "date" of this letter, but it appears to be written in the mid-to-late 20th century. It speaks in a sort of prophetic or futuristic tone, as if Screwtape can anticipate things that might happen in the future. This letter demonstrates many things, among which are that the wily Screwtape did not rest in the years following the first collection of letters. Here it is. It is published for the first time on this site--drbilllong.com. I found this letter in a long-abandoned avenue in my brain.
Screwtape's Leter to Wormwood, Jr.
"My affectionate Child (he doesn't use Pigsney/Pigsnie anymore, probably because no one knows the term):
I received correspondence from headquarters recently that a person has not only come to faith some time ago, but that she is a person of tremendous skill, determination, and ambition. In past times I tended to ignore the "stars" of Christianity, focusing my effort exclusively on the "little people" because I reasoned that if I could win the battle against one "normal" Christian, I would have laid the foundation for undermining the faith of millions. But now things have changed. Humans live in a global "celebrity culture," and if we can bring down one of "them," then we have the opportunity to put a major dent in the Chrisitan culture of the West. So, let's take this occasion of a most superficially attractive woman to try to undermine not only her faith, but also the faith of millions who will be taught to look up to her.
In this letter, my dear Wormwood, I only wish to lay out our general strategy with this talented woman. In the future, if time permits, I will detail specifically how to do the most to undermine her faith, while at the same time giving the impression to the world that she is a person of exquisite faith. I have it all worked out, and I want you to implement this plan precisely. If you do so, you will not only repair the damage done by your faither's negligence and incompetence, but you will advance our efforts at a time when we need all the help we can get.
I. The Grand Strategy
I cleared the following with headquarters. In order to bring down this Christian celeb and milllions of her admirers, we need to do four things:
A. Pick the Task. We need to plant an idea in her mind, an idea that is so simple, so clear, so obviously virtuous and so far beyond what is being done in world-wide service to the needy, that she will almost be immune to criticism. The idea has to be driven by the noblest of Christian virtues, the better to convince her and her immediate superiors that the idea originates from the mind of the Enemy. It has to be a simple idea, one whose import can be grasped by the simplest person. Thus, it must not be an idea like "the reform of theological education worldwide" or "the formulation of a new Christian philosophy" wherein she would try to bring a rapprochement between 19th century thinkers such as Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and 20th century thinkers such as Barth and Tillich. Her work has to be visible, and seem to flow directly from the command of Jesus. I would have her try to develop some catchy phrases which can easily be repeated around the world to describe what she does. This, then is the first thing to do. Have her ambitions be very big, bigger than anything seen in the century. She must do great things for God, and she must think that she is doing great things for God.
The next essay completes the letter.
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