Free Republic

Screwtape Explains to ‘Chosen’ Cardinal How to Destroy the Church: From Demagogical Pauperism to the Dissolution of Dogma and TraditionA new ‘Screwtape Letter’ has come to light, and its contents are decidedly disturbing. It has originally been published by the journalist Aldo Maria Valli — ex-Vaticanist for the Italian RAI TV — on his blog “Duc in Altum” and further published by the Italian newspaper “Libero”. The writer remains anonymous, or rather: “His Most Powerful Abyssal Sublimity, the Under-Secretary Screwtape”, the senior demon who, in the homonymous tales of the great Christian exegete Clive Staples Lewis, instructs his nephew, the...

"The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid 'dens of crime' that Dickens loved to paint. It is not even done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see (evil's) final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices."--C.S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters" Call it déjà vu, the feeling that we've been here before, that events in the news are happening again, only with a...

Clive Staples Lewis November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963

With apologies to C.S. Lewis My dear Wormwood, The Screwtape Letters It's hard to fathom, even by our standards of non-compliance with the Other Side, what a marvelous catch this John Shelby Spong fellow has turned out to be. I doubt we could have created a more perfect model of apostasy and heresy all wrapped up in one man. For more than four decades, he has steadfastly aided and abetted our cause of disbelief. Atheists and skeptics are obvious sinners, but they are not a patch on a man who wears the cloth of his religion while defaming and declaiming...

My dear Wormwood, The collective heads of the Hades High Council is positively spinning with all the news of these foolish earthlings in their desire to find peace, harmony, love and "why can't we all get along" interfaith notions. Their compromises over pansexual behavior have to be one of the single greatest triumphs of the 21st Century. Our Father had to be dragged away from a round of bishop bashing just to hear the good news. Now that both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have succumbed to the notion of civil partnerships while condemning gay marriage is of course...

MY DEAR WORMWOOD...I divide the causes of human laughter into Joy, Fun, the Joke Proper, and Flippancy. You will see the [Joy] among friends and lovers reunited on the eve of a holiday... Fun is closely related to Joy—a sort of emotional froth arising from the play instinct. It is very little use to us....it has wholly undesirable tendencies; it promotes charity, courage, contentment, and many other evils. The Joke Proper, which turns on sudden perception of incongruity, is a much more promising field...The real use of Jokes or Humour is in quite a different direction...it is invaluable as a...

My dear Wormwood, Events are unfolding perfectly in our favor, but don't get cocky. Things are far from a done deal. Our Enemy has a trick or two up his sleeve that could derail everything. We have been close, many times in history to outright victory, only to have it snatched from us at the last moment. Be very careful how you go. The upcoming meeting of the American House of Bishops in New Orleans will be a defining moment that you must use wisely and carefully. New Orleans itself is a victim of Hurricane Katrina. There it will be...

From: Dave Screwtape To: Congressional Democratic Candidates, Democratic Governors, DNC Volunteers Subject: Screwtape 2006 #1: Democratic Outlook The future is bright today as we prepare for the November election, which is now less than six months away. Republicans remain divided between those who stand for what they believe and those who stand for what the White House tells them to believe. It is such a wonderful state of disarray, we're primed to take over if we take the right approach. Now, there are two wrong approaches. The first is to base our campaign on impeaching George Bush. As pleasing as...

Greek mythology tells the tale of Prometheus, a Titan who envied Zeus his godlike powers. Driven by his covetousness, he stole some of Zeus's power, then was caught and punished by being tied to a rock. The underlying assumption of this myth is that man and God are antagonists. Man covets godlike powers, but since God refuses to share any of his power, man must take it---or steal it. In ancient pagan civilizations, Promethean men were able to give free reign to the dark impulses that urged them to become as 'gods.' Although they lacked the ability to create life,...

My Dear Wormwood: I have just returned from our weekly meeting of the Infernal Lowerarchy* where before my peers I was utterly humiliated to report that that educator “patient” of yours has registered for a conference on Christian education. For hell’s sake, how could you let that happen? He was supposed to go on a cruise that week. You are on the verge of letting that man slip through your scaly fingers. At that gathering, they plan on addressing things we have been working assiduously to establish in the Western consciousness for centuries, things like privatization, compartmentalization, and various Endarkenment...

Report #14 From: Dave Screwtape To: House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Democratic National Committee, Our Media Allies Subject: Strike Hard, Unite Now I have long withheld my judgment in our current presidential race, but I can do so no longer. I urge all who read this report to join me in supporting the election of Senator John Kerry. I don't write this because Kerry is a better speaker than other candidates. I don't write it because he has a better plan for America. I don't write this because of any character strengths. I couldn't care less. I write this because now...

Report #12 From: Dave Screwtape To: House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Democratic National Committee, Our Media Allies, State Democratic Leaders Subject: The Importance of Hatred My last attempt at sending an encoded report was less than a stellar success. This was the best translation anyone received. Therefore, we're back to business as usual here at the Screwtape Report. I've read many reports decrying the lack of civility in politics. This is fine when Republicans are being condemned for causing incivility by pushing their ideas, however those who speak against our hatred of Bush need to understand that hatred fuels our party....

Report #7 From: Dave Screwtape To: House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Democratic National Committee, Our Media Allies Subject: The Ring Wing Media Cartel The second greatest danger we face comes from what was once very friendly territory, the media. It used to be that we had to worry about Republican newspapers, but as less Americans had time for newspapers, television became the media of choice. Television was largely our domain. I'd say from the Reagan Recession in the '80s until the late '90s, we had our hay day. We controlled the networks and CNN, the only all news network. The only...

My fellow devils, students, and masters of the Training College, I salute you on this important occasion in honor of the most recent graduating class. I am glad to step into the shoes of the once respected Screwtape (now providing a nourishing meal to Our Father Below). Let all of you headed for the earth take heed of Screwtape's example—a long and illustrious career that nevertheless ended in devastating loss to our cause when, by means we have yet to identify, a human stumbled on, and published, a series of letters written by Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood. [It goes...