Screwtape Gets Us

My Dearest Wormwood,

The Enemy's followers are always coming up with new ways to try to spread their message and take people away from our side. With each new advance in human media technology, while some of them will balk at its use, claiming it comes from the depths of our domain, others will find a use for it in their efforts to enlist more people in their cause. 

To defeat the Christians in their attempt to use media and technology to recruit more people for the Enemy's side, a direct frontal assault is not as effective as it used to be. While some of our captives will still pay heed to our denials of any validity to the Enemy's message, it is becoming more and more difficult to keep humans thinking on a purely naturalistic level. Our propaganda campaign with the "New Atheism" of the past generation, rather than convincing more people that the only thing that mattered was physical life, backfired, ultimately having the opposite effect. While people may not have converted to the other side, many individuals did end up thinking more about eternal matters, and some of them defected from our ranks. It's better for us if humans stay completely in the dark about the eternal component of their existence.

Our strategic research division has found that what works better in these days, rather than making people doubt the veracity of the faith that follows that Nazarene who refused to stay dead, is making them doubt the goodness of it. And one of the best ways to do that is to get those blasted Christians fighting among themselves—not over issues of doctrine that they hammered out centuries ago in councils, but about minutiae. We may not be able to keep their business people from spending money on promoting their atrocious message of "peace and love" during gladiatorial events, but if we can divide them over whether or not those advertisements have merit or even accurately represent the Enemy and his followers, then we can effectively minimize the impact of such campaigns. Especially if we can get them arguing about it in the public square, so that those under our influence will perceive the other side as petty and dissentious. Why would anyone want to go over to their ranks when they are attacking one another so vociferously? It's so ingenious to get them fighting amongst themselves, so they have no energy left for the real battle. By the time they have to face our forces head-on, they'll be too exhausted to mount a resistance.

Also keep in mind that whenever it does seem that the Enemy is making progress in awakening humans to supernatural matters (like a year ago in that sleepy little Kentucky college town—we have to step up our monitoring of the other side's educational facilities), the surest way to throw water on any outbreak of religious fervor is to stir up debate over whether what happened was brought about by our Opponent, by human social manipulation, or even by our own tactical forces. It's amazing how quickly we can lure people back into slumber and keep them ignorant of our real movements by getting their own spiritual influencers to deny that what they observe is truly a work of our Enemy. 

You must remember, dear nephew, that getting them to question the origins of those infernal things they call "outpourings" or "revivals" is not simply a one-off tactic. Take advantage of the anniversaries of such events to raise the question again in their minds. Get the people who raised concerns during the initial event to come back over and over asking to see proof of any lasting impact. We don't have to launch a full frontal assault on that cursed Ekklesia. We only have to continually cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Enemy's workings. Get the Christians to question their own first-hand experiences, and sooner or later they will give up on seeking their source of power, and they will left defenseless to face our schemes. 

Whatever you do, don't be obvious. Creep in slowly through the back door, while keeping all their attention on what they perceive as the immiment threat to their way of life. Use their own sense of moral superiority to get them to fight against the people who are blatantly on our side. In that way, we can slip our agents in from the opposite direction, all the while leading those disciples of the Nazarene to believe that those agents are working with them—until it's too late, that is!

I will be observing your operations closely, as this campaign of subterfugre is critical to our future endeavors. Do not let me down, nephew.

Your affectionate uncle,

--Screwtape