A Newly Discovered Letter from Screwtape...

By WCS Headmaster Dr. Roger Erdvig

​In the 1940s, C. S. Lewis wrote his famous "Screwtape Letters" as a clever means to equip Christians to guard against the wiles of the evil one. In the spirit and style of Lewis' imagined correspondence between a senior demon (Screwtape), and his young tempter-protege (Wormwood), I wrote a new entry on how high school graduates can spot and defend against attacks from the evil one. In this "newly discovered" Screwtape Letter, I imagine how an experienced demon would advise an apprentice on how to trip up a recent Christian school graduate. 

Note: I have no intention of telling you how I came upon this secret correspondence between what seems to be a more senior demon and his junior apprentice. The text of the letter leads me to believe that the senior demon is responsible for instructing the younger on the art of temptation and how to win an individual over to the evil one. You must keep in mind that when the writer is referring to “our enemy,” he is referring to God, and when referring to “our father below,” he is talking about Satan himself.
 
My Dear Wormwood,
 
Congratulations on your assignment to your new patient. I trust you will be much more vigilant in following my directives on this one than you were with the last, who I must remind you again, escaped your grasp and is now firmly in the hands of the enemy. Frankly, I am amazed that your punishment was not more significant than it was… but that’s a subject for another day. On to the business at hand.
 
Your new patient is ideal for a young, inexperienced tempter as yourself. Actually, I can’t think of a better one on whom you can practice, and perhaps renew your standing with me. She is what the filthy two-legged animals call a “high school graduate,” and they are pathetically easy to confound and confuse. Yes, I am aware that she attended a Christian school, but that can actually play to our advantage. I have often seen where humans who attended Christian schools develop a very desirable habit, at least for our purposes: they tend to skip along blindly, relying on their parents' or their teachers’ connection to the enemy, instead of knowing him for themselves, all the while not even realizing they are living in our clutches. In this way, they practically do all of the work for us. But, don’t get too lazy. You still must exert much effort to win her over to our father’s side.

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