We Prefer a Mass of Lukewarm Christians

Taking The Screwtape Letters as a model, Mr Hall envisions the demonic attack on the family during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

From One Peter Five

By Kennedy Hall

Read Chapter I here, Read Chapter II here, Read Chapter III here, Read Chapter IV here, Read Chapter V here, Read Chapter VI here, Read Chapter VII here, Read Chapter VIII here, Read Chapter IX here, Read Chapter X here, Read Chapter XI here, Read Chapter XII here, Read Chapter XIII here, Read Chapter XIV here, Read Chapter XV here, Read Chapter XVI here, Read Chapter XVII here.

Chapter 18

Malthus my boy,

I do hope you learned something from the master class you witnessed not only in spirit, but also had so eloquently explained to you. If there is a skill I possess that is as noteworthy as my tempting abilities, it is probably my literary acumen. I doubt there is a better author in all of Hell, no matter how many devotees of that Sartre fellow would disagree. In any case, he no longer has any time to write, what with all the daily activities we have scheduled for him. You may recall having read his hellish fiction No Exit, wherein he suggested that “Hell was other people.” Well, in his case he was completely correct, Hell for him is other people. I will never tire of hearing his screams as all his damned disciples—damned as a result of internalizing his atheistic philosophy—unleash their apoplectic hysterics on him. There do not exist, I think, more enjoyable souls in Hell than those who not only ignore the Enemy, but also reject Him based on their own intellectual pretenses. The exuberant pride and egotism necessary for such a fool as the French author and others like him is so grand that it is almost deserving of a prize upon arrival. Who am I kidding! Men like him receive their reward, for we have prepared a place for them, for in our Father’s house there are many pits.

Now, the delightful dunces that run the “free world” have extended this comical closure for the foreseeable future. Amazing, every day there are a myriad of experts who adorn the television screens to give “updates” about the virus, only to restate again that their opinion is “expert,” even though they admit to not understanding how the virus works. Last night as I locked myself in my chamber for covetemplation, I could not stop reveling in the irony that the majority of the human race are now hanging on every word that excretes out of the mouths of these inspired fools. Sometimes the degradation of the modern human intellect is so remarkable that I am in awe; this is easily the most gullible and debased era in the history of human intelligence. Even the pagans of antiquity, as devoted to our idols as they were, still could not be cured of their use of reason. But these humans, my boy, would believe that 2+2=5 if a celebrity or deified political figure declared it so (I heard with relish recently that the Scientism Department is on the cusp of another breakthrough in academia!). I apologize at the drips of drool that are peppered about this page, but I cannot contain myself when I contemplate the daily delivery of useful idiots who fall into our welcoming arms.

Because of this continued closure, even the majority of churches remained closed over that Mournful Day at the Empty Tomb. We may not be able to truly cancel the event, but we will always remember this great moment as a triumph. Think: the Church that was born out of resurrection from bodily death has willingly cancelled their commemoration of this terrifying event out of a fear of dying. Even more, the charlatans in control have sold the splendid lie to their disciples that they must be “obedient” as a form of piety. Of course, we cannot stand when they truthfully obey the Enemy, but it is the world they obey in this case. I perhaps have underestimated the effectiveness of our efforts in rewriting Church history courses in most seminaries. Apparently they have forgotten the plethora of their saints who are commemorated because of their courage in the face of disease and government persecution. So many of the Christian hierarchs are so uninformed that it is as if they cannot remember their own Gospel. Amazing. Some are actually claiming that the Son of the Enemy would want the idiots to stay away from their services in order to keep their bodily health. Not even our most arrogant devils would have dared propose such an unbelievable untruth, but thankfully, the humans have proposed it to themselves. There was a cleric, a Frenchman who years ago clamoured on about apostasy in the clergy, but thankfully he was largely calumniated and ridiculed. Nonetheless, it seems as though devotion to him is growing—this is a problem.

With respect to your family, the church closures have not had any real effect, although you did inform me that on Easter Sunday the mother was in a state of melancholy at the fact of having no large family gathering for the first time in her life. Normally we encourage depression and sadness, but not in this case. I am afraid that her painful nostalgia may actually work against our purposes. You see, although it is painful to admit, the Church really does animate the world, and without it there is no real meaning in their lives. It is for this reason that we prefer a mass of lukewarm Christians as opposed to outright dissenters and atheists. Those with halfhearted devotion to the Enemy will not meet His expectations, but since they are generally convinced that they are pleasing to Heaven, they are less likely to see themselves for the sinners we love them to be. The lukewarm believers are easily accessible to us because they live in a state of contradiction; outwardly they convince themselves they are on the Enemy’s team, but inwardly they are easily manipulated in our direction.

In any case, the calendar year is, despite the efforts of our beloved French Republic, completely dependent on the Church and her festivals. It does put us at a disadvantage in many cases. Even for the most wretched of sinners, we cannot hide the blasted warmth of Christmas Eve, or the punishing hope of Easter. In the best case we can foment a greater anger in the souls of apostate believers. We do this by convincing them that the Church has fooled them into a painful need for a celebration that is ultimately based on a myth. As a result they experience a sort of despair that their childlike longing for family and celebration is nothing but a superstitious illusion.

I believe the woman is experiencing the general melancholy and not the rage we prefer. She is of the emotional sort and believes her feelings can say true things to her about reality. Feelings are highly useful in a human predisposed to our devices, but since the vermin are in fact physical creatures, their emotions can elicit in even the worst of them little pricks of conscience and longing for eternal things. She now sees her place in relation to the Church as if she were on the outer rings of fading concentric circles in a pool of still water; she knows not why she aches for the focal point in the centre, but she cannot help thinking that if she edges any further, she will perish.

She is in a dangerous place, and how you respond to this may determine her fate, but more importantly, it may determine yours. You must ensure that while she is in this state, which may last for a day or two, that she not be presented with any concrete material that brings her mind to contemplate the Enemy in her soul. She is still so enwrapped in the effects of her participation in the New Age that she is fortunately impervious to any logical arguments in favour of Christianity that use reason; however her emotional state is at a pinnacle right now and she could be swayed by anything sentimental. It is a constant back and forth with these humans, just when we think we have them fooled by argumentation, they can be swayed by innate yearnings that the Enemy unfortunately planted on their hearts. That dreaded Augustine used to go on about the heart being restless until it finds its rest in the Enemy (the human obsession with beauty is intolerable). It is nothing more than selfishness.

I am going to suggest something that may confuse you, but believe me it is exactly what we need right now. She is so repulsed by logical thinking, as it does nothing for her flighty sensibilities, therefore your task is to not distract her if her son—who is more and more theologically dangerous every day—approaches her to speak about religion. He is thinking too clearly for her, thus his arguments and adolescent zeal will come off as dispassionate and unattractive. If he does approach her during this period, remind her that she is in charge, and he is but a pubescent weasel, and she must not listen to his immature babble. We are in a tricky position, but we will see this through. Never let your guard down, remember; the Guardians know just as much as we, and although the mother ignores hers, the son is fully aware of the reality of his.

Until next time,

 Quelle

To be continued next week.

Editor’s note: this serialization is from the novella Lockdown with the Devil.